Official Engine Stalling Thread

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 15 Aug 2005, 11:55

Here's a list to date of the nmost likely culprits.

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"The reasons for stalling are numerous.

Thats why nobody could pinpoint a perfect solution for every case.

Reasons could be as follows:-

1) Electrical problems. Electrical supply to ECU interuppted. Solution is to clean contacts at battery terminal. There is a separate cable from terminal to ECU. This reason has already been brought up at volvospeed chat forum.

2) Fuel supply problems. the famous 104 relay. Fuel pump relay not functioning perfectly. Clean contacts and or replace. Check fuel pump too.

3) Transmission problems. Incorrect selection of gear by auto trans. this is due to the speedometer sensor at the back of the trans. the rpm sensor and or the crankshaft sensor. Solution is to remove the sensor clean it from all metall filings; and reinstall or buy new one and install. This is the most common reason and accounts for most stalling at turns and decelerating as incorrect gear selection results in loss of power and immediate stalling.

4) Battery problems. Undervoltage at battery due to alternator / battery problems. These causes ghost problems and throttle position sensor voltage problems. replace battery and or check alternator.

hope this helps.

regards
stlim

from what I can tell/have read extensively about, would like to add

5) IF STALLS WHILE DECELERATING, can almost gaurantee it's a dirty TB/ETM (or "bad" ETM, very expensive to replace so try removing and cleaning yourself or take it to dealer, say this defect is getting well known now and insist they clean it for you).

6) If it stalls while driving at normal speed and it won't restart until it cools slightly, besides possible electrical mentioned and fuel pump/relays in this thread, could also be (mine was) a bad CPS (camshaft position sensor). It's located right on top of the engine on drivers side, very excessible, hardest part is disconnecting the electrical plug (seems to be a theme on Volvos). If you have the special tool for the 2 bolt heads (like allen wrench only different shape) it's a DIY job."

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To volvofarm and moonraker I would have an honest mechanic start with 5. and 6., and KatR, that sounds like a good place to start with in your case but should not be costing you that much. Never a harm in price shoppong around to have auto work done.

Also, what's posted in the beginning betweeen the ******** of this post is from another post earlier in this thread. If you get the time, read through all 7 pages in this thread and you get a better idea of all the frustration and anxiety of a stalling vehicle not necesssarily caused by the same problem in all cases. More pressure needs to be put on Volvo to address this dangerous stalling problem.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 15 Aug 2005, 11:59

check that, actually KatR I would also start with 5. in your case since it happened while decelerating.

moonraker · Post by **moonraker** » 15 Aug 2005, 13:11

thankyou for such a comprehensive reply

Re:- Here's a list to date of the nmost likely culprits.

***********************

"The reasons for stalling are numerous.

If you are not an administrator on this forum, maybe you should apply.

I have looked at some posts on the aussie site linked from this forum.

One suggestion is the battery voltage or bad connection could be a problem.

Another says that the fuel filter could be a problem

My 850 does not like starting after being stood for a short time.

I guess the best coarse of action is to work through your suggestions and then all the others in turn.

Thank you again for you reply

moonraker · Post by **moonraker** » 15 Aug 2005, 13:33

Can anyone answer these questions:-

What I do not understand is why does the problem only occur after the vehicle has been stopped for a short while (i.e will not start straight away) but will then start if stood for a short while.

Why does it not totally refuse to start, you would think that if it was relay points etc, dirty or burned etc, surely it would fail completely before long.

Why does it NEVER HAPPEN from cold start, the same relay is used then. In fact the same everything is used then.

Yes, I could take it to the dealer and have them change everything on the bl****** car , but I cannot justify it, or afford to waste the money.

I have read so many posts on so many types of volvo with reference to stalling / not starting that I cannot believe it

At the very least I think that the posts should be sent to Volvo

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 16 Aug 2005, 15:37

I'm no mechanic but a meekly weekend warrior mechanic only ewhen I have to be vs. putting out the dough. So I'll guess at this part at least

"Why does it NEVER HAPPEN from cold start, the same relay is used then. In fact the same everything is used then."

Because the heat of the engine is preventing something from working properly that fixes itself after cooling.

My stalling under all conditions (moving at all speeds and idling) was solved by replacing the CPS which I did myself. One symptom would be that it would not start right away again after the engine had warmed up. Yet other people said fuel relays, filter or fuel pump replacement fixed their problem. Yet other a bad ground, weak battery fixed theirs. It's tough to say. The Volvo dealer has a machine that reads the engine computer codes as does some major chain auto parts stores. Sometimes the code for the problem part shows up in a reading and sometimes it doesn't. If a part is replaced based on a code reading it is easier to go back and say "hey, this didn't fix it, I want my money back" but if there is no code reading, it's a crapshoot that the car owner has to pay for unfortunately until the fix is nailed.

moonraker · Post by **moonraker** » 17 Aug 2005, 04:53

1995 850se

Because of the way I use the car, I guess that I pretty much put up with the cars problem whilst I gradually sorted them, and the trouble with some faults are that it could be any one of several expensive parts.

The car was running rich for a while, and recently I fixed that by cleaning the mass air flow sensor/throttle butterfly and other parts.

I also found a poor fitting connection at the little black box attached to the engine cooling fan surround (next to the fan relays).

Whilst the car has been not starting after getting petrol/gas for a while, over the last two weeks it has been cutting out "on the run" and could be dangerous.

So yesterday, having thought long and hard about what I have read on ALL the web sites, I drove the car around and back home and waited for about 5/10 until I could go out to the car and it would not start.

With the bonnet up and having failed to start, I checked if there was fuel in the fuel line, via the testing valve, yes fuel did flow out so there was pressure (but I do not know what pressure)

Next I turned the ignition on and off loads of times and listened to whether the fuel pump was working or not.

It did not take that long before I turned the key and the fuel pump failed the run up, at this point I tried to start the car and it failed to start.

Turned the ingition on and off until the fuel pump "run up" and the car started.

Next I removed the outer cover from the fuel relay and cleaned between the contact points, there was some deposits of carbon like subtance between the points.

Pluged in the relay and drove the car around for a hour or so here and there and returned home, done mixed driving and several stop starts - no problems,

Up with the bonnet, waited for 5/10 mins and tried to start the car, keeped going back until the car failed to start, when the car failed to start I could hear that the fuel pump had not run up,

Removed the relay cover again and watched the contacts as I turned the ignition on and off, sometimes the contacts would hold in and the pump would run up fine so I could start the car, and others the contacts would close but drop out straight away and the pump would not run up and the car
would fail to start.

I went to our Volvo main delear to purchace a new relay but asked to speak to the service manager first, I explained the fault to him and all that I had done, He then went off and came back with two "fitters" who listened to what I had done, They did agree with me that it did seem like the relay could well be the cause and stated that they change "quite a few relays".

I have plugged in my

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 17 Aug 2005, 08:51

Steve, hah! cool name ya got there.

Good Luck and I hope the cost is minimized through conscientious troubleshooting by you and "compassionate" vs. money-making pros.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 19 Aug 2005, 10:11

Day 96 here after 2nd quickie cleaning (w/o removing TB from engine). Still OK.

Mace2 · Post by **Mace2** » 21 Aug 2005, 03:15

Gonna have to jump on the 'my Volvo 850 stalls on me' bandwagon here.

For the past couple of weeks I've been having my '93 850 stall on me pretty much anytime I'm slowing down or downshifting. Typically if coming to a red light or something, if I'm in 3rd or so, I used to have no problem just using the brake until about 1000 rpms or so, at which point I'd use the clutch, slip it into neutral and come to a complete stop. No problem. However, lately when I've done that, the car will just stall on me. It's getting to a point where I'm dreading going into a turn because it's almost inevitable that it'll stall and I'll have to crank the hell out of the wheel so not to hit anyone, ya know? It'll start up just fine but still. Thought it may just be me not knowing how to operate a manual (which is kinda true). But even when I'm still moving and I just slip it into neutral for barely like 10 feet, it'll stall again. That can't be a good sign.

Anyone had something like that happen? Or do I just need to learn how to drive properly?

Mace2 · Post by **Mace2** » 21 Aug 2005, 03:17

Oh yeah, if I'm at a dead stop it'll idle with no problem. It's only if I'm moving for more then like 5 feet in neutral that it cuts out.