Error Codes

[Rubberfig]

1995 Volvo 850 2.4l 5 cyl NOT TURBO

The car has had the check engine light on for quite a while, because im a lazy and poor teenager I just now got them checked. I took the codes home and researched them, and here is what I came up with.

Error code P1310 - Random misfire, sometimes tied with cylinder 5 misfire
Error code P0303 - Cylinder 3 misfire
Error code P0300 - Misfire (not quite sure what cylinder, assuming 1)
Error code P0302 - Cylinder 2 misfire
Error code P0137 - Oxygen Sensor Circut Low Voltage Bank 1 Sensor 2 (I have no idea what this means)
Error code P0326 - Knock Sensor 1 Circut Range/Performance Bank 1 or Single Sensor

Can anybody help me figure out how to fix these codes? The tags are expired and I need these codes gone so I can renew them. I REALLY don't want my car towed, because I am not paying to get it out so I would just be out of a car. I replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and the distributor cap, and of course cleaned up the oil I came across while replacing these parts. I noticed the car has a rather generous amount of oil spilled around the engine, caked on and fresh. I am working on that asap, replacing blown rear camshaft seal whenever possible. What could be causing these codes and HOW CAN I FIX THEM?

[crlande]

Are you sure the plug wires are in correct firing order and routed correctly?.

[Rubberfig]

Are you sure the plug wires are in correct firing order and routed correctly?.

Yes I am, however I can triple check with the manual.

[scot850]

Do you have the spark plug plastic cover plate on? One problem that can occur is when this gets re-fitted it can trap the wires and pinch the plug wires. I had a 850 last year where a repair shop had fitted the wires and when I removed the cover, one was almost severed. How it ran ok is a mystery.

So question is. Did the check light come on before or after you installed the parts, or did you fit the new parts to try to cure an issue? What brands of parts did you use. We regularly state here that these cars can be finicky which brands are fitted to them. Why this is we will never know but it has been proven many times.

Did you replace the rotor in the distributor when you did the cap? Also check that the leads are pushed fully home. Sometimes they don't seat fully.

When you say there are oil leaks then there is a good chance the PCV (crankcase oil recapturing system) is blocked. There is another thread with this issue raised yesterday. Try the rubber/latex glove test. That is when you stretch or tie a glove over the oil filler hole in the engine, start it up and see if the glove expands or contracts. Contracting is good, expanding is bad. If you rev the engine and is expands the system is blocked and needs to be cleaned. If money is tight you will need a few pipes and some gasoline to clean the collector box out and some worm drives to re-fit. Also a inlet manifold gasket. To prevent re-occuring issues with this there is a modification using heater hose to fit a wider pipe. Check the maintenance database for this.

Also check the oil filler cap rubber ring gasket. If it is hard it will leak oil all over the top of the engine and it can work its way into the spark plugs and cause problems. Less likely to affect cylinder #5 though.

If the pressure gets too high it will blow oil seals and cam seals are the first to normally go. There is one behind the distributor and if it goes oil leaks into the distributor causing shorts.

The non-turbo also has a flame trap in a little casing behind the throttle body. This is a plastic piece with a series of holes in it that block quickly. Part is now obsolete I believe for 850's but the S70 (1998) has the same part and is still listed. Some say to just throw it away. The casing is hard to separate to remove it and can break. Parts are not usually expensive.

Neil.

[Rubberfig]

Do you have the spark plug plastic cover plate on? One problem that can occur is when this gets re-fitted it can trap the wires and pinch the plug wires. I had a 850 last year where a repair shop had fitted the wires and when I removed the cover, one was almost severed. How it ran ok is a mystery.

So question is. Did the check light come on before or after you installed the parts, or did you fit the new parts to try to cure an issue? What brands of parts did you use. We regularly state here that these cars can be finicky which brands are fitted to them. Why this is we will never know but it has been proven many times.

Did you replace the rotor in the distributor when you did the cap? Also check that the leads are pushed fully home. Sometimes they don't seat fully.

When you say there are oil leaks then there is a good chance the PCV (crankcase oil recapturing system) is blocked. There is another thread with this issue raised yesterday. Try the rubber/latex glove test. That is when you stretch or tie a glove over the oil filler hole in the engine, start it up and see if the glove expands or contracts. Contracting is good, expanding is bad. If you rev the engine and is expands the system is blocked and needs to be cleaned. If money is tight you will need a few pipes and some gasoline to clean the collector box out and some worm drives to re-fit. Also a inlet manifold gasket. To prevent re-occuring issues with this there is a modification using heater hose to fit a wider pipe. Check the maintenance database for this.

Also check the oil filler cap rubber ring gasket. If it is hard it will leak oil all over the top of the engine and it can work its way into the spark plugs and cause problems. Less likely to affect cylinder #5 though.

If the pressure gets too high it will blow oil seals and cam seals are the first to normally go. There is one behind the distributor and if it goes oil leaks into the distributor causing shorts.

The non-turbo also has a flame trap in a little casing behind the throttle body. This is a plastic piece with a series of holes in it that block quickly. Part is now obsolete I believe for 850's but the S70 (1998) has the same part and is still listed. Some say to just throw it away. The casing is hard to separate to remove it and can break. Parts are not usually expensive.

Neil.

None of the wires are pinched, and all are seated correctly. I did not replace the rotor arm when I replaced the cap; Didn't know that you could. I might look into that, and if it's an easy fix why not?

I replaced the parts to fix the problem, the check engine light was on for a while before i started working on the car. I used Bosch parts, as I have noticed many of the parts in the engine are from that company and I have heard many good things about them from a wide variety of people.

I did the rubber glove test, and it expanded. I ordered a new PCV unit, and am just now learning that they are pretty annoying to replace. Anyways, will be trying to replace once it gets delivered.

I have not heard of the oil filler cap gasket leaking, and I have checked around the filler cap and there is no more oil than anywhere else around the engine.

My rear cam seals are completely shot, replacing those as soon as I have access to some star wrenches. I already have the parts, and will probably replace all the cam seals (front and rear) if they don't prove too hard to reach/replace.

Are you recommending that I remove the flame trap? I have never noticed such a part, but then again I have never really looked at the engine deeply.

Finn

[abscate]

Clear the codes by disconnecting the battery and seeing if they comeback. Misfire codes take a while to self clear.


You might need a new rear oxygen sensor but misfiring will cause those last two codes, so if you solve the root problem, those might clear up.

You need to budget about 10 cents per mile to run an Old Volvo , just for maintenance. There is no escaping that

[Rubberfig]

Clear the codes by disconnecting the battery and seeing if they comeback. Misfire codes take a while to self clear.


You might need a new rear oxygen sensor but misfiring will cause those last two codes, so if you solve the root problem, those might clear up.

You need to budget about 10 cents per mile to run an Old Volvo , just for maintenance. There is no escaping that

Would disconnecting the battery really clear the codes? I feel like I have disconnected the battery a couple times and it hasn't had any impact, I thought the codes were saved somewhere and the only way to clear the was with an OBD tool.

[erikv11]

Battery disconnect definitely clears the codes. Remove both wires and touch them together if you want to be certain.

All of the misfire codes likely come from the rear cam seal, which is blown out due to the clogged PCV and piping moisture and oil into the distributor cap. Pull the dipstick to relieve crankcase pressure, replace the cam seals (use Corteco or Volvo seals, do not use Elring or other cheap seals unless you are content to replace them again in 6 months) and clean out the cap when you are finished.

If you bought Bosch wires those are known to be troublesome and could be part of the misfire problem, there are very few wires that "work" with these cars. The best deal is Bougicord wires which are usually cheapest ordered online.

What plugs did you use? Bosch coppers should work just great, but what are they gapped?

[scot850]

Lots of good advice being given here. Cam seal especially the distributor one is probably the biggest effects on your car and caused by the PCV system causing over pressure in the crankcase.

Yes I did say you can delete the flame trap as when these engines age they blown more oil around and tend to block the small holes in the flame trap. i tend to run then in the cars I have as they were meant to be there, but like I said they are getting harder to find. Volvo S/V70 non-turbo in 98 used the same part.

Also the plug wires, you see the same recommendation is always Bougicord and properly gapped copper Bosch plugs.

You have a fair amount of work ahead of you but we are around if you need guidance.

Neil.

[erikv11]

I always, purposely throw away the flame trap, it's on the checklist of first things to do when I get a non-turbo car.