PNP Alignment without the tool

Let’s talk PNP Alignment

There is a good write-up on Volvospeed with pictures on how to replace your PNP Switch but what’s missing is how to align it once you get it in. The alignment tool (apparently only sold by Volvo) is often times hard to acquire even from a dealer and really an unnecessary expense. This write-up gives you an easy to follow step-by-step way to make sure the new PNP switch you install is properly aligned for your car! Comments are welcome in the thread.
MIJ

 MadeInJapan wrote:

“I originally posted this as a reply to someone inquiring about how difficult replacing your own PNP switch was and then realized that we don’t have a write-up on this in our database, so I’ve copied my reply here as a fresh post.

The PNP switch replacement is a bit of a pain. A bunch of stuff has to be moved out of the way and then once it’s in place you have to “adjust” or as they call it, align it. This is really not that hard though…much easier than trying to get an alignment tool. So, most people do it without the tool. The PNP switch has to be aligned within 3mm of what it’s suppose to be for it to work at all so if you get it in and it doesn’t work, don’t assume that the switch is bad…it’s probably the alignment.” 

Good luck to everyone trying this. Let us know how it goes by adding your comments! 

wcorleyiii » The posts here on the PNP switch were a godsend! I got the dreaded yellow flashing arrow, and transmission power drop while whipping through a toll booth on the NJ Turnpike. Egad~!!!! Having never seen or heard of that warning before, I rolled to a stop in the toll takers parking lot, read the manual (“gear box failure” – whuh?), and did a restart. It stayed in the 3d gear limp home mode. Worried that I was killing the tranny, I got off the turnpike right away and parked. Checking this board and others, I learned about the PNP switch, and the temp solution of “rowing” the gear shift rapidly. That rowing trick worked, and I got the car home.

The cited web site with the step by step instructions was very helpful. But, I ran into anomolies. I bought the genuine Volvo part from IPD (thanks for the discount!) but it did not match the part I took off the car. The old part has a much larger arc radius, and is pressed together with pins, not screwed together. It looked old enough to be original equipment, but hard to tell if it was just a factory alternate part thrown in during assembly, versus a really cheap aftermarket part. I don’t know the car’s repair history for its first 116,000 miles.

The new part has a larger harness connector, which bumps against a rise in the tranny housing. However, by slightly re-routing a wire harness, I was just able to get the new part to fit.

I could not find the Volvo alignment tool, but I made one in five minutes flat out of spare parts as follows: I had a ten pack of 8/32″ x 1/2″ flathead screws and bolts in my tool box. I also had a pair of spare of three inch long triangular cabinet hinges (they look like old fashioned barn hinges that have a long triangular leg ) that came predrilled with screw holes. I bolted the long triangular sides of the hinges together as follows: bolt + hinge + two nuts + other hinge + final nut. I did this at the two holes that were farthest apart on the long axis of the hinge, in order to leave a space to fit down over the PNP switch selector shaft. The two nuts in the middle of the hinges gave the perfect 6mm spacing for the assembly to fit down over the selector shaft, and the assembly makes a three inch long leg that hangs out over the alignment mark on the PNP housing. The hinges acted as the flat metal plates to align with the flat sides of the selector shaft.

As I peered down the long space between the hinges, I looked at the thin bright line scratched down the middle of the black stripe painted on the switch housing, and centered the pair of sandwiched nuts right over that line. The bright line on the housing ran from the post right through the middle of the two pairs of nuts that are side by side with each other, one pair at each end of the assembly, giving two points to define the line, and confirm the alignment. I tightened the PNP switch bolts, put everything back together, and the car runs like a champ. The feel of the shifter is noticeably crisper than before. The flashing yellow light is out, and the tranny shifts perfectly.

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Last Updated on April 28, 2022