1984 Volvo 242 Electrical Issues

While driving my Volvo today, I noticed the battery light was flickering on and off. Later while driving, several of the idiot lights were doing the same thing, flickering on and off.

The car was running completely normal

Any thoughts what might be casing my problem?

The car is just about to turn 240,000 miles and have not had any electrical problems in the 8 years I have had the car.

Thanks,

Dave

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Reply to
evad49h
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Does the car have a voltmeter? Often this exact symptom is caused by worn brushes in the alternator, and when this happens pretty soon it will stop charging alltogether. The brushes are part of the regulator and are fairly easy to remove to inspect, there's two screws on the back of the alternator and the module comes out. I forget what the wear limit is but a new unit has about half an inch or more of travel.

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Reply to
James Sweet

The car does not have a voltmeter - only an idiot light.

Dave

Reply to
evad49h

If the alternator checks out OK, examine the wire loom from the alternator going back through the engine.

Look especially where it goes under the front crank pulley, and follow it up and back under the intake manifold.

Odds are it is crumbling; hello, wire repair.

Hint: pull the manifold to inspect it; that will allow proper access and allow you to do other recommended maintenance, such as cleaning PCV and IAC valve.

I replaced my entire wire loom with a newer one as the old wires were pretty much shot beyond practical repair, but if it isn't crumbling in many places, you should be able to cut through the loom with a razor, find and replace the affected wires, then seal it up with electrical tape.

Reply to
Mr. V

fwiw, I found the brush on liquid 'electrical tape' works well for touching up crumbling wiring harnesses.

Reply to
clay

Reply to
Jon Robertson

I forgot to mention that, it is extremely common, though I figured by now most that are still on the road have had it replaced. I built a new harness from scratch using salvaged connectors, it took several hours and quite a bit of heatshrink tubing and solder but it came out nicely and has been working ever since. Would have been easier to replace if I'd had one but the car was dead and I needed it running soon.

Reply to
James Sweet

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