1990 240 dies while driving & after start

[abaumer]

Yesterday the wagon died while driving down the road. Had been driving for 30 minutes when it happened. So we did this:

1. tried manually throttling to get it to run. It cranked and ran for a few seconds then died.

2. Discovered the vac hose to the fuel pressure valve was toast! Walked to Ace, got a new piece, popped it on and tahdah! Runs great.

3. Drive another 5 minutes and dies again. Now can't get it to stay running at all and left it overnight in a parking lot.

4. Went this morning with some more gas, and filled up the tank (it had half a tank already). It started and ran fine. Drove it home.

SO...on a limited budget, what do I try to solve first? A couple other facts.

1. on key turn I can here the main fuel pump! Good.
2. fuel pressure vac line, new one, does maybe smell a little like gas and appears to be slightly deteriorated already - though not 100% sure the gas smell isn't my hands and the hose isn't just cheapo from Ace.
3. never had another noticeable problem

Was thinking to start with the fuel pressure valve replacement, since it's easy and hose there was bad, possibly indicating it had been leaking gas.

Any other ideas?? I'm a newb volvo owner.

[johnny volvo]

I've got a 1989 240 and I found a couple of things that may help:

There is an in-tank pump, which is what you're hearing when you turn the key on. This pumps gas to the main pump, underneath the car. On an 81 I had, the hose that extends into the tank had cracked. If the tank wasn't filled above the crack, the pump couldn't get the fuel up. When my tank was full, it ran fine. But, when it went below the crack, it would stall or not start.

Also, there should be a self-diagnostic tool toward the firewall on the driver side of the engine compartment. It's a small black box with a cover. If you lift the cover, you should see six holes. Take the probe from the cover and plug into number one. Hold the button until the red light flashes on. Then, release the button. If you see a series of flashing lights, it signals a malfunction. You should be able to find the codes on this site, I believe. That can tell you if there's another problem.