93 Volvo 850 bad start in cold weather

guy200 · Post by **guy200** » 04 Dec 2006, 12:05

I have a 93 Volvo 850 (20V) that runs just fine, but when temp is cold outside is having problem starting up.
When I turn the ignition key, the engine starts and then immediately stalls. It takes me sometimes 10 minutes to start the car.
I also noticed that just before the engine finally starts, there's a noise (some kind of buzz possibly from a relay) from somewhere behind the dashboard. Whenever I hear it I know the engine will then start.
This problem happens only in cold weather. Got any ides?

Thanks,
Guy

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Dec 2006, 18:23

I also noticed that just before the engine finally starts, there's a noise (some kind of buzz possibly from a relay) from somewhere behind the dashboard. Whenever I hear it I know the engine will then start.

Guy,

You obviously have a worn out buzzer.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. The buzz is most likely your fuel pump relay which is actually located - sort of - in the fuse box under the hood. You need to take the torx screws out of the fuse box cover to access it. It is relay #103.

They go bad often.

...Lee

aloggia · Post by **aloggia** » 08 Dec 2006, 12:21

guy200 wrote:I have a 93 Volvo 850 (20V) that runs just fine, but when temp is cold outside is having problem starting up.
When I turn the ignition key, the engine starts and then immediately stalls. It takes me sometimes 10 minutes to start the car.
I also noticed that just before the engine finally starts, there's a noise (some kind of buzz possibly from a relay) from somewhere behind the dashboard. Whenever I hear it I know the engine will then start.
This problem happens only in cold weather. Got any ides?

Thanks,
Guy

I am having the exact same problem with my 98 XC! It started last year and I thought maybe the car needed a tune up. I had the 100K mile maintainance done which replaced the plugs, air filter and some other stuff (pcv maybe). The emission system seemed to be fine (it passed my states emission test for vehicle renewal). I had another part replaced, the name of which I can't remember; the part controls how much air goes into engine. Well, none of that worked and when the weather got warmer, the problem went away. I hope this is the problem so I can get it fixed once and for all!

Ozark Lee - this relay you speak of, can I get this part at a local car store or is this a special order from a Volvo dealer? Is it easy to replace? I've done fuses before but not relays.

I'll poke around on this site for a picture or instructions on replacing this.

Thanks!

Andy

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 08 Dec 2006, 20:37

Relay's are specific for Volvo's (for the most part). If trouble when cold I would suspect bad solder joints in the relay that contract and cause issue as they shrink in the cold. Carefully open the relay and inspect and resolder the joints if necessary. This way you may be able to avoid buying a new relay.

guy200 · Post by **guy200** » 08 Dec 2006, 22:36

Hi everybody,
Just wanted you to know, that thanks to Lee I found the problem. It was indeed the #103 relay that gone bad! I even managed to fix it. Here is what you need to do if you have the same problem:
1. Pop the cover off and carefully examine the little circuit board.
2. Look around every solder connection, especially the larger components and
terminals for tiny hairline crack that forms a circle right where the solder meets the component lead.
3. If you locate one, simply flow some fresh rosin-core solder from a decent hot soldering iron into the joint and resolder it. It's probably a good idea to resolder everything once you are in there, as there aren't that many joints.
4. Look for bad contacts on the relay part itself, intermittent (open) relay coil, or intermittent component failure. (Junction breakdown on a Transistor, etc)
5. while you are in there, Replace the capacitors. This is extremely important. The capacitors in my case were the problem. They became temp sensitive and simply stop performing in low temp. After I replaced them and reinstalled the relay the engine starts great!!!

Guy

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 08 Dec 2006, 22:58

Glad you figured it out and solved your problem. Did you take any pictures? Would also like to know which resistors, and where you got them.

guy200 · Post by **guy200** » 08 Dec 2006, 23:21

The problem was with the capacitors not the resistors. They capacitors look like the one in the pic. There are 2 of them solderd on the circuit board. These are very common capacitors so you can locate them at your local electronic technician shop.

Guy

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 09 Dec 2006, 06:55

Very good info! Thanks. This is going in the repair database!

Post by **luketrash** » 09 Dec 2006, 11:25

This is good to know.. I can sling solder, but I failed out of electrial engineering ;0) I never would have thought to replace the capacitors, but it makes sense that they give up the ghost at low temperatures with the electrolyte getting thicker and thicker.

aloggia · Post by **aloggia** » 15 Dec 2006, 20:25

Hey all - I wanted to let everyone know that replacing the relay seemed to have fixed my problem as well. It's been warm here in VA and I won't feel 100% confident until the temps go down to 30 degrees but I'm at 99% now. I took the easy way out and bought a new one; I didn't feel like messing with solder.

Nonetheless, I opened up the relay and took pictures. Hopefully the posted correctly...
Here's the front of it:

Here is the side (with the capacitors guy recommends replacing). They are on the right:

Here is the back:

Thanks for the help again - this one was really perplexing me. I was so stoked to get this done, it has lead to a string of minor car repairs that have been bugging me for months (burned out radio and gear shift lights). I'm off to the next one, the always popular rattling tailgate....

Andy