97 Volvo 850 Starter Issue & Next Steps

[gowa_goes]

Hi All,

I was just 600 miles from home and went to start my 97 850 NA 5-Speed with 88k miles and....nothing. Battery was perfect, oil new, fuel pump activated, etc., but the starter wouldn't activate or make a sound until I tapped it with a wrench and finally it fired up perfectly. Started it about 10 times since and no problems.

I will now test that it's getting 12v. The question is, if it is in fact getting proper voltage, do I:

A. Just replace the starter
B. Get the starter/solenoid tested
C. Leave it in and always travel with that wrench...write it off as a fluke
Or a combo of the above or something else?

Many thanks,
Steve

[abscate]

E None of the above.



Ignition switch, electrical part is often the culprit here. I believe your 1997 has the starter bypass wire in the engine room - Ill let the experts here help you find that.

[Ozark Lee]

If it worked after you smacked it that typically means that the starter motor brushes have worn out to a point where they are no longer reliably contacting the armature. While you could try to find new brushes it will be a daunting task, finding them that is. The typical solution in your case is A, just replace the starter. I have had good luck with rebuilt starters from the chain auto parts stores, they are always rebuilt Bosch OEM starters. I have had to swap the brackets on a couple of them to make them bolt up correctly.

It will get worse as things progress but I have milked 6 months or so out of similarly situated starters. It just gets to be a PITA to go smack the starter every other time you want to start the car.

Since you have a 5 speed you don't have a PNP switch that causes the typical dead starter grief.

...Lee

[jreed]

I had similar symptoms but in my case the cause of the no crank was a corroded positive battery cable near the positive battery terminal. The next time your car won't crank it would be a good idea to do a voltage drop test between the positive battery terminal and the positive terminal on the starter solenoid to verify that the voltage isn't being dissipated in the cable or connections. This test could help you avoid replacing a starter that is OK, only to find that your symptoms come back due to a corroded cable.

I wrote up a DIY on making a replacement cable:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=61747

Note that several people commented that crimping would be preferred over soldering the wire to the terminal. They may be correct -- I can only offer up that so far, 16 months since the repair, the soldered connection is still working fine.

[draser]

What Lee said, pretty typical of worn out starter brushes.

[harryhendo]

A starter consists of an electric motor and a solenoid which pushes a gear onto the flywheel when you turn the ignition key to start. When the gear is engaged with the flywheel, it turns the flywheel to start the car. When you release the key, the solenoid pulls the gear back.

Often, on a worn starter, the solenoid does not push the gear forward effectively, and there is no engagement of the gear onto the flywheel. As others said, this indicates worn solenoid brushes. The fact that you hit the solenoid, freeing up the gear, and causing the solenoid to again effectively push the gear forward indicates that the solenoid is on its way to heaven.

It is possible to rebuild the solenoid, but very rare. Installing a rebuilt starter is the typical repair.

[gowa_goes]

Thank you all. Appreciate the help, going for the new starter.

[E Showell]

Plenty of help here on the starter replacement procedure. Although I do not necessarily recommend it, it can be done without removing the cooling fan housing. If you go that route, it is an awfully tight space in which to work. If you happen to be due for a PCV service, it is an excellent idea to combine the PCV service and starter replacement into one outing since doing the starter with the intake manifold out of the way (which you need to do for the PCV service) is a walk in the park.

[abscate]

I would hold off doing the starter. They rarely fail on these cars, and electrical ignition switch or solenoid failure is 50-100x more common. It might be another 12 months before you have to tap it again if its the starter brushes.