Best Volvo Taillight Fix

[@pixelgram93]

Did this today and it worked like a charm. As someone who knows nothing about laying wires, I thank you sir.

[@FirstNameLastName-gb8pg]

Seriously helpful. I just bought my first Volvo and sure enough it has tail light issues...amongst other things. Im super excited to tackle it all though. Thanks for being you.

[@mrcrabass3669]

Had the same problem on my 1985 740 24td, followed you instructions, it is now a thing of the past ,thank you

[@horsesviolins2349]

So my 240's tail lights and turn indication lights have been out for the entire 6 months I've owned it, and following this tutorial I found that there wasn't even a socket for them in both sides! Turn signal lights also were not fixed by simply putting in a new bulb. Ordered new sockets for the tail lights and completed this tutorial, and now all of my lights are in good working order! Thank you so much!

[@farsanghiker1591]

I dig it. I went with the leds awhile back to stop the warping, but now have a ground issue. Going out tomorrow to fix my 245. Thanks!

[@bakermark6891]

Hey dude..great instruction on this video.... I've done this myself, and so far, no problems.

[@jacquespoirier9071]

i've done things a bit different, I used thin brass shim stock that I soldered to the board at every contact point so the surface where the contact is done is solid brass and this ruled out this problem, very easy to do and much reliable than the original circuit board I've done that to preserve the modularity of the assembly

[@ClappedOutGarage]

That sounds like a pretty good idea as well. Thanks for sharing that tip.

[@hectorlopez4365]

What do I use to solder the shims?

[@LosAngelesCards]

@@hectorlopez4365 solder

[@crs290]

@@hectorlopez4365 I know this is late but 0.04" lead alloy solder with a rosin core will work just fine.

[@obeseperson]

5 year old comment but this is my favorite idea for this problem I’ve seen. Will definitely be doing this, I enjoy how the taillights are SUPPOSED to work

[@tundraskateboarder]

One of the best videos out there for tail light wiring. One thing to note: in northern climates that are colder, going LED might not be a good idea, as the heat from regular bulbs actually helps keep ice and snow melted off your lights.

[@volvosweden]

Amazing info and video. Thank you for the effort to make this video. Hello from volvosweden

[@mikejohansson6711]

I'm glad you showed the proper female connectors, I have had 3 240's in the past 4 years ..... go figure....anyway, I did watch a vid on the same thing you are doing and they soldered the wires. Low and behold the later Volvo's have aluminum connectors and you can not solder to aluminum. Bummer....

[@ClappedOutGarage]

Quick-slide connectors are the way to go for sure.

[@crs290]

Is it overkill (not a bad thing!) to wire a ground to each individual bulb. Would a daisy-chained ground work, especially with a thicker gauge wire?

[@ClappedOutGarage]

You could daisy chain your grounds without a problem. I just did it this way for demonstration purposes and have since changed it to a thinner wire and cleaned things up a bit.

[@crs290]

Clapped Out Garage Sorry, man. Just saw that you answered back. Thanks for the quick reply! I'm gonna daisy-chain with a 14 gauge wire and let it go. Great video, BTW.

[@thaddeauscaldwell7101]

Great video . I'm going to do my 1990 240DL soon. Do you have part numbers of the LED lights you used ? Do you have to wire in LED resistors ? Any information will be helpful. Best Regards

[@edkoops9120]

Nice solution to a common Volvo 240/740 issue,,,Thank you!

[@latinovoice2224]

Question about the bulb socket holder that has three spades on it. One ground wire and one wire for the brake ? What happens to third spade? What do you connect to that spade? Sorry if sounds like a stupid question.

[@malachicookston9191]

Some of the tail lights are dual element, meaning they are on when the car is just sitting and light up brighter when the brake is pressed, I'd imagine that's what it's for

[@dar420ien]

So I have the newer 740 taillights without these sockets its got a big like circuit board that isn't the ribbon board. And it doesnt have individual sockets and taillights dont work know anything about those ones vs ones in video

[@ernestogolla]

You just saved me a lot of money man.

[@fishyguy3914]

Sweet info ! just one mix up, what did you do to the two extra wires you end up with. theres only a brake, reverse, indicator and running light. but there is 6 wires .

[@crs290]

Do you have a wire for the rear fog lights?

[@aggwazup7939]

Why is there more wires on the stock driver side plug. On the passenger side I only have 3 where there's 6 on the driver side. So I'm confused on this project.

[@dueldisk68]

Any way I could wire the rear fog light switch into a switch for front fog lights?

[@ferris_xo396]

Where did you get your LED bulbs?!?!??!

[@DaniaBeech]

Super interested in the blue car on the passenger side of the 240. Old rotary Mazda? Thanks buddy!

[@nicolecato634]

Where did you get the green wires? What do you call the green wire? You connect the quick slides on the green wires to the quick slides on the labeled wires? Is this a rather dangerous procedure with the wires and ground wire?

[@moonglow1158]

So just add another yellow wire for your reverse .. should work right ?

[@Citroeniste]

Great Video!! I'd love to get the part #'s for those LED bulbs! Thanks!

[@wandawTube]

Nice video. Your explanations are clear and I can easily see what you're doing. You cut the tab on the bulb sockets to fit the 1/4" female connector. You said you don't like 3/8" connectors. I don't understand that. It sounds easier to avoid cutting tabs and use a bigger connector. Are the sizes too far off and there's not enough room for bigger connectors? That's my only guess.

[@crs290]

Could be that they're just not really common in most of the supply stores. I even went to a car stereo store with no luck. I had to order them.

[@anthonymanzo9880]

Thanks for the info. Just a suggestion, I think a daisy chain would have been a good solution, atleast I like using them looks clean.

[@eharken]

You mention not liking the 3/8" quick slides. If they fit (I'm assuming yes?) can I ask why the dislike? Is it something functional or would 3/8" work just as well. Thanks!

[@connorkisley8120]

Would a similar issue be present on 240 wagons, as well? I know the 245 taillight is shaped different but I keep getting the connection warning light on my dash and am wondering if ill have to do the same type of thing here, or even if it would work?

[@hectorlopez4365]

Please tell how to use the multimeter as a separate issue in the same video.

[@greg.marchand]

Did this today. Thanks for inspo.

[@LosAngelesCards]

You changed the bottom right socket which was white at the beginning of the video to which size? Is it the same size as the rest of them

[@ClappedOutGarage]

I changed the socket because I put an 1156 bulb in that spot instead of an 1157 like it originally had. A socket for an 1156 (single filament) and 1157 (dual filament) bulb both fit in that spot.

[@danielhinnerkopf4185]

Nowadays you could print your own sockets for the bulbs to connect it more easily... - but thanks, very good solution! ;-)

[@buburodriguez1]

Wow you are amazing sir!!!! Much respect and thanks!!!

[@AdrianMorse42069]

I wired everything up like you did in the vid, but lots my reverse lights? I noticed you hadn't done them. Is there an extra step needed to properly wire in the reverse lights?

[@lifeaccording2ethan]

hey man, dont know what car you have, but look into the slider inside your shifter (if in automatic) there is a metal plate on a piece of plastic that gets another piece slid onto it to activate the reverse lights, pretty sure mine is shot too

[@moonglow1158]

Life According 2 Ethan interesting . I disconnected the battery and cleaner that black ground and open the shifter triangle piece and cleaned thereet it dry 24 hrs and reconnected . I have spilt tea and coffee inside there over a 20 yr ownership . Might help your reverse lights and other things .

[@mrosemka9703]

Does anyone know where I can buy this green connect board ?

[@danielhowe4460]

Hi, what size ring terminals did you use for the ground connections? Thanks for this

[@ClappedOutGarage]

In this video I used a 5/16 ring connector for 10-12 AWG wire. As you can see it was way too big. i swapped it out for an 8-10 ring for 10-12 AWG wire after I re-did the ground connections with 18 AWG.

[@danielhowe4460]

Got it, thank you And love the vids! Can't wait to see how the Volvo truck turns out!

[@holtzboy242]

I did this same exact thing on Saturday. It looks like you wired the brake light to the upper "fog light" bulb too? Do the LED bulbs make the bulb failure relay/dash light freak out?

[@ClappedOutGarage]

On most cars (when looking at driver's side housing): the tail lights are the bottom left and the bottom right. brake light is bottom left (it's a dual filament so it's used for the tail lights and the brake lights). I wired the brake light in the same spot (bottom left) and the taillights in the bottom right and upper right. I think this looks a lot cooler at night, I'll try to get a clip of it in another video in the near future. The LED bulbs have not caused me any problems with the bulb failure sensor or anything like that.

[@thaddeauscaldwell7101]

@@ClappedOutGarage , great video . I've never done taillight wiring before. Am I understanding correctly....... Did you use a single filament bulb for the taillight and then a seperate single filament bulb for the brakelight? And then this would eliminate using all three prongs on the white bulb housing ? I'm doing the taillights on my 1990 240DL Sedan. Thank you.

[@DTDROB]

ruined my car thanks to this video. I don’t know shit about grounds or wires and there was hella steps skipped. now I don’t have lights at all. thanks!

[@ridinCLEAN97]

whens the next pickup build video coming?

[@ClappedOutGarage]

It is coming up. Right now we are making the bed, which is the longest part of the project so far. It's taking a lot of time. We also hit a roadblock because we needed another hatch to make the tailgate, but we finally found one. HOPEFULLY we will have the bed done in the next two weeks and then we'll have a video on that and a video on paint/reassembly afterwards to show the finished project.

[@ridinCLEAN97]

what about now

[@MrBrth]

Found this super helpful, thanks!

[@C0DZombies12]

Hey so I have a 1990 Volvo 760 TI Sedan but I went to pick up some parts from an 89 and we decided to get the taillights too but forgot to take the connectors/plugs, do you know where to find the plug to buy or how to convert the plug? Haven't seen anything to swap the lights but I'd love to swap to the 89 style lights

[@ClappedOutGarage]

If you mean the socket that the bulbs fit in, they are on all Volvo 200 and 700 series cars. You should be able to find them pretty easily at a junkyard. Also most online stores like FCPEuro should stock them relatively cheaply.

[@michaela6796]

Okay, I did it. Took longer than expected but I ran into a couple of issues and I am by no means skilled in electrical work. Only problem is my rear backup light isn't working at all. I checked the bulb, it's not the bulb. Now it's not getting power to that wire. I'm confused, I don't think I pulled or cut anything, and everything else works great. Help. EDIT: I just ran a wire from the driver side to the passenger side reverse light and they are all working. I even did the cool modification to make the two tail lights vertical. Thanks dude.

[@hectorlopez4365]

I did things as told, but it did not work, only the signal and the brake light works. What did I do wrong?

[@Mopar-mx4wv]

if you used leds take them out and put them facing oposite, led have to have power flowing a certain way

[@MrMundaa]

Need help lights new circuit boards. New bulbs. Al work fine except at night when I turn lights on fine except when I put blinkers on the they start acting crazy like some of them have blinking. Help help

[@h4z4rd42]

You have a typical ground problem. Clean ground connections and it wiil be fine.

[@hankhill1591]

Very very helpful, it really helped me fixed my taillight problems. Where did you buy those led lights. Thank you!

[@ClappedOutGarage]

You can get them from amazon or ebay.

[@coreym3821]

Sorry I did not mean to dislike your video. It helped me out so much! Thank you so much!

[@gabrielortiz5308]

My volvo 1989 non start matricula light

[@jamesgoddard871]

Thanks !

[@retrotech383]

nobody the brake pedal when i jam a shovel on it: life is pain

[@burundi-f4o]

👏👏👏. 🏆💯

[@SimonTekConley]

I would've rebuilt the board, and weather proofed it afterwards.

[@stefanpurington4251]

I replaced the taillight contacts... lol

[@lecustoms7351]

king

[@thmps724]

Just clean the contacts and put dielectric drease on them

[@ClappedOutGarage]

If your board is not in bad shape that will work short-term. However, if it's really worn then that won't work.

[@johnbecich9540]

Moderator of this video should have gotten his hands on a wiring diagram (Haynes Manual!) instead of cutting wires and deciphering this diagram on his own, at peril for errors. To wit, he says the red wire is a brake feed, and my diagram says that's a turn signal light feed; so if he's right, he should red-mark his wiring diagram. And so on. I'm going to convert my son's rear fog lights, which are never used, into more BRAKE lights, not tail lights. There are a couple of blank lens positions that can become additional tail lights. But, importantly, I will refrain from using any LEDs at all in tail light or turn signal positions, for two different reasons. Tail lights need to be LOW-intensity, so that when the brake pedal is depressed, the brake lights come on in with HIGH-intensity (per standard 1157 performance), and extreme contrast above the mild intensity of tail lights; LEDs preclude this possibility if used as tail lights because they're always highly intense. Moreover, LED turn signals are high resistance and the blinker system in this old car depends on the low resistance of incandescent bulbs, for proper operation; so I will use no LEDs for blinkers. Besides, the incandescents work FINE! Finally, I cannot locate, in the marketplace, an LED-compatible blinker, as I did for my Chevy Cavalier... so LEDs might be used only as replacements for 1156 (single-filament) brake lights; but I noticed a polarity problem in the conductive tape, for this scheme, too. Finally, since I'm new to this car, and since I've decided to inspect the brake lights on my son's car, I noticed a problem at the rear right dual-filament (1157 bulb) dual-purpose (tail light/brake light) position. The tail light was bright, and the brake light was dim, in exact opposite to what was proper. The proper 1157 bulb socket for this position is, itself, different from that of the left brake/tail position. They're laid out mutually reversed; the proper socket for the right position is WHITE and the proper socket for the left position is standard BLACK. If you're missing that white socket, as I was at first, you'll have a problem...

[@ClappedOutGarage]

Wiring varies depending on the year and model and some people don't have those books. This was way easier if you know anything about using a voltmeter.

[@crs290]

@@ClappedOutGarage I'd trust testing each light with a multimeter than a Hayne's manual any day of the week.

[@jamesebola1250]

I don't like those broken (bastardized) bulb sockets. I found out I can buy entire new light assy on the internet for around $ 35.

[@MrMundaa]

i oticed you didnt ention thesmal pencil lights that fit on the side imput new bulbs ((((((great video )))))))) how to tighten up transmission shifter how to take off ???

[@akauto2900]

They're called Spade connectors. Lol

[@saakey]

Nothing worse than not seeing the end result. Thumbs down for that part. And not showing us the 'final' clean-up of all those crazy wires.... so all-in-all, eh, not so great. Sorry bro