After I resoldered my OD relay a few days ago, I decided to check on the passenger side seat heater switch as well. I took it apart and found out that it was completely oxidized to the point that the movement of the small parts inside was impossible. The small lightbulb that`s inside is burnt out and melted but somehow the seatheater works now. Anyways, as I was messing around at the handbrake/seatheater /shifter area removing all those plastic parts and switches, I inspected the
OD`s wires that come from underneath the relays/fusebox ,
through the rubber shifter boot and
up all the way to the 5th gear button on top of the shifter. I noticed that the connection near the fusebox was loose and both wires were so much hardened that I couldn`t even bend them. They cracked when I touched it (inside the rubber boot). Days ago I was about to order a 4th gear switch and a relay as well from ipd but today my od problem seems to be solved finally! I removed the aged heat shrink cover with the old plugs along with the cracked-burned wires. I used new wires and plugs to make sure they will not ground anywhere again causing me fake tranny problems. : ) Lesson learned.
If you have m46 od issues, peel the shifter completely of all parts and inspect ALL wiring before you start worrying condemning your OD. I tested the od and it worked fine! ((At least I checked the fluid levels and learned a lot again about the M46 manual transmission (4-speed + Laycock de Normanville overdrive))). The green dash light came up happily so I finished the job with installing all dash covers and parts of shifter back.
What a pain to get all that wiring into the tight shifter! I realized only later that the shifter knob was pushed down too much so it wasn`t easy to put the car into reverse. I also got surprised how much of greasy dust had accumulated on the shifter at the base where it moves down there… I had to remove lots of dust/hair/sand mixed with old grease to free the junction for some fresh synthetic ball-bearing grease. Oh, what a difference it makes! Now the shifter moves freely, goes into 1st and 2nd much lighter and reverse is easier too. Proper lubrication and the freedom of moving for all the shifter`s parts.
I would love to get a new spring for the shifter btw (for the reverse) so it would be more comfortable to not to have to push that black thing down after getting out of reverse. All Volvos I drove had that thing `jump` down immediately but mine doesn`t. They even have that typical click sound to it. I also could not figure out how to get to that spring for removal but that`s not a big thing now. I will also buy a new 5th gear button so the `5` will be visible on the shifter. That would help me out explaining the tranny for curious observers and unbelieving passengers.
Thank you for your attention and all previous suggestions on fixing my m46 od issue!
Image03052013183248.jpg
Image03072013224158.jpg
Image03102013202402.jpg
Image03102013212842.jpg
Image03102013200552.jpg