1998 Volvo s70 sudden no crank no start condition

Cuyguy · Post by **Cuyguy** » 31 Mar 2025, 20:13

Hi, me again. Thanks for helping get it running yesterday.

Just got it running today after timing belt change and having a crank/no start condition. That problem is solved. The car runs very healthy.
I put about 100 miles on it today both in town and on the freeway. No issues.

As I was leaving a residential neighborhood my check engine light came on. I decided to pull over and turn the car off and restart it to see if that was a fluke.

When I tried to restart the car it tried to crank but was very weak in doing so. I tried one more time and it barley tried to crank on the second go. After that, I can turn the key forward to crank it but I get no click or any attempt to crank.

I've tried to shift through the gears a few times and also tried to start it in neutral with no luck. I tried to hook a jumper cable to the negative terminal and ground it to a grounding point with no luck.

During my crank/no start condition I will say that the starter took some abuse, but it was able to start the car several times today.

Anybody have any ideas here? I've searched the forum but this doesn't seem to be a very common issue.

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 31 Mar 2025, 20:32

What was the code setting the CEL? You may have just lost power to the starter/ relay. Check the fuses.

Cuyguy · Post by **Cuyguy** » 31 Mar 2025, 21:02

Haven't checked the code yet. I will report back on that.

Post by **abscate** » 01 Apr 2025, 00:59

Basic stuff. Battery voltage needs to be at 12.5v , if it is older than 3 years the prolonged troubleshooting could have killed it.

Cuyguy · Post by **Cuyguy** » 01 Apr 2025, 05:39

Battery is definitely good. Only a couple of months old. Still tests at 12v, and all of the accessories still power up including the headlights.

Cuyguy · Post by **Cuyguy** » 01 Apr 2025, 08:45

No check engine code... Not sure if it got cleared since I've removed the battery cables.

Post by **misha** » 01 Apr 2025, 09:37

Post by **abscate** » 01 Apr 2025, 12:11

You need 12.5 Volts, not 12.0 Volts

On modern cars, lights working and even starter cranking is not a sufficient condition for the electronics to work.

Cuyguy · Post by **Cuyguy** » 01 Apr 2025, 17:10

Just rechecked the battery voltage... 12.6 volts at battery and 12.6 at the positive terminal on the starter.

Cuyguy · Post by **Cuyguy** » 01 Apr 2025, 17:24

Also tried a different relay on the starter relay and that didn't work.