Cold Weather Drama

liamket · Post by **liamket** » 21 Jan 2007, 21:16

'95 850 Turbo Wagon - USA, 156,000 miles

January has finally hit in full swing in the northeast and with the cold temperatures have come problems with my car. Before explaining the problem it should be explained that i have been told by a mechanic that I should replace my vacuum hoses, as they are leaking or broken or cracked or something. The result of this is that the engine runs leaner, hotter, with less power, and i get better gas mileage. I chose not to fix them because of the last two reasons. It's an old engine and i don't feel the need to push it to the limit, and the better gas mileage has been a plus. I keep an eye on the temp gauge and the engine does not overheat.

several days ago i went out to start the car in 4 degree F weather and it took forever. the battery is perfectly fine and the engine cranks over. However, there is no combustion. if i hold the ignition in the start position and crank the engine, after about 6 or 7 turns i may get a faint combustion or two and then nothing. Try again, i may get nothing or i may get one or two (crank, crank, crank, crank, boom, boom, crank crank crank etc - although the boom is more of a wheeze) I so this 20 or so times make a little progress, engine starts to catch, i get it going but it dies, i keep working it and finally it starts up. Now, it's a pain in the butt to do this as it took 15 minutes or so and it's freezing but i've just been dealing with it. However, today (8 degrees) i spent 20 minutes trying to get it to go and it was almost there but the battery gave out. Even when it was being jumped, it took 5-10 tries.

obviously, the gasoline is not vaporizing and combusting in the chambers. I've tried pumping the gas pedal a few times to try and get some gas up in there but without too much luck.

Is it an issue of the vacuum hoses? is it a throttle/carburation/choke issue? Is there something i can do to help it get going, or do i need to have some repairs take place?

Lastly, after the first time this happened, i got 20 minutes into the trip and the check engine light came on. It stayed on for several days but went off today. Today i also got much worse gas mileage compared to what i've been getting (20.5 compared to 26ish)

any help would be appreciated

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 21 Jan 2007, 21:55

Certainly could be vacuum hoses. I would also check your fuel pump relay (#103 under the relay/fuse cover...you have to take 4 torx screws out as it's not actually visible without doing this). These have been known to go with age in very cold weather. Actually what happens is fine cracks in the solder...cold weather contracts them away from the joints....then you have an intermittent connection within the relay itself.

CarVolvo · Post by **CarVolvo** » 21 Jan 2007, 23:13

If your vacuum hoses were leaking badly you should not have a problem starting.. you will have a problem with it maintaining idle.

Follow MIJ's tips... the relays sometimes makes your car starting a bit like russian roulette.. it might or might not start depending on the turn of the key.

Of course leaking vac hoses wont help the situation either. Go to your local parts store and ask for ... winshield wiper hose.. and replace the obvious hoses you see..specially the fuel regulator hose which is nicely hidden under the intake. Cheap fix for good mileage and performance.

Believe me if the weather has been as cold as the southern Ontario region... you better get it fixed or you will definitly freeze... brrrrrrrr

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 22 Jan 2007, 04:39

One thing I didn't mention that is worth checking is the key ignition tumbler. It seems I'm reading about more and more of these going bad. Once you're running, try wiggling your key. If you shut off, it could be a bad tumbler. They aren't as expensive as one would think and also not as difficult to replace as you might think either.

Post by **luketrash** » 22 Jan 2007, 06:34

The symptoms also sound similar to when my car had that bad fuel injector, meaning that for whatever reason, maybe your fuel pressure is not able to get up to where it needs. And in my case, I was leaking fuel while driving, so that'd explain bad gas mileage.

I was able to smell fuel when I was sitting at a stop light though.

liamket · Post by **liamket** » 22 Jan 2007, 07:01

i tend to think that's more in the direction of the problem. Somehow the engine either isn't getting enough fuel, or isn't getting enough pressure. As i try over and over again thought, it gets closer and closer to starting. This would seem to rule out a loose connection somewhere.

Post by **luketrash** » 22 Jan 2007, 16:53

In a Volvo 240 I had, a fuel pressure valve that was part of the fuel pump failed, so fuel pressure would slowly fall after I shut the car off.. it took forever to get it started.. I don't think that would affect fuel mileage though.