[3rdinline]

Couple of issues to address that I hope others can help me sort out. Car is a '65 122 manual.

Not sure what is happening with my lights. My headlights use to only turn on when I pressed on the floor high beam button. However now they don't work at all and my rear lights and side marker lights are on all the time. I am unable to turn them off. I understand the low beam headlights are wired directly to the switch on the dash, no relay required. What about the rear lights and side marker lights?

I discovered the top fuse in the box on the firewall (contains 4 fuses) is burnt out. It is a short fuse and the label indicates it operates the wipers, but the wipers are working fine. Where would I get a short fuse. I have seen the longer ones but not the little short stubies. I am beginning to think a PO has really messed with the wiring.

Where is the temperature/thermostat located in the cooling system that gives the reading on the dash. Again, mine is not working but I have checked the temp at the rad using a temperature laser and it never reads higher than 82C or 180F. I would like to get this working as well but don't know where the thermostat is located? Is the wiring direct to the dash as well or is a relay involved.

Lots going on to sort out. On the plus side the car drives very nicely (knock on wood).
Marcus

 

[northNH]

Marcus, yes, lots going on to sort out, but all really simple basic stuff.
You need a book.
The Haynes manual would be a good one to start with and digest...

Signal for temp gauge is from sender at top back of cylinder head. Black/shielded "wire" from sensor contains tiny copper tube (containing expansion gas) going to back of gauge, and must be undamaged for the gauge to work...Once broke, it's done.
Yours sounds broke.
Test by applying heat directly to sender...gauge needle must respond.

Wiring stuff takes too long to explain,
Get a book, then we can talk...

Best, Michael

 

[3rdinline]

Thanks Michael. I have the Haynes manual but it deals more with the starter, headlight set up etc. I didn't really get much from it wrt to wiring. I have different one on order I hope will be more helpful.

Can the temp sensor be replaced or repaired? Are they still available? Also do you know where I can get my hands on a stubby 25amp fuse? Everyone has the long ones it seems.
Cheers Marcus

 

[northNH]

Marcus, Amazon (120, 130, 220) Haynes only relevent useful one I know of...

Temp sensor replaceable?...Sure, tho' takes a bit of skill, patience and a light touch to remove a good one without ruining it, and also to install one sucessfully...
Tube connecting sensor and gauge is quite fragile, at both ends.
They either work as designed, or are broken and work not at all.

I have recently seen a "repaired" one for sale, from UK, but that is a new development.
I know of no reliable repair technique, once the expansion gas escapes.
Can anyone update this info?

They appear to be available new from the usual suspects e.g. VP @~$220.

I do have a working used temp sensor/gauge that I could let go if you want it, at half that...

And 2-3 stubbies, no problem, on the house.

Best, Michael

 

[LloydDobler]

The wiring is extremely simple on this car, do you have the diagram? If not here it is. (post updated with full color labeled diagram).

As to your headlight problem, the diagram shows the foot switch takes the signal from the headlight switch and swaps it between high and low beams. So check for power there first. If the foot switch has no power then the problem is coming from your headlight switch.

The main discrepancy on this diagram is that #8, the headlight signal relay, was not delivered on north american cars.

 

[craig300]

Coloured wiring diagrams here:

http://www.colorwiringdiagrams.com/volvo.htm

 

[3rdinline]

Thanks everyone for the info. I'll use the wiring diagram this week as it is suppose to rain all week. It all makes it more difficult in that the PO painted everything matt black, including everything in the engine bay. All the wiring, relays, everything is black. I'll have to start tracing wires and labeling them. Fun stuff :facepalm:

NorthNH, let me get back to you once I'll traced the wiring. Maybe I'll get lucky and its cut somewhere, although I suspect it isn't.

 

[craig300]

All the wiring, relays, everything is black. I'll have to start tracing wires and labeling them. Fun stuff :

I had similar issues, with a sharp knife you can hold the blade perpendicular to the wire and gently scrape the paint off to reveal the colour.

 

[3rdinline]

LloydDobler, how did you post those pictures of the wiring diagrams?

The wiring diagrams show the connections for the head lights meeting at a junction box. May be a dumb question but what does one of these look like? Is it the same as an insulator, one of those connectors that have the male spades on one side (usually six?) and the female connectors on the other? My headlight wires all meet at one of these insulators in the engine bay and when I pulled it apart the spades were rusty. How do I test them to see if they are still live? If I want to replace the spade connectors, can I just pull them out of the insulator, cut them off, crimp new ones on and push them back into the insulator? Sorry but I am electrically challenged. The wiring is a real mess but luckily everything is accessible.

 

[Phil Singher]

Yes, those junction blocks are the connectors you think they are. Usually pulling them apart and plugging them back together once or twice is enough to ensure good contact again.

 

[LloydDobler]

LloydDobler, how did you post those pictures of the wiring diagrams?

I have a private picture host so I upload them and then link. A friend runs the host, he's an internet techie. For more info, read this: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?157548-How-to-post-pictures-in-a-thread

How do I test them to see if they are still live? If I want to replace the spade connectors, can I just pull them out of the insulator, cut them off, crimp new ones on and push them back into the insulator? Sorry but I am electrically challenged. The wiring is a real mess but luckily everything is accessible.

Start by purchasing even a cheapo harbor freight multimeter, like one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=multimeter

The nice thing about these super cheapo ones is that if you blow it up you're only out 6 bucks. Also they go on sale all the time for even less. If you want to spend a little more for more quality, get the $25 unit with audible continuity. That's a really useful feature. Basically it beeps if your wires are connected. On the other units you have to watch the resistance go to 0 on the readout, and sometimes it's hard to do with 2 hands holding the probes.

Once you have the multimeter, on a car you'll basically be doing 2 things. Voltage and continuity. There should be an instruction sheet with the multimeter and if not just google "how to use a multimeter". But basically Voltage will tell you if a wire has power, and continuity will tell you if there's a break, bad connection, or disconnect in the wire somewhere.

And what Phil said is usually true, often times bad or rusty connections just need to be opened and closed, which scratches through to new metal again to work like new. If there's bad corrosion around the crimped part then you might want to cut and re-crimp, but that's usually not needed.

 

[3rdinline]

Getting some where. I plugged and unplugged the junction box/insulator for the headlights as suggested by Phil and lo and behold I now have my headlights back. I found the temp sensor for the engine as described by northNH and the connecting wire was hanging on by maybe 2 strands of wire. I've removed it and crimped on a new connector. Haven't tested it yet as I just now got my hands on a 25 amp stubbie fuse to replace the one I found burnt out. Tomorrow I'll see if the temp gauge on the dash is working again. I'll also have to check the high beam switch on the floor to make sure none of the wires are exposed and touching the metal floor, shorting out the #1 fuse.

There are a lot of extra gauges in my car (engine temp, horn, tack etc) that have been added by I'm sure many PO's. Each has its own set of wires which I can hopefully remove as I get the original gauges working again. Time for a :beer::beer:

 

[LloydDobler]

The headlights are completely unfused, only the park lights and turn signals are fused, and not on fuse #1. The things that operate off of fuse #1 are daisy chained starting at the wiper switch, then the fuel gauge, fan, turn signals and oil/amp lights.

Keep in mind the fuse block is drawn upside down, the 25 amp fuse is on the bottom.

 

[3rdinline]

OK, now I'm confused. The parts book shows the 3 long fuses are 8 amp while the little stubbie fuse is 25 amp. On my fuse box, the top fuse is the 25 amp stubbie fuse. So this is in fact fuse #4, and not #1?

 

[LloydDobler]

They aren't numbered in the diagram but the fuse cover says the 25A is fuse #1 so on the diagram they're 1-4 starting from the bottom. This is confirmed by the fact that the top wire coming in on the left is the thick red one, there's no wire coming in from the left on fuse #2, Fuse #3 is powered by a white wire and fuse #4 is powered by a black wire. My car is 100% original on the wiring, and it matches that exactly.

I think they intended for this diagram to be viewed the other way with the front of the car at the bottom, and at some point it got flipped. If you turn it over then the fuse block would match.

 

[LloydDobler]

I went nuts and redid the diagram in color with the components labeled. It's a decent enough resolution that it should be printable. I'll test that tomorrow. I also edited my previous post with this one, since it's so much nicer.

 

[3rdinline]

Thanks LoydDobler, I get it now. If it is not too much trouble, would you be able to post or maybe e-mail me pictures of your engine bay (front and back) and your fuse box with the cover off so I can see what mine is suppose to look like. There have been so many PO's of my car that I don't know what is suppose to be there, what not and where they are suppose to be located. Many many thanks.

 

[LloydDobler]

Sure, might not be right away. In the meantime, trust the diagram! Also, any wire that is not in a sheath is likely an added-on wire.

 

[3rdinline]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever replaced the wiring harness in their car?

There are so many extra wires and shoddy fixes (wires are twisted and wrapped with electrical tape that is now unravelling, probably shorting out), on top of everything having been painted black, I'm seriously considering it. This way I could also get rid of all the extra gauges and hopefully fix the ones that aren't working currently. Just a thought.

 

[brad1367]

Before I tore the car down all the way, I replace my wiring with a Painless universal kit. I believe it was the 8 circuit (I think the "T-bucket" harness). It worked really well, but some of the circuits had to be adapted. It did't account for reverse lights and a couple others. I was happy with it, although its around 300 bucks. But its modern and clean. When I finish my rebuild I am going to use the Painless 12 circuit to take care of other additions I am making.

Brad