Some episodes from the life of my 480

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Van
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Post by Van » Mon May 19, 2008 12:47 pm

I got it back alive! At least, for now.

Been trying and checking things and really was stuck. Only clue I found was that the connection to the sensor measured 12-13 Ohms where it should be 1.5-3 Ohms according to my manual. Today I renewed the solder joint on the main cable, it wasn't a piece of art so to say. I also made a wire connection from the main PCB to the speedo PCB, the blue connector.
The resistance now is 4 Ohms.

It works through the connector actually. I wonder if my fixed bridged wire ever actually worked so I unplugged it and if the main connector gives up again I will plug it it in to so see if that makes a difference.

It could be that the lead on the PCB from my solder joint to the destination is not good and this is helped by bridging the blue connector.

Other possible issues are, the speedo cable is coaxial, my bridge connection is not and a fairly thin cable to.

According to the manual again the signal from the sensor is converted to a digital signal that then is sent to the speedo.

Wish me luck.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

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Van
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Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Sun May 25, 2008 3:30 pm

Friday the speedo as expected stopped working, I connected my external wire and also as expected this didn't work. It did came back though but I wanted to move on.
I made a new external wire now coaxial, loosely screwed the panel together, tested and it worked. I screwed everythiing back and it it didn't work, not via the connector, not via my external wire. Apparently by putting all screws of the PCB a lead is interrupted causing the signal not to continue.
So I removed my coaxial wire and gave my best shot on soldering the connector. Put it back again with just the two screws and it worked.

My first external wire worked though, I tested it by disconnecting and seeing the needle drop, so why my later attempts failed?

Well since it is working I leave it until the next occasion.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
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Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:52 pm

Wasted another afternoon on the dashboard panel. Got it working, lasted no further as the supermarket underground car park. It's the third time it stops working in an underground car park.

I made a wire from the speedo pcb to the main wire, which apparently did not work.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:17 am

Removed external wire from main cable and restored main cable as much as possible. Soldered the pins as good as I can do, removing all old solder I could get off. Also made small wires from pins to blue connector to overcome any interruption in the leads. Isolation from short white flat cable at blue pins came off, taped that.
Result of all this work: nil.
Actually I gave up. Trying to find a suitable display what is a search for a needle in a hay stack.

Had to do shopping, parked in the multistorey car park, 1st floor.
To my utterly surprise the speedo was on when I had left the parking.

I'm starting to believe this panel is bewitched. It drops dead in the underground parking, flicks on in the ground floor.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:13 pm

As my speedo-less life continues I decided to take up another task: cleaning and polishing. Since the red became a little pale again, mostly at the front I polished the entire car with Meguiars Scratch-X. This also can be used on the rear lights, with very good results on the left one. The broken right light I didn't put much effort in. Polishing the rear lights with Scratch-X is not a permanent solution, they will turn grey again. But it's not a hard job, just a bit of rubbing and they shine again.

Tomorrow I will apply the so called Deep Crystal System three step program from Meguiars: Cleaning, Pure Polish and two or three layers of carnauba wax to finish it off. It's gonna be a long day but my 480 will shine for a long time and be easily washed when needed. And it looks great in the wet to.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:27 am

Due to my time schedule I had to skip the paint cleaner action. It would have been more deeper red if I did but went out of time. The pure polish made it as smooth as glass. I bet this will even better the aerodynamics. The carnauba wax will last a long time. Depending on the light the shade of red looks different, particularly on the digital camera.


Image Image Image Image


I did an inquiry for a dash and a rear light but no replies. I have some local options to get a rear light I think but dash is hard. If the UK readers now a dash for an acceptable price I would even accept a Mile speedo. It has to have green and grey connectors and be the facelifted model, with the thin font. No abs/airbag lights.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:37 pm

Today went out for a dash panel. The guy had several. But none worked 100%. A nice panel but with thick fonts, I tried one like that before, the info centre display shows nothing. Changing computer unit does not make that better. Also no speedo.

About the same for a "S" panel without info centre.

But, I have purchased a right rear light from this guy.

He was impressed with my polishing job.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:40 pm

The speedo had some spontaneous periods of activity, mostly during warm weather. That ended now.

I've been looking for a replacement for the PCB. Turns out these are no longer available from Volvo.
Some guy was selling a dashboard, first asked me what was wrong with my dash, then told me it could be soldered etc., then stopped responding with no apparent reason. Maybe sold it to someone else or it's not 100%?

Then I've tried to contact car electronics firms that may be able to repair the pcb. The first said this was beyond their capabilities but gave me the address of another specialist.
Very promising website, "we accept any repair on any dashboard from any car". Then when I phoned them blatantly rejected me "we don't do work on cars that old".

About the last option I have now is make a new cable straight from the sensor to the dashboard. This has to be done in the workshop.

Oh this week a tailgater almost ran into my back when I had to stop for a crossing pedestrian. Would have solved the problem too :angry:
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:02 pm

Long time since I posted in here. Well the speedo is working, thanks to the help of Esta who provided me with a speed sensor. The instruments, parts of the wiring and speed sensor have been replaced.

Early this year the drivers door wasn't shutting properly anymore. I tried adjusting but no luck. Turned out the top hinge was starting to come off the A-pillar. My workshop welded it and the door stayed in place since then.

Front tires are shot. They didn't last long, I'm not sure because of the odometer not working for some time but not more then 25,000 kilometer. The Fulda Carat Progresso scored good in tests and except for wear didn't let me down.

For the past two months I have been able two drive a friend's Citroën C5. I love the superb suspension, the car drives like a magic carpet ride, speed bumps are no issues anymore. (Is that a secret life of a Volvo owner or not?!)
Having the C5 enabled me to take some time detailing my 480 inside and put.
Last two weeks I worked on cleaning, polishing and waxing the paint. During a year the red gets more pale and needs work to recondition it. I spent over 12 hours polishing, cleaning, fine polishing and finally putting on Meguiars Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax. Below a few pictures with the result.




Image



Image



Image



Image



Image

Removed the rear center console to be able to accommodate the dog.
Last edited by Van on Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:36 am

Since my last polishing job I get a lot more looks with the car!
The front tyres are new. Hope they last longer!

With new tyres, maximized tyre pressure, good weather conditions and careful driving I managed to average 15.75km/l or 44.5mpg over a distance of 160km or 100mls. This included cold starts.

I had my airconditioning serviced, it was working perfect, but as you may know, every few years the cooling fluid needs to be topped up to avoid damage to the system and the compressor.
While working on it, the mechanic lost his balance and fell on the left headlight which broke off. Luckily the damage was limited to two plastic parts, they ordered and replaced them.
Last edited by Van on Sun May 16, 2010 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:36 pm

The mechanic who fell on the left headlight left a lot of oily stains. Very hard to wash them off.

Last week driving the C5 again. A 6 hour trip learned the seats are not as good as the ones in my 480. Still a good travelers car. Tomorrow will recollect the Volvo and return the C5 to it's owner, or better, return the C5 and get the Volvo!

A couple of months back, while returning home from some shopping, I spotted a stork. As I proceeded, I met a woman about my age who I sometimes meet when walking the dog -she has one too- from town -a three road village- and stopped to inform her about the stork. This woman is driving a 460. She then was interested about my 480 and I had a chance to tell about the history, the relation to the 460, etc.

Then an eldery woman -also known from walking the dog- approached and joined and was informed about the stork. Then she was also admiring the 480, the paintwork, pop-up headlamps and another chance for me to tell about 480 design details.

Believe me, if you have two adult woman without invitation admiring your 480 and listening to some facts about it, you and your car have done something right. This is a privilege rarely had by car owners. And this was even before my last polishing job.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:41 am

Not much happening. Car is up for a service and APK (MOT) later this month. No known problems but I'll replace the front wipers before going there. The Info Center display does work most of the time but sometimes not and as long as it's not to bad I ignore it. Unless it gets really worse I plan to replace it in spring with the former Info Center display.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:15 pm

Just ran into the second half of the rebroadcast of Sunday's first episode of the new series from Top Gear. How much more sad can live get? (the fact that I missed it)
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:16 pm

Car went for a service and APK (MOT). No serious problems, just little things. Well the mechanics again greased the left front light cover. And they had disconnected the battery so the info center was reset and the radio needed to be recoded.
Since last years service only covered 7,500 kilometers.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Post by Van » Fri Dec 25, 2009 7:44 pm

The Volvo is parked safely in a garage and I am enjoying the C5.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Re: Some episodes from the life of my 480

Post by Van » Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:19 pm

My friend sold his Citroën so no more magic carpet rides :cryhard:
My car still looks good. I wash it regularly in the 'hobby wash' to wash of dirt and salt. They have a feature to rinse the car with de-mineralized water that leaves less stains on the paint when it dries.
The inside now is less shiny. After walking my dog in the wet he felt the need to shake off just after entering the car. There are drops and mud spots everywhere!
Last Monday an identical looking also red 480 came the other direction we flashed and waved.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Re: Some episodes from the life of my 480

Post by Van » Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:54 pm

Today did the big annual interior wash up. First vacuuming, then washing off everything with soap and a so called micro fiber cloth.
I've spotted a red pre face lift turbo automatic at a church parking in a nearby town several times.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Re: Some episodes from the life of my 480

Post by Van » Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:57 pm

During a visit at the police station, the Volvo was spotted by an officer, who admired the paintwork. Coincidentally, I had washed it just before going there. Then the ladies at the entrance also got interested and I was allowed to explain the use of Meguairs stuff to get it shining like this.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Re: Some episodes from the life of my 480

Post by Van » Sat May 01, 2010 9:16 pm

Today did a quick and dirty wax job. It's been well over six months since last time and it's incredible how long the Meguairs Carnauba wax lasts. I think the preparation has a lot to do with that.
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

User avatar
Van
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:27 am
Location: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Re: Some episodes from the life of my 480

Post by Van » Sun May 16, 2010 5:37 am

Bad luck! The drivers seat belt guidance snapped off the arm! It's an item I had first fixed when I got the car, apparently it's lifespan is over. Are there any 480's that don't have this problem? As finding replacement takes time and money, I have made a workaround. Images tell the story.

Image
drilled a hole where the peg broke off and put a screw through it.

Image
terrible fiddling to get the nuts in place

Image
hope this will last
after over 10 years parted with the 1995 Volvo 480 ES 2.0

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