240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

The intermittent relay is this one for yours i believe - you'll need to check to see which one you've got :

https://www.rendcarparts.com/volvo/p...80/RD3523610PA

Light delay relay is £12 ish as linked to above and here :

https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co....5/category/210

My pooch wants her walk (she has one a day, tried her with more but she refused after the first few days!) so i'll be disappearing for a while too.

I did have other plans for today but not been feeling great so they'll have to wait another month now.

The light delay relay is a no-brainer, only £12 and the wiring is trivially simple compared with the factory solution on the GLE. I'll get one ordered, that would be a very sensible little enhancement, and again in the spirit of the Royal Barge project.

Good result in the rugby :-)

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

The light delay relay is a no-brainer, only £12 and the wiring is trivially simple compared with the factory solution on the GLE. I'll get one ordered, that would be a very sensible little enhancement, and again in the spirit of the Royal Barge project.

Good result in the rugby :-)

Alan

It's the same circuit Alan? Just using the second contact on the drivers door switch to trigger the delay, that means if you have passengers, they won't trigger the delay getting in and out.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

It's the same circuit Alan? Just using the second contact on the drivers door switch to trigger the delay, that means if you have passengers, they won't trigger the delay getting in and out.

I was going to wire it like this, ignore the second contact, just put it in series with the live between the switch and -ve side of the lamp, that way all 4 doors will actuate the delay (which is what I want):



There is plenty of room above the pedals, just splice into the wire between the lamp and the switch, find a 12v live and earth to the chassis - einfach nicht weht?

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

On the interior lamp Alan, there's a +12V feed, a permanent 0V (earth) so you can switch the lamp on manually) and the wire to the door switch.

Add a short link wire from the relay to the lamp, connect the door wire switch to the relay, piggy-back the +12V and 0V and hide the relay in the headlining.

Alternatively, pick up the +12V feed from the radio permanent, 0V from the metalwork in the kick-panel area, take the door switch wire to the relay lamp terminal and add a short link from the relay switch terminal to the door switch. Mount the relay using the earth point you will probably have to create in the metalwork behind the kick panel trim, connectors pointing downwards naturally.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

On the interior lamp Alan, there's a +12V feed, a permanent 0V (earth) so you can switch the lamp on manually) and the wire to the door switch.

Add a short link wire from the relay to the lamp, connect the door wire switch to the relay, piggy-back the +12V and 0V and hide the relay in the headlining.

Alternatively, pick up the +12V feed from the radio permanent, 0V from the metalwork in the kick-panel area, take the door switch wire to the relay lamp terminal and add a short link from the relay switch terminal to the door switch. Mount the relay using the earth point you will probably have to create in the metalwork behind the kick panel trim, connectors pointing downwards naturally.

Good morn Dave,

Yes, the second method was exactly what I was thinking of - there is lots of room above the kick panel on the driver's side and the +12v feed (whether radio or hazards) is nearby, plus plenty of exposed metal to arrange an earth connection.

I think it would be better like that so it operates on all 4 doors, which is what I had envisioned.

The Royal Barge is really coming along now, not only have all the small mechanical and electrical faults (thermostat, voltage regulator, rev counter, instrument lights, bonnet catch, headlamp adjustment... the list goes on) been addressed, but we have embarked on some subtle improvements (electric fan, fog lamp control ...). As you know, I'm not aiming for a restoration, and I want to bring it back from being too bling, but subtle and unseen enhancements like this are fine.

I'll have a look at the wiper relay today and see what sort I need. That would also be a nice enhancement that no one would ever notice, but would improve the driving experience.

Thank you so much for your help Dave. Without this forum it would have taken me months of guesswork to solve some of the small issues, the solutions to which have often turned out to be trivial.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Good morn Dave,

Yes, the second method was exactly what I was thinking of - there is lots of room above the kick panel on the driver's side and the +12v feed (whether radio or hazards) is nearby, plus plenty of exposed metal to arrange an earth connection.

I think it would be better like that so it operates on all 4 doors, which is what I had envisioned.

The Royal Barge is really coming along now, not only have all the small mechanical and electrical faults (thermostat, voltage regulator, rev counter, instrument lights, bonnet catch, headlamp adjustment... the list goes on) been addressed, but we have embarked on some subtle improvements (electric fan, fog lamp control ...). As you know, I'm not aiming for a restoration, and I want to bring it back from being too bling, but subtle and unseen enhancements like this are fine.

I'll have a look at the wiper relay today and see what sort I need. That would also be a nice enhancement that no one would ever notice, but would improve the driving experience.

Thank you so much for your help Dave. Without this forum it would have taken me months of guesswork to solve some of the small issues, the solutions to which have often turned out to be trivial.

Alan

You're welcome Alan, if you look at Pg 6 in the diagram a linked to, it shows all the fuses and fuse 6 is the feed for the interior light delay relay and brake lights (permanent feed) so for continuity you could pick up the feed there for the delay relay.

Using the main contact on the drivers door switch will indeed give you operation on all 4 doors and leaves the second contact free which gives me an idea.

https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co...n-buzzer-relay

You could use the second contact to trigger a lights on warning buzzer, wired from the sidelight circuit (not DRL circuit) to the "spare" contact on the drivers pillar switch. Obviously this would mean it would only trigger the buzzer from the drivers door (you don't want it buzzing when passengers get in/out) and would operate if the sidelights were left on.

As you've probably worked out by now, the headlights go off when the ignition is switched off and also turns the sidelights off if the switch is in the headlight position. If only the sidelights are left on, for parking purposes, it will buzz. If you've been driving on sidelights and forget to turn them off (you get used to the headlights going off with the igntion so it's easy enough to forget) when you get home, you can find yourself with a flat battery the next morning. Not that i have personal experience! (I do as it happens!)

There are other headlight buzzers around, i don't think that one is particularly good value for money so have a search and see what you can find, you really just need a simple one with a +ve and -ve feed. I expect the extra terminals on the one in the link are to inhibit it if the ignition is on, the downside of not having them is if you get out with the headlights on and engien running is it will buzz - that can also be a good thing.

[Othen]

After a bit of breakfast in Wetherspoons I took the Royal Barge out for a drive around to see how things are going; about 30 miles around Northamptonshire, Rutland and Leicestershire on mixed A and B roads.

The cabin is now a really pleasant place to be, doing 50-60MPH with the sun roof open and the heater turned up (it works properly now) and Smooth FM on the radio. I'm surprised how much fun it is for a 40 year old car.

When I got back I checked the ATF - still quite brown (perhaps not Worcester sauce any more, but still far from cherryade), so I pumped out another 2.5 litres. Having filled it again the dipstick is getting close to cherryade now (that is a 75% change so far). Another change in a month's time should have it looking more or less right, but I suspect it will need another a month after that to be sure (so I'll order another gallon of ATF).

I gave the Royal Barge a quick spin round the block (2-3 miles) and I can feel the box is getting better already.

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

You're welcome Alan, if you look at Pg 6 in the diagram a linked to, it shows all the fuses and fuse 6 is the feed for the interior light delay relay and brake lights (permanent feed) so for continuity you could pick up the feed there for the delay relay.

Using the main contact on the drivers door switch will indeed give you operation on all 4 doors and leaves the second contact free which gives me an idea.

https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co...n-buzzer-relay

You could use the second contact to trigger a lights on warning buzzer, wired from the sidelight circuit (not DRL circuit) to the "spare" contact on the drivers pillar switch. Obviously this would mean it would only trigger the buzzer from the drivers door (you don't want it buzzing when passengers get in/out) and would operate if the sidelights were left on.

As you've probably worked out by now, the headlights go off when the ignition is switched off and also turns the sidelights off if the switch is in the headlight position. If only the sidelights are left on, for parking purposes, it will buzz. If you've been driving on sidelights and forget to turn them off (you get used to the headlights going off with the igntion so it's easy enough to forget) when you get home, you can find yourself with a flat battery the next morning. Not that i have personal experience! (I do as it happens!)

There are other headlight buzzers around, i don't think that one is particularly good value for money so have a search and see what you can find, you really just need a simple one with a +ve and -ve feed. I expect the extra terminals on the one in the link are to inhibit it if the ignition is on, the downside of not having them is if you get out with the headlights on and engien running is it will buzz - that can also be a good thing.

Many thanks Dave,

The Royal Barge already has a lights left on (and door open) buzzer, I'd assumed that was a standard fitment - is it not?

Alan

PS. I was wrong about the lights on warning Dave, the buzzer is for leaving the door open or keys in the ignition. I noticed the headlamps stay on with the key removed, and I don't seem to have a sidelamps only position for the light switch - just Off (DRL), P (parking) and lights on. Dopes that sound right?

In that case it would be a good idea to have a lights on buzzer, so your idea is a very good one.

[Othen]

Good morn chaps,

Having sorted most of the mechanical and electrical issues with the Royal Barge I started to turn my attention to the aesthetics this morn: the boot lid. I'd planned to re-paint it anyway at some point (when we get some nicer weather); you may recall it had a spoiler fitted (that someone thought might be a dealer fitted extra early on in this project). I took it off, and I don't think it was a Volvo dealer (or any dealer) fitted extra, because it was held on with some really nasty wood screws:



I have no idea what the PO was thinking of. Anyway, there is no point worrying about that. Unfortunately there are 4 holes on each side where the screws went:



There are also a couple of rubber bungs covering up some other holes, where perhaps either a luggage rack or some different spoiler went in the past that need repairing:



The wood screws just went into the bottom of the spoiler (and didn't secure it very well):



It is a bit of a pity, but now I have to work out the best thing to do. The spoiler itself is perfectly servicable and could be cleaned up well, the boot lid needs to be repaired, rubbed down and re-painted. So the options are:

a. Repair the holes currently filled with rubber bungs (easy enough, a bit of GRP underneath and a smear of filler), prepare and re-paint, then fit the spoiler properly (I'm thinking of perhaps some stainless steel studs with nuts to secure inside the boot). The spoiler looks like this:



b. Get rid of the spoiler completely, repair all the holes, prepare and paint. So, go back to the original shape but keep the stripes (I like them).

I'm not sure yet, my initial idea is option a) - the spoiler would look okay if it was fitted properly. I need some other opinions though (I'm too close to the problem to see it properly).

For the time being I've covered the holes with some gorilla tape to give it some environmental protection. The 244 looks quite good from the back anyway, so I'm not agin going back to standard either:



So, what do people think: refit the spoiler properly or go back to standard?

Alan

[Othen]

Just to remind you chaps, this is what the spoiler looked like fitted to the Royal Barge:




... actually having looked at the car without it, I'm leaning towards re-fitting it properly. I think it quite suits the car (and sort of looks like it might have been there since about 1983).

Alan