Car died while driving on the highway- NOT timing belt

sugarman · Post by **sugarman** » 10 Jun 2011, 22:04

Man, I LOVE this car but so disappointed (and a little embarrassed) that it left me stranded on the side of the highway.
2004 2.9 with 90k.
I was just cruising down the highway and it just started hesitating and then completely lost power- I put it in neutral and coasted off the highway and now it sits on a side street. Right before I put it in neutral I tried to give it gas put the rpms just kept going lower and lower. Once in neutral, engine just died and coasted to a stop.
I popped open the hood- nothing unusual, no smells, nothing loose... I checked the fuel pump fuse-ok. Checked the battery connection- tight.
I let it rest for a few minutes and tried to start it up- cranked over and ran for about 1 second and suddenly died.
Here is all I know
1/2 tank of gas
engine temp was fine
no computer warning or check engine lights came on
not the timing belt as I would have heard a violent noise
I took the fuel filler cap loose and re-tightened it.
Batter is only 9 months old
fuel pump replaced by dealer 9 months ago under recall

One thing I should mention- I doubt it has anything to do with it, but my darn computer keeps saying bulb position failure and just for the hell of it i held down the reset button to see if it would go away- then the car died right after that- I'm sure its just coincidental but thought I'd mention it anyway in-case i somehow messed with the computer.

I lost my job and would like to ride my scooter to it with my tools and see if I can check/test/repair it.
Please let me know where to start at least.
Thanks!

sugarman · Post by **sugarman** » 11 Jun 2011, 13:49

Update:
Well, I was going to do a fuel pressure check but decided to go over there on my scooter with a handful of tools first to see about doing simple things like disconnect/reconnect the battery. The first thing I did was to crank it over. It turned over normal speed and after a few seconds it wasn't starting, so I kept cranking it but now I mashed down on the accelerator and not only did it start but it kept going! It seemed to idle faster than normal for a bit then gradually went down to normal speed.
I took it for a slow test drive. It didn't idle funny and it drove fine. After the engine was at normal operating temp I gunned it a few times- no hesitation at all. Drove perfectly normal. What the ???
I'm happy I don't have to have it towed into a shop (where I feel I'm at shop's mercy) but now I obviously have an intermittent problem which are a PITA to diagnose. There are no display messages on the dash and all seems fine.
Now what should I do? take it somewhere to have it hooked up to a computer? I would think that there is a short or a sensor that is going out but not at all sure..

archie777 · Post by **archie777** » 12 Jun 2011, 04:59

Could be the ETM malfunctioning. Also the MAF.

sugarman · Post by **sugarman** » 13 Jun 2011, 13:04

Update:

So today I thought I'd drive it around and see if I could get the computer code read. Auto part stores said if the check engine didn't come on then there will be no codes to read. I still don't have an explanation of why it died so decided to go home and find a volvo shop near my house. On the way home I noticed my turn signals stopped working, and the lights on the dash are very dim. The a/c blower is stilling fine, head lights fine (brights now not working).
Found a shop and took it over. They said first off, the alternator is only putting out 12.5 volts. They then said they would need to keep it and do more research to see if that doesn't solve the other problems what else could be the cause.
Stay tuned..

sugarman · Post by **sugarman** » 15 Jun 2011, 05:42

Well the mechanic said he tightened something up behind/close to the fuse block and replaced some blown fuses. Now all the electrical stuff is working fine but the car stalled on my again today.

Although the gas gauge reads over half tank I decided to take a couple gallons of fuel over to it. I crank it up- no dice. Pour in the fuel and sure enough- it starts!
So I don't know what to say about the previous electrical issues- maybe that mechanic did fix that part and it was just coincidental that happened at the same time as this apparent fuel delivery problem.
So now I think I can narrow down the stalling issue to either a faulty fuel pump or a clogged fuel filter.

zeiglerr · Post by **zeiglerr** » 15 Jun 2011, 20:51

I've been dealing with the same thing, and found that I could remove the fuel pump relay and put in a switched jumper and the car runs. That means it's an CEM problem. Last fall, my dealer reloaded my CEM software as a recall, because the car had been stalling. He said at the time that the variable valve timing solenoid (VVT) was probably sending a wrong signal to the CEM, shutting the car down. About a month ago, the car started stalling again, with other computer symptoms, like the wipers going on and off by themselves, radio changing channels, horn honking, interior lights coming on, and "urgent SRS service required" warning. My daughter brought the car to me saying it was posessed! I'm having the CEM flashed and software reloaded tomorrow to see if the fuel pump will run with the relay. They will also read any stored codes to try to find out what trashed the CEM software. I'll let you know, but if you Google "Volvo CEM repair" or CEM problems, you'll see we're not alone. I'm guessing that the software only recall will not solve the safety problems of sudden stalling, and that there will be a hardware recall at some point.
Good luck, Reid

sugarman · Post by **sugarman** » 16 Jun 2011, 17:32

Well decided to take it into the dealer.
Dealer diagnosis- "fuel tank level float stuck on a wire giving false reading"
So my gauge was saying half full but was on empty...
Not sure if this occurred because of the fuel pump recall service a few months back or not.
They didn't charge me for the diagnosis/service.