Official Engine Stalling Thread

Wolverine Fan · Post by **Wolverine Fan** » 27 Mar 2006, 08:47

Keeping my fingers crossed here. I took my 94 850 in to a mechanic who was determined to find the issue. Of course on the way there, from Madison to Janesville, WI (about 45 miles) the car did not stall or cut out once. He drove the car around for a couple of days and did see the problem happen.

He took the car, began testing relays and thinks that he found the culprit. The fuel injector relay (the one by the radiator) failed for him intermittently when tested repeatedly so he is going to change it out and see if that corrects the issue. He also told me that if this does not fix the problem, he will only charge me for the part, not the labor. So hopefully I will get the car back today and see if the new relay corrects the problem. Will update within a couple of days once I see if the issue has been corrected.

Wolverine Fan · Post by **Wolverine Fan** » 30 Mar 2006, 07:27

Got the car back Monday evening with new fuel injector relay. Drove to work Tuesday morning and home Tuesday evening-about 90 miles with no problems.

Wednesday morning, it did it again, but when cold only about 3-4 times in a 3 block area. Once on the freeway ran fine with no stalling issues. On the way home last night, the engine cut out 8 times. This morning on the way in to work, ran fine for the first 30 miles, then began cutting out. The times the engine cuts out seem be lasting longer now, up to 3-4 seconds at a time, then the engine will start up again.

Mechanic is sure fuel and delivery is not a problem now wants to go through ignition electrical. Up to about $600 now in parts and labor, not sure how much further the bankbook will allow me to go.

Wolverine Fan · Post by **Wolverine Fan** » 31 Mar 2006, 12:44

Here at work, car will not start. I imagine I will have to have it towed again, to yet a different mechanic who will tell me that magically the car started for him and he can't find anything wrong.

I hate this car

JavaJiver · Post by **JavaJiver** » 31 Mar 2006, 12:58

That is horrible just plain horrible.
I feel for you man really. If I were near you I would come pick you up or something!

Wolverine Fan · Post by **Wolverine Fan** » 07 Apr 2006, 08:39

The saga continues. Since the car is totally dead, had it towed into the local Volvo dealer here in Madison-Smart Motors.

They hooked it up to the analyzer and it threw codes that showed that the fuel pump was not functioning. Their estimate to replace the fuel pump---$750. They said that there was about 3 hours of labor at $90.00 per hour due to the need to drop the gas tank to get to the fuel pump. All the documentation I have seen on fuel pump replacements says the pump is accessible through the cargo compartment on my wagon.

Does anyone have any experience on replacing the fuel pumps on the 94 850 wagon? Now, not only does my car not run, the dealer is trying to hose me for 3 hours of labor for what looks like a 1 hour job........

hairball · Post by **hairball** » 10 Apr 2006, 11:22

Me too, I have a 96 turbo wagon with 97K. Its stalls every 2 weeks or so, usually after half an hour of driving. Always in heavy traffic coming to a stop. The engine check light has been reset 3 times by the local volvo mechanic. He says 'could be fuel pump or Ox sensors'. But he says wait and see to get clear reading. Also says it can be a number of things and doesnt want to waste my money on parts that dont need replacing. He can never recreate the stall even after leaving the car there for 2 days. So, just waiting to be rear ended.

Wolverine Fan · Post by **Wolverine Fan** » 13 Apr 2006, 16:30

My mechanic changed out the fuel pump today---after which, guess what! The car still stalls! What a surprise!

However, now, there is a check engine light on. The codes are either the Cam Position Sensor or Crank sensor(?).

So, now, I have over $1,000 dollars in repairs tied up in this p.o.s. and still more to do.

So, now I can really assure myself that I am indeed driving the safest car in the world---you can't get injured when the car doesn't get out of the shop and on the road!

sbristow · Post by **sbristow** » 17 Apr 2006, 22:52

It stalls when in drive or reverse (automatic) when coasting (no gas or brake) and the revs fall to idle level. That is the pattern. If I don't let it coast, keep the revs above idle (.8) or step on the brake (to make the electrical connection) it will not stall. Difficult at times.

[quote="JKBrown"]I may as well add my "Me too...". For me, the entire dash lights up and the engine sputters and dies. I've been trying to see some pattern to this, but so far have found none.

I have a 94 850 wagon (non turbo) with just under 200k miles. This seems to happen in all weather conditions and at all temperatures. It has happened several times during a low speed right-hand turn.

It has also happened (rather alarmingly) three times on the highway. I think it was just after going into second gear; I believe I had just let off the gas.

Most of the time it happens while in traffic at low speed (under 30mph); I have always associated it with coasting after a period of acceleration, but I can't be sure that that is always the case.

This problem comes up about once every one or two weeks. It's never happened twice in the same day; the frequency doesn't seem to be increasing (this has been happening for about a year). It always starts up immediately after turning off the ignition.

Interestingly, a coworker with a 740 is an amateur radio enthusiast. He said that RF interference with the computer can precipitate the same symptoms. He had to buy RF shielding for his car. He thought that it was possible for a passing truck with a powerful enough CB to cause this, but that seems a bit far-fetched to me...[/quote]

Wolverine Fan · Post by **Wolverine Fan** » 18 Apr 2006, 09:00

Mechanic replaced the Cam Position sensor Friday. I picked the car up on Friday night, then this weekend drove it all around Southern Wisconsin with no stalling problems. Drove into Madison this morning (45 freeway miles) with no issues.

It appears as if I can call this problem solved. To date, parts replaced are:
Fuel injector relay
Fuel pump relay
Fuel pump
Cam position sensor

Strange that the car was completely dead, would not start until the fuel pump was replaced, then would start but the check engine light came on and stayed on. This allowed the mechanic to see the codes that showed cam position sensor. Once this was replaced, the car ran fine. So, was possibly a combination of fuel pump and cam position sensor.

All in all, it cost me about $1400 to find out that the issue was due to a $200 dollar part---frustrating!

yeagermeister · Post by **yeagermeister** » 24 Apr 2006, 06:37

Thankfully mine never stalled, but I was getting a 241 code (EGR flow too low), so I pulled the TB and EGR valve and cleaned them both- the EGR hole in the intake was completely clogged. It took some work to get everything clean, but I believe it was worth the time spent (3 hours over 3 nights).

It's not the most fun of procedures, but my idle has smoothed out and the CEL is now off. Getting the EGR valve assembly back on was a real PITA, as the inboard bolt is near impossible to work with.