1986 240 Instrument wiring

I just bought an instrument cluster on ebay, Tach, etc. all allegedly
work. However, my '86 240 DL has a clock located where the tach is in
the new cluster. There is a three pin connector on the back of the
tach, but no three pin plug on my wiring harness. Plus I have an orphan
red/yellow wire in the harness that supposedly connects to the tach. My
questions are:
1) How does one wire the tach?
2) If and when I get a new (smaller) clock, how do I wire it?
3) What is the red/white wire in the wiring harness which I assume goes
to the pin at the lower left (rear view) of the cluster? and last
4) Does anyone have an understandable wiring diagram for an '86 240? I
have a Chilton manual and frankly, the wiring schematic looks like
something I would have drawn in college electronics class - useless!
Thanks, Carter

 

The red/white wire is for the tachometer the red/yellow goes to the
cluster single connector if you hook up the red/white wire to the wrong
place you will blow out the speedometer head if you can wait until
Monday night I can exactly tell you the answers you need
Glenn
ASE Certified Technician
Volvo Certified Technician

--
"*-344-*Never Forgotten"
Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as
long as I live,
nor should any American.

 

Great! I haven't received the new clock yet that I also bought, so will
wait until then to do this deed. Photo of tach on ebay showed a few
wires I definitely do not have... Carter

 

Carter,

I changed out the cluster on a 1987 240 DL - twice actually as the
speedometer on the first replacement was broken. Get the Bentley
manual. It is much better than either the Chilton or the Haynes.
Having looked at several Chilton manuals, as far as I can tell, they're
all the same with different covers. They are pretty useless. I bought
my Bentley manual on Ebay for about $10.

Volvo sold a tach kit that that included a small clock as well. I saw
them on Ebay but never bought one. I have seen the clocks listed
seperately as well. The small clock goes to the right of the cluster.
Remove one of the square hole covers to install it. Or you can take
the working clock from your original cluster and put it in the new one.
This is an easy operation. I seem to remember a couple of outher
small optional gauges as well. You can choose any two as there are two
holes in the dash for them.

While you are at it, check out the light bulbs. They tend to burn out
a lot on Volvos. Since you have 2 clusters, you should have enough
bulbs to make one good set. At least the cluster is easy to remove and
install - unlike the ones in my 850s where you have to remove the
windshield wipers to remove the dash cover - including the passenger
side airbag.

If you are changing the cluster because the odometer stopped, you may
want to go to www.odometergears.com. I have had three Volvos and each
one outlived its odometer. In each case, it was a little plastic gear
in the odometer itself. Jeff (Odometer at Odometer Gears Ltd) makes
these gears and sells them for $25 each. There are two gears in the
odometer, so it will cost you $50. I mentioned earlier that I changed
my cluster twice. In both cases, the gears in the replacement clusters
were broken as well. I have also changed the gears in an Olds van and
a Saturn SC. It's not just a Volvo problem.

Terry

 

Also, that 3 pin connector on the back of the tach is for the remote
clock. The pins are power, ground and instrument light.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

After you remove the instrument cluster, remove the screws for the
clock. The clock sits on a few pin connectors. Pry the clock free from
the cluster. Install the Tach using the screws removed for the clock.
The is a three spade connector on the back of the tach. Fish the cable
from the new clock through the hole and to the area behind the tach.
Locate the three rubber sliding wedges with a "T" shaped end view and
slide them into the matching openings on the periphery of the
auxilliary
guage opening that you revealed when you first removed the dummy cover.

Slide the new clock into position in the hole. Install the clock cable
connector on the tach. Locate the red-white wire that was previously
unused in the cable cluster that comes to the combined instrument and
connect it to the single terminal on the tach.

Reconnect the rest of the wires to the combined instrument. Install the

four screws securing the instrument cluster. Fit the new guage cover
over the new clock and one of the old covers over the other opening.
Make sure the metal bracket for the dimmer and rear fog light switch is

under the mounting screws for for the cluster. Refit the left hand
cover
and switches.

thanks Bob

 

Done the swap a while ago; I can't get the lighting in the new, little
clock to be bright enough, my attempts so far have consisted of
replacing the bulb in the clock with new ones a couple of times. It
lights, but it's like the location of the bulb vs. the glass is such as
to not illuminate it as intensely as the real instrument cluster. Any
ideas?

 

The little guages never were as bright as the main cluster, but you can
see them in the dark. You might try soldering a super bright white LED
and resistor into the base of a dead bulb.

 

good thought! thanks.