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I have a 1987 740 GLE Sedan. On Nov 7 I posted here asking for help with my brake light problem. I got some good advice from Billb and Aye Roll. They didn't solve my problem however. It took me a week to figure this one out and I can't believe what the solution was. Volvo should never have let this design flaw happen. I advise you to check out your brake lights, if you have the problem it is dangerous and the solution takes less than five minutes. It is worth checking out.
First the symptom: My brake lights didn't appear to be working when my lights were on. I had just replaced the center rear window brake light which had burned out and I was checking to see it worked okay. All three brake lights worked fine with the lights off. When I turned on the lights, it I could only see the center rear window light working. After spending a lot of time reading the manuals and drawing and tracing the wiring, everything checked out fine. But the right and left brake light still didn't appear to be working with the lights on. I put my face right up to the lens and looked and I noted there was a light coming on, but it was being masked by the tail light. I then traced the circuit into the bulb. I discovered the current for the tail light was going to the filament for the brake light and vice versa. How could this be? Was there a problem with the bulbs for Volvos being wired differently from other bulbs? Was my Volvo miswired at the factory? No to both.
The Solution: It was simple. The socket which holds the bulb is interchangable from right side to left side. If (as someone apparently had in my case) the bulb sockets are switched from left side to right side it causes this phenomenon. The solution is therefore to make sure your bulb sockets are on the correct sides of your car.
I bought my Volvo used about seven and a half years ago. I test my lights before every road trip (about 3 to 4 times a year) by having my wife watch while I turn them on. Well, this problem never showed up. Maybe I never stepped on the brake with the lights on, or maybe the center light coming on distracted my wife. Regardless, I am certain the problem was existant the entire time as I never had cause to play with the bulbs.
A white socket: I will tell you all now that I had noticed that one of the sockets was white while all my other light sockets were black. I had always assumed that the original owner had had to replace that one and it came white. Well, I now suspect that it may be that the White one is the Right one. That is, I suspect that it may be color coded to avoid mix up. If this is so, I can not find it so stated in either my Haynes or Volvo Owner's manuals. What Volvo should really have done changed the slotings on the socket so it could only be used on the correct side.
If anyone out there can verify this "white is right" coding, I would like to hear from you. If anyone checks their brake lights and finds this same problem I had, I would like to see a response here.
Sincerely,
Carl Millard
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