Login Register

Weak orange spark 1995 850 2,0 10V

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

Post Reply
User avatar
Kokonradus
Posts: 32
Joined: 11 December 2022
Year and Model: 1995 850 10v GLE
Location: Slovakia
Has thanked: 14 times

Re: Weak orange spark 1995 850 2,0 10V

Post by Kokonradus »

I have measured everything and It´s all fine. So problem have to be in spark plugs. I will try the volvo 3 prong plugs (propably original for this model) and add a final post.

If would someone have same problem as me, start with measuring the power supply to the coil.
P7110118.JPG
P7110118.JPG (266.35 KiB) Viewed 390 times
ATTENTION ignition coil in this car is not grounded by its body, it is grounded by black wire to the car body. Make sure that ground is perfect. Measure the voltage on battery and then on the coil contact with blue wire and battery +.
P7110119.JPG
P7110119.JPG (356.08 KiB) Viewed 390 times
I try to describe what I studied about this topic last days from basics.

By turning the key to 2nd position you send current from 15 contact to the overload relay that activates and let the + from battery go through 40A fuse into the ignition power stage (on your coil). Than the current flows through the red wire to primary coil, from the end of the primary coil current flows through blue wire to power stage and than through black wire to the ground and circuit is closed.

When you turn the key to 3rd position the ECU start to cutting the circuit of coil by interrupting the signal to power stage in frequency of engine strokes (taken from crank sensor and cam sensor). Power stage is basically a transistor. (component that needs tiny amount of current and voltage to interrupt or regulate the bigger and stronger current and voltage like primary coil circuit). The interruption of primary coil circuit causes a magnetic field of primary coil to collapse and produce a high voltage pulse on a secondary coil that goes through cables and makes spark on your plugs.
Snímka obrazovky 2023-07-15 003106.png
Snímka obrazovky 2023-07-15 003106.png (332.22 KiB) Viewed 390 times
1995 Volvo 850 2,0 10v NA - Wagon
1996 Volvo 850 2,5 20v NA - Wagon
1992 Škoda Forman 1,3 Carburetor
--------------------------------------------------------------
2004 Volvo Xc70 D5 AWD (Sold)
1998 Škoda Felicia 1,9D LAURINA (Sold)

User avatar
jreed
Posts: 1619
Joined: 8 March 2009
Year and Model: '97 Volvo 855 GLT
Location: RTP, North Carolina
Has thanked: 352 times
Been thanked: 192 times

Post by jreed »

Best wishes for figuring out the source of the problem.
You mentioned that you replaced the spark plug wires with Bosch leads. I don't know if there is any difference in specification or performance between Bosch and Bougicord, but at least for the 20V car, Bougicord is the original spark plug wire. Have you already measured the resistance of the lead between the coil and cap, and between the cap and spark plugs?
1997 855 GLT (Light Pressure Turbo) still going strong. Previous: 1986 240 GL rusted out in '06, 1985 Saab 900T rusted out in '95, 1975 Saab 99 rusted out in '95, 1973 Saab 99 rusted out in '94

scot850
Posts: 14881
Joined: 5 April 2010
Year and Model: 2000 V70 R
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 1846 times
Been thanked: 1710 times

Post by scot850 »

Do you still have the original spark plug leads. Many times I have read of issues with aftermarket brands of leads, Bosch being one of those. As jreed suggests, checking the resistances of the new leads is worthwhile. If you have the originals try even one of them and re-fit it and see if there is any difference.

Did you also check that all the grounds are good, the main battery cables, especially the ground cable is good?

Neil.
2006 V70 2.5T AWD Polestar tune
2000 V70 R - still being an endless PITA
2006 XC70 - Our son now has this and still parked in our garage
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 Limited
2015 Kia Sportage EX-L - Sold
1993 850 GLT -Sold
1998 V70 XC - Sold
1997 Volvo 850 SE NA - Went to niece in California - Sold
2000 V70 SE NA - Sold

User avatar
Kokonradus
Posts: 32
Joined: 11 December 2022
Year and Model: 1995 850 10v GLE
Location: Slovakia
Has thanked: 14 times

Post by Kokonradus »

Do you have resistance values that the leads should have? What is the proper way to measure resistance between cap and spak plugs? I can check if originals make a difference. Will take the ones from my 2,5 20v 850.

Yes the ground of body and engine is good. But maybe I measure it wrong way. I placed one lead on battery positive and other lead on the engine, or on the car body. The multimeter shows me exact same voltage as it´s between battery terminals (+-0,01).
1995 Volvo 850 2,0 10v NA - Wagon
1996 Volvo 850 2,5 20v NA - Wagon
1992 Škoda Forman 1,3 Carburetor
--------------------------------------------------------------
2004 Volvo Xc70 D5 AWD (Sold)
1998 Škoda Felicia 1,9D LAURINA (Sold)

User avatar
jreed
Posts: 1619
Joined: 8 March 2009
Year and Model: '97 Volvo 855 GLT
Location: RTP, North Carolina
Has thanked: 352 times
Been thanked: 192 times

Post by jreed »

For the Bougicords, this info is located here ( https://rwblock.net/en/resistance-of-ig ... volvo-850/ )
"Resistance of ignition leads Volvo 850
Resistance of new ignition leads designed for Volvo 850 2.5 10V B5252S (Bougicord PN 6469):

cyl. #1: 4,97 kΩ,
cyl. #2: 4,47 kΩ,
cyl. #3: 3,58 kΩ,
cyl. #4: 3,13 kΩ,
cyl. #5: 2,58 kΩ,
to ignition coil: 2,72 kΩ.
If measured resistance is not in spec, then ignition leads should be replaced."
1997 855 GLT (Light Pressure Turbo) still going strong. Previous: 1986 240 GL rusted out in '06, 1985 Saab 900T rusted out in '95, 1975 Saab 99 rusted out in '95, 1973 Saab 99 rusted out in '94

User avatar
800artfreed
Posts: 143
Joined: 3 April 2018
Year and Model: 98 S70T5; 99 S70GLt
Location: Washington DC
Been thanked: 26 times

Post by 800artfreed »

Sorry if I missed it but did you change the coil? My 98s have a coil mounted on the strut tower drivers side. This supplies the high voltage to the cap center lead. Good luck.
VolvoVoyeur
1998 S70-T5 200K+
1998 V70-T5 200k+
1999 S70-GLT 80k+

User avatar
Kokonradus
Posts: 32
Joined: 11 December 2022
Year and Model: 1995 850 10v GLE
Location: Slovakia
Has thanked: 14 times

Post by Kokonradus »

Yes, coil is new with proper resistance. Thanks
__________________________________________________________
Resistance of my new BOSCH 0986357054 cables (OEM 9135701)

cyl. #1: 1,40 kΩ,
cyl. #2: 1,25 kΩ,
cyl. #3: 0,95 kΩ,
cyl. #4: 0,85 kΩ,
cyl. #5: 0,60 kΩ,
to ignition coil: 1,22 kΩ.
______________________________________________________________
Resistance of my used NGK cables:

Almost same as the bosch ones
______________________________________________________________
Resistance of my worn Bougicord cables:

In general, 2 or 3 times higher that should be by the original Bougicord specifications.
______________________________________________________________
I am unable to find Bougicord ones in my country, but I will try to find somewhere in europe and order. Than I let you know if that fixed the problem.
1995 Volvo 850 2,0 10v NA - Wagon
1996 Volvo 850 2,5 20v NA - Wagon
1992 Škoda Forman 1,3 Carburetor
--------------------------------------------------------------
2004 Volvo Xc70 D5 AWD (Sold)
1998 Škoda Felicia 1,9D LAURINA (Sold)

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post