1991 240 volvo wagon will not start

cstodg13 · Post by **cstodg13** » 18 Mar 2008, 18:54

would they be a specific color? or what would they be attached to? The Pin that was knocked loose, I placed back in the center of a plastic arrow looking peice that lined up with the P and N. It was attached to the actual shaft of the gear selector. So where would they be in relation to these pieces.

Post by **billofdurham** » 19 Mar 2008, 05:33

The wires should be visible at the bottom of the switch. They are both blue.
They then go to a connector where one changes to two pink wires, one of which goes to the ignition switch. The other blue wire becomes a blue/yellow wire and goes to the starter motor.

Bill.

cstodg13 · Post by **cstodg13** » 26 Mar 2008, 18:16

I checked the wires and they seem to be fine from what I can tell. I even took the pin out again to see if the lights would come on, but nothing. When I turn the key it is literally dead. I was going to try replacing the battery, but I just don't know what the wires would look like if they were not connected properly. It doesn't seem like there has been any damage to them. I appreciate the help so far.

Post by **billofdurham** » 27 Mar 2008, 16:29

Backtracking a little - have you tried to recharge the battery other than with a jump start?

I think that you may have had one problem with the gear shift and another has appeared. The battery should not have gone flat just because the pin was out of the inhibitor switch unless either (a) something was causing a short circuit in the switch or (b) the ignition was left on.

Check the battery leads for contact and cleanliness especially the earth (ground) where it fastens to the frame. Recharge the battery using a trickle charger and try to start the engine. If the lights on the dash come on but the engine will not turn over try jiggling the key in the ignition as there may be a problem in the electrical part of the switch causing intermittent contact. These switches do wear out over a period of time.

Bill.

czeben · Post by **czeben** » 01 Aug 2011, 14:04

Hello,

I am having a similar problem. The battery is charged, the ignition switch replaced, the starter tested (pass), ignition coil swapped out from a running 240. I removed the shifter cover, something doesn't seem right...square shaped part at back of shifter cavity, it appears as though its broken but I don't have enough experience with these cars yet.

When the key is turned to crank the engine, all the lights come on inside as normal but the engine will not turn over. I left the key on and shifted the gear to "Reverse", reverse lights not illuminated. Shifted through all of the gears, will not turnover.

I am not sure what else to check! My 1990 240 has a 25 amp blade fuse on the left front fender, but the my 1993 does not. My manual mentioned something about that so I wanted to throw that bit of info out there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Post by **billofdurham** » 01 Aug 2011, 15:52

If the neutral safety switch is damaged or out of alignment the engine may not start or it may start in gear which is not recommended.

The attached shows the location of the neutral safety switch, sometimes called the inhibitor switch. It is headed for the 1989 but is the same for the '93 model. If this is the part that is broken you will need to replace it. If not the broken part it would help if you post a photo of the broken part on your car.

240 inhibitor switch.pdf: (202.72 KiB) Downloaded 387 times

The blade type fuse was used on the Bosch LH-Jetronic 2.4 fuel injection system. The '93 model may have the LH-Jetronic 3.2 system.

Bill.

czeben · Post by **czeben** » 01 Aug 2011, 15:58

Bill,

Thank you for the info. I will take a picture of the part, thunderstorms have just moved in so it will be a few minutes. The inhibitor switch pictured on the file you attached is not the broken part...or at least its not the actual broken part.

Chris