Part 2: PNP Removal

[osman]

Gonna do it tomorrow on my 98 xc70 that i got at auction for $900. Ive done it before but I just read the suggestion to do the repair with the wiring harness intact. That will save a large amount of time. I also leave the shift cable bracket and work around it to not need alignment.

[osman]

In addition to doing the job without disconnecting the wiring harness, I use an 22mm O2 sensor socket instead of channel locks to remove the nut on top of the pnp sensor. I can do the whole thing in under two hours now. I love this site.

[polskamafia mjl]

I've never understood the song and dance about alignment either. You put the switch on the shaft with all the lines aiming towards the stamping on the switch housing. If it's out of alignment the lines don't match up by eye - it's really, really easy.

That's it. I've done this almost 10 times with various 850's and s70's and I've never once thought about using a tool to help. If anyone reading this is put off doing this job by the scary looking 'alignment phase', don't be: it's piss simple!

Have you tried starting in neutral? After eyeing it up when I did it my reverse lights worked fine but I couldn't start in neutral anymore. The switch was misaligned just enough so everything else worked but the engine wouldn't start in neutral.

[cn90]

Quick question,

I understand this is a relatively easy fix.

Has anyone here had an irreparable issue and has to buy a new PNP switch, which is about $130 at Volvo dealer:
http://www.trademotion.com/parts/index. ... eid=216970

[cn90]

I will add some photos hoping to help someone.

1. Note during removal, the bolts for the shift cable are centered in the oval slots.
If you pay attention to this, there will be no need to adjust the shifter cable later.
(But you need to check the shifter later anyway to be sure P is P, R is R, D is D etc.).

2. Note that I left the PNP attached to its connector.
One less step to worry about.
Note the gasket, do NOT lose it!

3. Note that the copper U-clip is mounted on a vise-grip to be filed straight and square.

VolvoPNP01.JPG

VolvoPNP02.JPG

VolvoPNP03.JPG

[erikv11]

I will add some photos hoping to help someone.

1. Note during removal, the bolts for the shift cable are centered in the oval slots.
If you pay attention to this, there will be no need to adjust the shifter cable later.
(But you need to check the shifter later anyway to be sure P is P, R is R, D is D etc.).
...

The concept is great here but the nuts will not all be in the same place on different cars. That is, they will not always be in the center. So the key is to put them back where they started, not to put them in the center. As suggested elsewhere in this thread, before you start use a Sharpie and draw an outline around the nuts.

[cn90]

...Have you tried starting in neutral? After eyeing it up when I did it my reverse lights worked fine but I couldn't start in neutral anymore. The switch was misaligned just enough so everything else worked but the engine wouldn't start in neutral.

Hey polskamafia mjl,

This is too funny. I have the exact same issue but I will not lose sleep over it: opened the PNP switch to fix "no reverse light". Put everything back. Everything else works just fine: P, R, N, D etc.
Start perfect in P but not in N.

Personally I do not care because I have never needed to start the car in N in 15 years driving Volvo.
But I'd be curious to know where the issue is.

[erikv11]

...Have you tried starting in neutral? After eyeing it up when I did it my reverse lights worked fine but I couldn't start in neutral anymore. The switch was misaligned just enough so everything else worked but the engine wouldn't start in neutral.

...
I have the exact same issue ... opened the PNP switch ... Everything else works just fine: P, R, N, D etc. Start perfect in P but not in N.
...
I'd be curious to know where the issue is.

Hey cn90 (or anyone), comments welcome:

As polkskamafia stated a misaligned switch is of course that is the most likely issue, but cn90 just dismisses it so I am curious, what else are you thinking is going on here? Maybe you sanded the contacts too short or didn't properly clean a track or something? Can't see it being anything other than the switch is misaligned.

I will need to do another PNP rehab once it gets warm enough to go in there, want to make sure I have everything covered.

[polskamafia mjl]

I like having my car work the way its supposed to. I agree most times there is no reason to worry about whether it will start in neutral or not, I just prefer having things work the way they were meant to. I still believe some precision should be used when aligning the switch. Everyone is free to use their own judgement however.