Volvo 240 tings.

[1968 volvo]

1993 Volvo 240 in the high 300,000 mile range. The odometer doesn?t work but the previous owner drove the snot out of it and he says that by counting tanks it could be around 400k. Anyway I plan on fixing this up slightly I had a couple of questions. The ac doesn?t work. All I know is that the switch lights up blue when you hit it but the clutch doesn?t engage on the compressor. Are there any easy things to test or replace? Also I want to swap out the cluster if at all possible for one that works a bit better. The speedo works good enough but it sorta jumps around when you are going slow and I wonder if it?s at deaths door. Also the odometer doesn?t work, and lastly the clock sorta works and is utterly useless. I want to swap in a cluster with a tachometer instead of a clock if that?s not too hard to do. I don?t have crazy plans for the car just fix stuff when it breaks and continue to drive the snot out of the car.

 

[VolvoLatAm]

The odometer gears go out, especially when people hit the button when the car is moving vs still, make note of how many teeth your gears have:

1993: https://www.prancingmoose.com/240-odometer-repair.html#electrionicinstructions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_cAK3NT_HM

Most people replace the clock directly with a tachometer by screwing one into the back--either there is a red and white cable that directly plugs into into or you can run a cable from the negative terminal of the coil through a hole in the firewall. plugging stuff into the wrong terminal can fry your board. Never liked the parasitic draw of the clocks.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=121184

 

[James M]

As far as the AC goes I'd jump the low pressure switch to confirm the wiring and compressor clutch work, then recharge and test from there. Atleast you are already starting with R134 so no need to deal with R12

 

[OVERDRIVE]

If you want to swap the cluster you are stuck using a 92 or 93 wagon cluster, so unless you get lucky if would be easiest to repair what you current have. The gears go bad but even after replacing them it's a 50/50 chance that it will come back to life. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, really odd stuff. The suction line (the one that runs over the valve cover) often cracks down in the zig zag where it meets the compressor. Check for any cracks or broken lines and hoses. I converted to 93 AC recently and I had 3 lines from 1 donor car that needed to be repaired. As James M said, jumping the wires at the low pressure switch on the accumulator should engage the compressor with the AC switch on. If the system is low or empty the compressor will never turn on. Do not charge the system without pulling vacuum first. The o-ring seals are SAE and the system takes PAG oil, if you find you need to charge an empty system might as well test it for leaks and refresh all of the seals. Also it's best to charge it by weight, not by pressure, it will take just a hair over 2 small cans.