20 Most Recent 1988 Volvo 740 - Page 5 Questions & Answers

Check the fuel pump fuse and fuel pump relay first, before replacing the fuel pump. The fuses and relays are behind the the ash tray, The fuses are labelled. The relay is on the left side of the relay rack, closest to the big round bulb out sensor. But before that, how about pouring some gas line anti-freeze or fuel injector cleaner into the tank?

My first thoughts are with the battery cables, or the alternator. You probably had the heater, wiper and maybe the lights on? That's a big load on the electrical system. Have the battery and charging system checked out! It's common on this model for the alternator brushes to wear out and the good thing is that they can be replaced separately of the alternator.

Those are Bosch sockets which Mercedes and Volvo loved, but which are a royal pain. The socket is a dual-filament socket  probably combining the tail light AND turn signal. The others are all single-filament sockets. They are NOT interchangeable. First determine whether the socket is really at fault. Sometimes the contact points don't quite connect with the long busses in the tail light assembly. I have successfully cleaned mine. Maybe you can reform the contacts to make better contact. If not,  Ebay has what you want under Volvo parts. The sockets for the 240 and 740 are the same, an d will fit either sedans or wagons. Voluparts in Atlanta Georgia has them too. Any junk yard with Volvos will have these sockets.  I bought a bunch of spares for $10

Here is what I found was the problem with my 1988 740 GLE Wagon.
Remove the phillips screw that holds the cigarette lighter in place. Now remove the ash tray. Next, pull the storage tray and cigarette lighter assembly and lay to the side.
You will see two trays, one with the fuses and one with the relays. The one you want to look at is the relay tray.
On the far left side of the tray and the 2nd relay from the back is the relay that engages the ignition when you turn the key to the start/ Run position.
It is very likely that is simply a bad connection where the relay pprongs plug into the socket in the relay tray.
wiggle and pull up on the relay assembly until it comes out of the tray.
Now just tweek the prongs slightly on the relay so they will make a firmer contact in the socket.
Now put the relay back in the same position it was in originally. Pull it back out and put it back in a couple of times to clean any corrosion oin the contact prongs.
Try to start the car now. This will probably correct the problem.
If not you may have to replace the relay because it may be defective.

your blower motor might be damaged.replace the blower motor of the air con.

This engine is controlled by a computer, run the self test on it and see if the system has trouble codes stored.

It is usually easier to disconnect the flexible brake hoses where they join up to the solid ones first then you can remove them from the caliper end without getting them twisted.

not sure but disconnecting the battery puts a car into a safe mode try locking the drivers side door and hold it in the lock position for 20 seconds it may reset the computer try this on all doors if it doesnt work on drivers door

the truth is there are no correct codes you need to pull and match or get both and return, girling was very popular

Clean or replace the solenoid on the tranny itself.

I tried the DIY service and repair manuals from a website and it actually helped me repair transmission problem in my jcb 3cx site-master. it wont move forward or reverse, engine is good both solenoids for forward and reverse work. I don't have much technical knowledge but I just followed it step-wise, and works perfect! got it from www.reliable-store.com

Sounds like the engine may be trying to stall, that would fit with the loss of steering assist and light blinking momentarily.

Might be a ghost in the machine or an early sign of future problems. If the light stays off there is no need to do anything but investigation will be needed if it returns. Diagnosis will be better entrusted to someone familiar with the system and has access to the data for the car.

Check your radar lines and connections