Abscate, Yes I thought of that but am a little afraid of mucking with the side airbags. I could pluck up my courage...but ought not to sink 3 whiskys first...
Is there a difference between airbag seats and non in the stitching? I would expect the airbag stitching needs to break more easily to let ...

I checked my notes more carefully and discovered the first code I recorded last year was not P0103 but rather P0445 - Evap valve signal. This Evap code no longer shows up. Very strange, but at least I know why I was not alerted to the MAF problem. Mischievous Greek God intervension? The old 850 runs ...

I suspect there are many factors involved with seat material longevity. If the driver gets in and out a dozen or more times a day - often the case with a young family in an urban environment, the wear on the outer faces of the seats will be extensive. Also, the size of the occupant's bottom will ...

Finally had time (April 2026) to get back to the 850 Volvo. Nothing had changed so I plugged in my little scan tool and it read P0103 "MAF" this time. This was a different read out from originally when it read "Air Flow circuit high input". I do not understand why the scanner would read the same ...

Thanks 122sPhil... you have given me a lot to chew on. I'll start by checking connections - grounds. In another week we change over to our winter vehicle, the Rover, so the need to solve this Volvo problem now recedes.

BTW, I had a 1969 122s that served me very well although I remember the under ...

Using a tire gauge to measure fuel rail pressure may have been misleading.
Bought a cheap fuel pressure gauge kit, hooked it up (which was not straight forward since the kit didn't have the correct connection to the 850 Schrader valve) and recorded the following data points. Not what I expected ...

Noticed something unexpected. Fuel pressure at cold startup and while running is about 40psi using a tire gauge. If the engine is shut down, within a minute or less there is almost no pressure measurable, just a quick squirt of fuel.
Surely the fuel rail should hold pressure for some time after the ...

Removed the big piping that allows air from the MAF collar to the throttle body - the lowest connection had partially disintegrated perhaps air was getting there? Repaired that connection carefully with inner tube wrapping and additional clamp (Replacement part from Rock Auto will be a Christmas ...

Thanks abscate, you are probably correct about the hoses...leaks.
Today, had a little time - I disconnected the battery (both terminals) pumped the brakes and waited about 10 minutes. Bang, the vehicle, warm, started up. It ran really roughly for a minute or two and then settled down. Seems this ...

Update... of sorts...
I don't understand why cleaning the MAF sensor caused a complete no start situation, but a few days later it started... residual cleaning fluid on sensor? Sounds unlikely. Anyhow, that problem seems to have gone away on its own!
Needed the vehicle and so chanced driving for ...