s40 volvo yr 2000 sometimes car not starting

[robmeister]

Thanks for that and sorry if this is a stupid question. By 'on top of the transmission' do you mean inside the car and inside the gear selector housing or do you mean the mechanical transmission system which is presumably accessible from underneath the car? BTW, I have tried moving the selector back and forth 20 or so times in case something is sticking. Thanks !

[karlitos]

I've had this same problem for the last 8 months, but yesterday it didn't start and today is not starting.....it makes a sound like the starter relay is working but starter is not, I will try this first and then neutral sensor. Wish me luck. (Sorry for the english, my native language is spanish).

[booboo22]

Hi,
It is mounted on top the the transmission housing, which is when you have the hood up and are looking at the engine it is on the right side of the engine just about where the transmission meets the engine. It should be held on with one or two bolts. You can keep moving the selector but that is where the problem lays with the neutral sensor being bad, it makes the car still think it is in gear so the car won't start. (I am explaining this from the person who replaced the switch in my car.) I hope this is your problem because I wasted alot of money on this car to find out this was the problem.

Karlitos-Yep had the same problem car sat for 2 days not starting. Car made the same sound too when going to start it. I replace the starter (even though my neighbor said it wasn't that) thinking it might be that, and figured after all the time we spent trying to start it we might have ruined it, but still turned out to be the neutral sensor. Have not had a problem with car ever since. Keep us posted!!

[tsc1015]

Also look at the CEM, a lot of stuff runs through it and when it goes bad it can cause all kind of problems (both intermittent and persistent)

[elborba]

Hey all,
I'm in on this thread as a fellow traveler on the intermittent won't start highway of perpetual Swedish frustration.
I replaced the starter four days ago.
Today was the hottest day in the last six months and after driving to my godson's birthday the car would not start.
This has been going on for three years and I've replaced everything.
Fiddled under the hood and in the in-cabin fusebox for 20 minutes.
The last thing that I did was to pull out the "engine" 10amp fuse in the cabin fusebox and re-seat it. Then it started. Don't know if there's any correlation.
What I am desperate to know is this:

Have the previous posters in this thread established with any certainty that this is a problem with the neutral relay switch?

I've put in many many hours and easily $1000 in parts and occasional futile service visits to the dealership and several "V40 whisperers" and am about to set the piece of crap on fire and push it off of a cliff.

PLEASE someone reassure me that this is definitely a problem with the neutral relay and save the life of a V40 named Beaker...

Thanks all!

Brandon

[tl-s40_2002]

I needed to join this conversation about S40's not starting, I own a 2002 S40 and seem to be having the same issue being discussed here. I have own my car for a year now and have experienced the same problems with the car sometimes not starting. When turning the key all lights come on but the starter does not crank, this happens usually after the initial start of the day, and can happen after a few min of driving or after hours of driving-it rears up so sporadically that it's driving me crazy. When this does occur I usually have to leave the car for over 30 min before I can get it started though there have been times when Iit would not start, I then will wait between a 1/12- 2 hours before getting it started. I have replaced the Key and know that the battery, starter, etc are good. I do notice that when the issue occurs it usually is in a place where a lot of electronic signals i.e (automatic doors from a groceries store, controlled parking lots, automatic garage doors, etc) and it seems that these signals are effecting the starting. I am really starting to lean toward the immobilizer as the issue-the signals seem to be effecting the normal communication signal the key sends to the ECM. I have also been told that the antenna ring (the ring around the key slot could be going bad too.
Has anybody been able to actual fix this issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
T

[booboo22]

I can tell you I had the car for 4 months and changed everything as you can see by my prior posts and still had the starting problem. I now have owned the car over 9 months and after changing the Neutral Relay Switch the car has never done it again. I drove myself crazy thinking it too was the cell phone, car door opener, and so on. It would do it if the can ran for 5 minutes or 30 minutes. My neighbor finally fixed it after I spent tons of money on the starter, battery, iginiton. He said that when switch goes bad the car does not think it is in park so the engine will not crank over. I have copied this from another web site to explain alittle. (An important car electrical component is the neutral safety switch. This switch disables the starter operation when the vehicles transmission is not in neutral or park. If the engine was allowed to start in gear the car would immediately begin to move once the engine started. Neutral safety switches are equipped on automatic transmission vehicles only.) So like I said if the car does not think it is in park (because the switch is bad) the car will not start. I hope this helps.

[tl-s40_2002]

Hey all,

booboo22- may be on to something with there recommended fix. After a little research and analyzing my No Starting encounters, I am going to try replacing the Neutral Safety Switch . I will keep updating everyone here on the forum once I get the part installed, which will be in a few weeks. ( I am unemployed). I do notice when attempting to start and if I put the car in neutral I here something trying to energize when turning the key..

Part Code for any 01-04 S/V 40:#30896813, different names the part goes by: PNP Switch Gear Indicator Switch For automatic transmission, Neutral safety switch (aka PNP switch)
Price is $119.25 from dealer and between $90-100.00 through online parts stores.
Dealer recommended install time is 1.2 Hrs

I will update my status once I get the part replaced.

thanks all

[shores]

Wed my car pulled the not starting trick on me again. It had to set for an hour before it would start. It was August the last time I had this issue. Today I changed out the PNP Switch Gear Indicator Switch. So I am hoping this is the last time I am posting about this!!!!

[mys40volvo]

I have similar problem. i have 2001 volvo s40. intermittently, fuse labeled "ecm for immobilizer, engine relay" got blown. have not brought to dealer yet. Pepboys thinks it is the starter.

i feel it is the Neutral Safety Switch because before it happened ( three times so far: july, august, and sep, about a month apart), i felt something in the key as i switch it off.

Booboo22, can i replace the "neutral safety switch" myself? i could not find the part in fcpgroton nor Ipd. Autozone has it but it is made by Duralast ($97), i think i want to give it a try if i can change it myself.

thanks.