HELLO,
THIS IS MY FIRST MESSAGE ON THIS MESSAGE BOARD. I HAVE OWNED A 1988 VOLVO 240 DL FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS. THIS IS THE FIRST VOLVO I HAVE OWNED, AND IN FACT, THE FIRST FOREIGN CAR. I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM MY FATHER'S ADVICE, HIM BEING VERY KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT CARS. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE IMPRESSION THAT VOLVOS ARE VERY RELIABLE, AND I DO LIKE MY CAR VERY MUCH, ESPECIALLY THE HEATED SEATS DURING THE WINTER TIME.
LET ME GET TO MY QUESTIONS. THE DAY I DROVE MY CAR OFF THE LOT (WITH NO WARRANTY), THE SPEEDOMETER AND GAUGES STARTED TO ACT VERY FUNNY. FIRST THEY WOULD TURN OFF, THEN ON, THEN THE GAS GAUGE WOULD WORK, AND THE OTHERS WOULDN'T, ETC.
I AM TRYING TO PINPOINT THE PROBLEM IN ORDER TO FORMULATE A SOLUTION. UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT CARS. I ALSO DON'T WANT TO SPEND AN ARM AND A LEG TAKING IT TO A VOLVO DEALERSHIP. HERE ARE SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS I EXPERIENCE. TAKE HEED THAT THESE OCCUR AT RANDOM:

1. HORN DOES NOT WORK
2. RADIO POWER FLUCTUATES THROUGH USING THE TURN SIGNAL
3. SPEEDOMETER WIGGLES ABOUT WHEN OD BUTTON IS PRESSED, AND SHUTS OFF WHEN PRESSED AGAIN

THE CAR HAS NEVER STALLED, AND I CAN GIVE IT CREDIT FOR THAT. EVERYONE THAT I HAVE TALKED TO HAS SAID IT IS A BAD GROUND, BUT HAVE NO IDEA WHERE. I THINK IT MAY BE UNDER THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. I THINK IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE OVERDRIVE SWITCH.
SOMETIMES THE GAUGES WORK, SOMETIMES THEY DON'T. IT IS COMPLETELY RANDOM. ONE THING I CAN SAY FOR DEFINITE IS THAT WHEN I WARM THE CAR UP TO GO TO WORK, THE GAUGES DON'T WORK. WHEN I ACCELERATE ON THE HIGHWAY, THE ALTERNATOR LIGHT COMES ON, AND THEIR IS A POWER SURGE IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
ANY ADVICE ANYONE CAN OFFER WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. IF YOU COULD EVEN JUST HAZARD A GUESS, THAT WOULD BE GREAT, TOO. I WOULD LIKE TO TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT MYSELF, AS I AM A POOR COLLEGE STUDENT AND, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY.