1995 Volvo 850 dash lights come on car stops

correllkp · Post by **correllkp** » 14 Aug 2018, 17:03

Hello, so driving home from work and all of a sudden all my dash lights come on and car stops. When trying to restart the starter and alternator pulleys turn but weak. I'm guessing the alternator is shot? The battery is only a few months old.

1995 Volvo 850, 5 cyl, 5 sp, manual with 90K miles.

Post by **scot850** » 14 Aug 2018, 22:45

Could be. When was the timing belt last changed? Is the serpentine belt good?

Check for seized items on the serpentine belt path.

Check the wiring at the battery and engine grounds.

Neil.

Stu70 · Post by **Stu70** » 15 Aug 2018, 00:18

Electrical connection block on back of ignition switch or is that more an x70 problem ?

Post by **scot850** » 15 Aug 2018, 08:05

That is an 850 problem too.

Neil.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 15 Aug 2018, 08:20

For some strange reason if the alternator quits it does light nearly every lamp on the instrument cluster and that is normal. The diagnosis is easy enough, charge the battery and go to the nearest chain auto parts store (Advance, O'Reilly, AutoZone, etc.)and they will hook up an alternator tester and check the alternator for you for free. The testers that they have are fairly state of the art.

...Lee

correllkp · Post by **correllkp** » 25 Aug 2018, 13:32

Update: I've tested the battery and it is good. No apparent pulley jams, serpentine belt good and timing belt changed 10K ago. Starter is weak...doesn't seem to want to turn the engine at its normal starter RPM. Checked voltages from battery to starter and when cranking engine...voltages all good but starter doesn't sound right. Is it possible that the starter has a mechanical failure and won't crank the engine the way it should...and also could the mechanical failure be the reason why the car stopped running while driving? Anyone seen anything like this? Car only has 90K but was sitting for nearly 8 years before I picked it up at 80K.

Post by **abscate** » 25 Aug 2018, 18:36

It could have shorted internally which would stop you.

Can you swap in a known good battery for a try of cranking? A battery is much more likely to cause your symptoms.

Whats the voltage drop from battery to starter with the key on , engine not running.

Check all your ground straps too - one of them hides under the battery

correllkp · Post by **correllkp** » 02 Sep 2018, 11:14

Here’s what I’ve tried so far. Swapped in a known good battery...same symptom...slow cranking. Also tried using jumper cables from battery to ground and hot post on starter...same symtoms, so would seem to indicate wiring and/or alternator is not the problem. Checked timing belt...not broken. Removed tension on serpentine belt and and was able to spin all pulleys by hand. Sure seems like it has to be the starter.

Post by **abscate** » 03 Sep 2018, 04:20

It’s tough you get a good low resistance connection with jumpers but I agree you are getting down to a firm bad starter diagnosis. The last thing you could try is evaluating Battery voltage at battery, and air starter to make sure they are close, within 0.2 Volts.

Then decide if you want to rebuild or core trade yourstarter.

You Can junkyard this part pretty safely, too. I might have one left from my 99 partout too.

Post by **rspi** » 03 Sep 2018, 13:28

When the engine stalls, all of the dash lights will come on. Doesn't matter if the car ran out of gas or the timing belt broke, all lights will come on because the engine is NOT running and the key is in the run position.

So you are trying to determine what make the car stall and not start.