Try to make a short story shorter... first the brakes...

Last winter, I couldn't get my 122 started in the cold. That was -20 or so, and I didn't want to start either. Can't blame it. Later, on a nice spring day, I got the car started. Took it for a drive, but was experienceing known electrical stuff, so I parked it again. This time on a bit of a hill, pointing downhill. A month or so later, got in again to have a looksee at the electrical glitch, and found my brakes to have gone dry. Added fluid in hopes of being able to pump them up, to no avail. But I moved the car to level ground anyhow. Well, today I go out to replace the (presumably) leaky rear wheel cylinder... but first figured it'd be best to fire it up, warm it up, and move it to a good safe place for such work. Lo and behold, the brakes worked fine. didn't even have to pump 'em once.

Now this is new to me. I've had lots of Volvo problems fix themselves, but NEVER brakes. Not the hydraulics anyhow. My theory: When the car was parked facing downhill (when the brakes first went dry), the fluid leaked out of the bad wheel cylinder, but not the lines themselves. I add fluid, move the car to level ground. Wait a month, and as the car waits, the air in the empty cylinder leaks out, and is replaced by brake fluid, effectively self bleeding that line, and bringing my brakes back to normal. Does that sound possible? Or have I perhaps had too many scotch on the rocks lately? I really havn't had much scotch lately..

Obviously, I still have a leak somewhere. Likely in a the rear cylinder, as I only replaced the bad one last summer. Just thought it odd.

So... onto the electrical stuff. Mentioned this part before... All electics work fine. Lights...wipers...etc. All work fine. But when I turn something on, it creates a major draw enough to cause the radio to cut out momentarily, and sometimes causes the amp light to flash on. Sometimes the engine cuts off for a split second as well. I re-did the fuse box by replacing the rivets with brass screws, and made sure everything was clean. That ain't it. I also thought it was largely caused by the heater fan, but I pulled that out for the time being. I'm thinking a bad connection at the ignition switch, but it doesn't seem the headlights would cause the problem, which they do...but they ain't hooked into the ignition, are they?

Anyone got any other ideas where to start the trace on that? I'd tend to blame it on a ghost or something, which would explain the low price I paid, but... I pretty much got the car for fair market value, and none of these problems were apparent for the first many thousand miles...

-Matt
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-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC