1998 V70XC Starting Problems

dslonski · Post by **dslonski** » 13 Mar 2014, 20:04

Hi everyone, I have a 1998 Volvo XC70 with 222k miles on it and just at the start of this year have been having some problems with it. The car was idling extremely rough (like a Harley) and now it doesn't start
Back in January, I was driving on the highway and I noticed my check engine light starting to flash. I pulled over and the check engine light stayed on, but stopped flashing. Once I was pulled over, I noticed the car was idling very rough. Checked all the fluids and everything to make sure it was low on anything but everything was at perfect level. I began driving again and noticed that the check engine would only flash once the car was over 2000 RPM so I kept it down below that and drove home down the breakdown lane. The next day I took the car to Autozone to have someone read it with one of those ODB code readers. After plugging it into the car, 5 codes came up: Cylinder 1 Misfire, Cylinder 3 Misfire, Random Cylinder Misfire, Secondary Air Injection System, Mass or Volume Flow Circuit Low.
The people at autozone suggested I change the spark plugs and if that doesn't work, then the spark plug wires. I changed the spark plugs and didn't notice any change in how the car ran. It still idled really rough and loud. It reminded me of how a Harley Davidson idles.
Next I ordered the bosch spark plug wires from FCP. Once i changed those, everything went all downhill. I tried starting it and it sounded like it was trying to turn over but it wouldn't start. I checked to make sure the wires were in the right spot of where they needed to go into the distributor cap and it turns out that I had two of them mixed up. I switched those wires so they were in the proper order. The car still didn't start. My next move was to see if the ignition coil was bad. My parents have a 1998 S70 at home so i decided to send the ignition coil back home and have my dad put it in that car and see if it gave him any problems. He swapped out the ignition coils and said the car ran fine with no problems. He bubble wrapped it and then mailed it back to me where I turned to replacing the distributor cap. When i took the cap off, I inspected the rotor and it didn't seem to have any serious wear or carbon buildup on it so I just put a new bosch cap on and plugged all the wires back in the correct spots carefully. The car still doesn't start and has now been sitting in my parking lot for over a month now and I dont know what the problem could be. I've been surfing the internet a lot to find possible problems and found that it could maybe be the cam sensor? I turn to you guys though for assistance as I am no mechanic by any means. I'm a college student at West Virginia University and money is really tight, especially having already put new wires, a distributor cap, and spark plugs in the car. PLEASE if you have any ideas what might be wrong.
Thank you to those of you who spent the time reading this post. Its a lot to explain and I wasn't sure how to word it.
Thank you again,
Dave

AVIP · Post by **AVIP** » 13 Mar 2014, 20:51

First let me say that's my dream car so if you're ever selling

Second what your describing can be a couple of things but check these first. The MAF is a common perp of these symptoms. Do you know when (or if) it has been replaced? To test it you unplug the maf and start the car. If it runs better then with it plugged in the mass air flow sensor is bad. It is located right next to the airbox.

The next I'd check is for vacuum leaks. Go back up to AZ buy yourself some cheap valucraft carb cleaner and douse the lines while it is running. When the idle changes you know you have a leak. So pull that line and replace it. Usually pretty cheap

Also Volvos I5 run best with volvo copper plugs and bougicord wires. You will notice a difference.

Post by **stephansvolvo** » 13 Mar 2014, 20:59

dslonski wrote:Hi everyone, I have a 1998 Volvo XC70 with 222k miles on it and just at the start of this year have been having some problems with it. The car was idling extremely rough (like a Harley) and now it doesn't start
Back in January, I was driving on the highway and I noticed my check engine light starting to flash. I pulled over and the check engine light stayed on, but stopped flashing. Once I was pulled over, I noticed the car was idling very rough. Checked all the fluids and everything to make sure it was low on anything but everything was at perfect level. I began driving again and noticed that the check engine would only flash once the car was over 2000 RPM so I kept it down below that and drove home down the breakdown lane. The next day I took the car to Autozone to have someone read it with one of those ODB code readers. After plugging it into the car, 5 codes came up: Cylinder 1 Misfire, Cylinder 3 Misfire, Random Cylinder Misfire, Secondary Air Injection System, Mass or Volume Flow Circuit Low.
The people at autozone suggested I change the spark plugs and if that doesn't work, then the spark plug wires. I changed the spark plugs and didn't notice any change in how the car ran. It still idled really rough and loud. It reminded me of how a Harley Davidson idles.
Next I ordered the bosch spark plug wires from FCP. Once i changed those, everything went all downhill. I tried starting it and it sounded like it was trying to turn over but it wouldn't start. I checked to make sure the wires were in the right spot of where they needed to go into the distributor cap and it turns out that I had two of them mixed up. I switched those wires so they were in the proper order. The car still didn't start. My next move was to see if the ignition coil was bad. My parents have a 1998 S70 at home so i decided to send the ignition coil back home and have my dad put it in that car and see if it gave him any problems. He swapped out the ignition coils and said the car ran fine with no problems. He bubble wrapped it and then mailed it back to me where I turned to replacing the distributor cap. When i took the cap off, I inspected the rotor and it didn't seem to have any serious wear or carbon buildup on it so I just put a new bosch cap on and plugged all the wires back in the correct spots carefully. The car still doesn't start and has now been sitting in my parking lot for over a month now and I dont know what the problem could be. I've been surfing the internet a lot to find possible problems and found that it could maybe be the cam sensor? I turn to you guys though for assistance as I am no mechanic by any means. I'm a college student at West Virginia University and money is really tight, especially having already put new wires, a distributor cap, and spark plugs in the car. PLEASE if you have any ideas what might be wrong.
Thank you to those of you who spent the time reading this post. Its a lot to explain and I wasn't sure how to word it.
Thank you again,
Dave

There's a lot of info in this post link. Just another place to look.
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=61109

Post by **rspi** » 13 Mar 2014, 22:51

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum.

The first thing I think you should do it watch the video below called "Spark Plug Order". That will tell you if the wires are on right.

Second, watch the "No Start Trouble Shooting". You need to KNOW if the car is getting SPARK, FUEL PRESSURE and COMPRESSION.

Then, watch the misfire video. I also linked a MAF cleaning video that I just put together.

My guess is that something went wrong, the MAF failed, a valve burnt, or some other problem occurred that made the car run rough. After that, a few things may have happened to make things worse, like you installed the wires in the wrong order, then you flooded the car and washed down the pistons. So there is a chance that you have low compression now which will make it impossible to start the car.

After watching the videos, make sure the BATTERY IS CHARGED UP (take it to the auto parts store for a FREE charge if necessary). Then pull the spark plugs and let the cylinders air out for at least 2 hours to make sure there is not any raw fuel in there. Then put the plugs back in and make sure the wires are on correctly. Then unplug the MAF and try to start the car. Hold the key for up to 30 seconds to see if it starts. If it starts let it run for at least 5 minutes before you shut it off. Then plug the MAF back in and try to start it again. If it doesn't start then, you know you have a bad MAF (high chances).

At any rate, come back here and ask all the questions you need to.