Couple questions about a 1985 240

I was just going over this 1985 240 wagon I bought and there are a
couple of things different than my 1987 740.

1- There is a light switch, looks like a fog light switch to the left
of the dash. When on, this turns on lights on the rear assembly, red,
at the top- like top brake lights. There are no forward fog lights.
What are these red lights?

2- Is there no light on the gear shift assembly on the floor? At
night I can't see the gears light up on this and didn't know if there
was supposed to be light.

Thanks!
Jamie

 

High intensity tail lights for foggy situations.

Don't know about this one I have a stick.

 

It's the rear fog light, your 740 should have it as well, it may also
have front fog lights on a separate adjacent switch.

Yes, it's not uncommon for it to burn out though.

 

Interesting! I saw the same light switch on my 740, but figured it
was a place holder for front fog lights! Wow!

As for the shift assembly light, I'll check that out - the dome light
works manually, but not door activated.

Thanks for the input!

Jamie

 

Yes, the switch you mention is for *A* rear fog light (bright red
light on the left side only in US spec and the right side only in UK
spec cars. SOME owners have added the wiring to make BOTH lights go on
when you hit this switch. Tends to mellow out tailgaters when you
activate it at night in front of them.

As for the dome light door activation, check to make sure the dome
light is in the "door activate" position and then check ALL doors. I
suspect you will find that only the driver's side switch has been
fatigued from all the years of opening and closing. That switch isn't
all that costly (judging from my 240 experience) but it's still kind
of pricey for what it is. You MIGHT want to go to a pick-a-part and
pull the switch from a passenger's side door to replace that in your
driver's side door (same switch AFAIR). Probably cost $2 plus your
time to pull it.

Now, if you find NO doors activate the dome light when it's in the
proper position, go to the pick-a-part and get a new dome light
assembly. Maybe $10 plus your time.

Chuck Fiedler
Nothing but Volvo since 1974

 

Actually, both lights were installed through '88 in the USA. It's
only in '89 and later that you get just one rear fog light.


(...)

 

It varies by year. Some cars came with two rear fogs, some had only one.
I know my mom's '86 240 and my '87 740 have two rear fogs from the
factory. My '84 240 doesn't have any at all.

 

Yeah, Volvo's not alone on this; a lot of the European cars have the
rear "fog light"(s). Like people said, used to be on both sides, but
apparently that made it harder to determine the brake lights coming
on, so the manufacturers switched to just one side. Oddly, most Volvo
owners seem to have forgotten they are there and never use them, while
I'm trying to figure out how to add something similar to my Honda......

 

Well, ya live and learn. Better than the alternative in both cases. I
never owned one in the fog light era prior to '93. Everything I had up
'til then lacked that feature. Thanks for the info.

Chuck Fiedler
Nothing but Volvo since 1974

 

No problem. It's a handy feature for getting tailgaters to back off,
too: just switch them on until they slow down.