06 v70 Will Crank, Won't start, Has Spark

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 17 Aug 2020, 17:23

Volvo died on the road. Sputtered, died, could restart once to get off road, but then died again for good.

Towed home. Put in new plugs, new coils. Have spark on 4 out of 5 coils. Number 5 has no spark, and I can see the insulation on the wires going to it is shot. Will replace that, but one bad coil shouldn't keep it from starting.

Fuel rail has pressure. Poured a tiny glug of gasoline down the air tube to the trottle to see if that would at least make it hit a lick. Nothing.

Cranks, but won't hit. Running out of ideas. Maybe crankshaft position sensor went dead? Maybe ECM relay?

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 17 Aug 2020, 17:27

Should note - checked the timing belt from the top. Looks like it's in good shape. Tight and flexible. I don't think it would have jumped a tooth but not really sure how to check.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 17 Aug 2020, 17:52

Do you have a code reader? Does it have any stored codes? Current battery voltage? These Volvos do not like weak batteries - cranking may not indicate proper voltage to run.
volvolugnut

Post by **jonesg** » 18 Aug 2020, 06:17

rswearing wrote: 17 Aug 2020, 17:23 Volvo died on the road. Sputtered, died, could restart once to get off road, but then died again for good.

Towed home. Put in new plugs, new coils. Have spark on 4 out of 5 coils. Number 5 has no spark, and I can see the insulation on the wires going to it is shot. Will replace that, but one bad coil shouldn't keep it from starting.

Fuel rail has pressure. Poured a tiny glug of gasoline down the air tube to the trottle to see if that would at least make it hit a lick. Nothing.

Cranks, but won't hit. Running out of ideas. Maybe crankshaft position sensor went dead? Maybe ECM relay?

Possible you have no spark on any plug , sounds like the ignition wiring harness is failing.
A weak spark in open air will not spark under compression.

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 19 Aug 2020, 17:59

I think I've narrowed this down to crackshaft position sensor. Just idiot proofing myself here...I pulled it, but it looks a little different than what's available to order online.

Came off of where transmission meets the block, under the airbox, beween firewall and neutral safety switch. I'm like 93% cofindent this is the right sensor, but the ones online have a 90 degree turn at the connector instead of straight on like this one.

Resistance test is way off.

This would explain the rough running I've been having, the sudden death in the road, and the failure to start.

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 19 Aug 2020, 18:05

To clarify "resistance is way off"...zero continuity tone when leads connected. Infinite resistance.

It's broke.

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 19 Aug 2020, 18:07

"Possible you have no spark on any plug , sounds like the ignition wiring harness is failing.
A weak spark in open air will not spark under compression."

With the exception of the number 5 coil, was throwing a nice arc from screwdriver to ground over about a half inch. Would that qualify as weak or good spark? Not sure.

Post by **jonesg** » 20 Aug 2020, 00:44

rswearing wrote: 19 Aug 2020, 18:07 "Possible you have no spark on any plug , sounds like the ignition wiring harness is failing.
A weak spark in open air will not spark under compression."

With the exception of the number 5 coil, was throwing a nice arc from screwdriver to ground over about a half inch. Would that qualify as weak or good spark? Not sure.

yes thats a good healthy jolt.
looks like you got it sorted out..

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 20 Aug 2020, 11:00

uuuuhhhh....yeah....figured out why none of the crank sensors I'm finding look right.

That's the speed sensor I pulled. Will look again tonight and test the actual correct sensor.

rswearing · Post by **rswearing** » 28 Aug 2020, 11:45

Returning to this.

New crank sensor installed. Still no start.

Pulled fuel rail off to take a look at injectors. They look ok, but with the rail off there is NO fuel coming up the fuel line when ignition is in on position or even when engine is cranked. That may be a failsafe with the fuel rail disconnected, but it seems like there should be fuel coming through the line. Fuel pump whirs inside the tank when iginition position is on, so I think the pump is good. New filter, so that's not it. Now thinking PEM?

Is there a way to bench test the PEM before I order a new one?

Note - also getting a high pitched whine from the rear VVT solenoid that I'm not sure should be happening. Whines when ignition is turned on, and persists after ignition is off. Is this normal?