No start, no spark? I'm thinking ignition coil...

[850_GLT_Owner]

I tested the camshaft connection before swapping out the ignition coil, looked to be on the high side but was less than 500ohms. Its going to snow tomorrow so i don't know what i'll be able to do.

To recap:

Everything was working fine, then..
Wet weather, ignition coil wire somehow ended up off of the distributor cap. Reconnected wire to distributor cap, still no spark.
Replaced Cap, rotor, spark plugs all brand new. still no spark
Exchanged wires off of my 93, still no change.
Tested camshaft sensor with shitty multimeter, around 500ohms.
Replaced coil with old but functional coil, started right up. Shut it off, reconnected airbox, maf, etc. Restarted car, ran a little rough, shifted into reverse, instantly died.
No spark again, sounds just like it did before i swapped out all of those parts..no hint of spark.


One other thing..There is that buzzing noise thats near the fuel schrader valve underneath the black cover. After i tried cranking, i remove the key and it still is buzzing for a good 30 seconds.
Also, when the car was started, the check engine light did not come on.

"Make sure the sensor wires are as far as possible away from the ignition coil to distributor wire." What could happen when these wires are too close? That might be the biggest hint to my problem. The wire was completely off the cap, and much closer to those wires than normal.

I can't be frying coils that easily right?

[jblackburn]

Could be the sensor wires - interference between the ignition wire and those leads to an erratic signal which leads to no spark or rough running. Zip tie those two as far away as possible.

The IAC valve shouldn't be buzzing after you shut the key off; something's going on there too. Don't know what to tell you about that.

[bouldergeek]

This sounds exceptionally similar to what happened to my 850R wagon the other day. We had it towed to the Volvo specialist that has done a lot of engine and electrical work for this car.

Waiting to hear back on what they find. Hoping it is something small and easy, rather than wedged turbo, computer or other.

I'll post what my finding is. I initially suspected fuel pump, but after much cranking, I did smell fuel up front. However, no sense of ignition.

I had my plugs, wires and rotor replaced last year. Pulled air filter. Checked plug wire connections. Reseated ECM modules. <shrug>

[850_GLT_Owner]

Thanks, that should help me alot.

The one symptom i was having before all of this went down was poor starting when the engine was warm. Hopefully i can do what was happening justice.

I would turn the key, it would crank over a few times sounding normal, then i'd hear a noise of something disengaging(starter or flywheel). I'd let off the key and the whirr would stop with a very distinct but not horrible sounding clunk. I'd get on the key again and this would either happen again or it would restart. only happens when the engine had already been running recently. Cold starts were no problem.

If its not the crankshaft position sensor i'm hoping its the IAC, because it seems pretty straight forward and easy to clean. I don't know why it wouldn't cause the car to start though. If the crankshaft sensor/ definitely shot, would my Tach stay at 0 those few seconds i did get it started? What can i learn from the fact that the car starts up on pretty much my first attempt of the day, and then quickly dies to not restart again?

Also, i just pulled the codes and reset them. Crankshaft sensor code(don't think it was reset since i replaced it, though the replacement was old..but previously working)MAF sensor signal to high(unplugged maf sensor, no difference in condition) and misfire cylinder 1.I cleared the codes... Can force a system retest without getting the car fully started?

[850_GLT_Owner]

Ok.Still no start. Have cleaned IAC, still buzzing(consistently with key at position II, continues after i remove the key(after cranking). Couldn't get it to start at all today(unlike previous days). Replaced the camshaft sensor with the old one, still no change.

So far swapped cap, rotor, wires, ignition coil, ignition wire, camhshaft sensor,cleaned IAC. I took a video of my car cranking to see if i might be suffering from "lawn mower syndrome" since when my car initially died, it was only on for say, 10-12 seconds, and really hasn't stayed on for more than 45 seconds since i've had this problem. I've seen a post on these boards saying the cranking will sound faster. Well, since my car hasn't had this problem before, I'm having a hard time telling if it sounds fast..so, i took a video of it. I thought the cranking sounded fine, but i could be wrong.

[jblackburn]

Still no spark from the plugs?

[850_GLT_Owner]

No spark at the plugs, or from the ignition wire(i tested it by cranking and holding the end up to a strut bolt). Using my fancy new multimeter, i put the positive lead on the red wire, negative lead to the strut bolt. Got about 9.7V from there...11.7 from the battery. When i replaced my camshaft sensor, i just unbolted it from the GLT and replaced it in the R, and did nothing else. I made sure to put it in the same direction as it came off my 93. The black plastic under the sensor was in a different place, not sure if I should have moved anything around. The plugs were wet with fuel, but with no spark from the coil there is no chance anything is going through to the plugs regardless.

How do i test the crankshaft sensor properly? It is my understanding that you keep it connected and pull back the plastic covering(in my case, electircal tape) and then i'm not sure. Do i need to strip a bit of wire? I was kind of poking and prodding around when i tested it before, but i had also unplugged it from its harness. In other words, i wasn't really sure what i was doing when testing the sensors. I know i tested the battery and ignition coil properly.

Is there any method to testing the sensors when they are off the car? Does autozone/anywhere do this kind of testing? I have both original cam and crank sensors. I have a hunch that the crankshaft sensor may have fouled up somehow during this fiasco(also, it is the only part that hasn't been replaced since this whole thing when down..but it was replaced a few weeks ago...again with an old part)

[jblackburn]

Unplug the connector to it and test resistance at the plug. The crankshaft sensor may fluctuate between 200-500 ohms when cranking. I don't know if your meter will be able to read that quickly enough, but you should (hopefully) see the values changing at least.

[850_GLT_Owner]

The rain/snow has finally let up for a few hours, and its not freezing cold out, so i'm going out to check on it. I have a few questions before i go back at it.

1. If its an alarm issue, the engine won't crank, correct?
2. The video above shows my tach not moving while cranking. I didn't think it was supposed to move. I've seen a few posts saying that it is. Can someone give me a definitive answer. Also, the few times it started for less than a minute, the RPMs were moving. Check out the video and see if it looks odd.

3. is there anyway to force a code sweep on this car? I cleared them a few days ago and have not got it started since/not had any new codes. I replaced my crank sensor on Feb 7. Last time i got codes was either feb 23 or 24.

[manusdei113]

How there been a solution for this yet. I have the same issue with my 850. I replaced the cam and crank sensor. The Ignition Coil tested fine. I am thinking it is a short in the wiring harness, but I cant find any short yet.