Official Engine Stalling Thread

rosson · Post by **rosson** » 15 Aug 2006, 12:00

I had the same issue

Electrical connection.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 15 Aug 2006, 12:14

Glad you found it...others should check there and do preventative maintenance! I will do it too as soon as I get off of here...haven't really looked there to be honest with you.

sibir · Post by **sibir** » 17 Aug 2006, 21:24

A long while ago (10 months?) my 850 started stalling, I cleaned the EMF and it seemed to help but not to eliminate the problem. I looked at the fuel pump relay (green) and it looked like new inside. So I did not change it.
Then, as it got warmer the stalling at deceleration pretty much went away (now once a month at most), but now I have a very repeatable problem. After stopping the warm engine for a few minutes for an errant it will not start again for a couple more minutes, maybe for 2-3 minutes after the first attempt. Since it only happens in the parking lot it is more a nuisance than a problem but I wonder if the two are related. Anybody else seen this?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Aug 2006, 21:37

There is a great diagnostic run-through in the 850 Service Manual for non-start and stalling conditions. I think everyone who's posted on this very long thread and their issues are still unresolved should get it. You can now download it from here for free! : https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/chat/p ... php?t=8018

EMO 850 · Post by **EMO 850** » 27 Aug 2006, 16:40

Count me in! my '94 850 2.0 20V has the same problem stalling while driving, very randomly could drive 100 miles one day no problems then do 3 miles the next and it stalls 3 times! I have to wait around 2-3 minutes then it starts first time very anoying and dangerous!

And again it starts first time from cold, could drive 2 miles down the road and stop for 2 minutes then it wont start unless I give it some throttle.

had a mechanic use diagnostic computer on it he spent 2hours checking it and driving it and it didn't miss a beat, with no electrical faults etc.

looking at previuos posts im going to clean the throttle body and hope for the best!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 27 Aug 2006, 17:48

Your problem sounds like it could be a bad ignition switch. With car running, try jiggling your keys.

david hyde · Post by **david hyde** » 01 Sep 2006, 03:35

I've been suffering this problem for more or less the past year (with a 1995 850 GLT Estate which I've had from new). Completely unpredictable - but the engine just dies and then takes several minutes to restart, but can take up to 30 minutes. Happens without warning and without any recognisable pattern.

It's spent nearly 3 weeks in the garage trying to locate the problem - but of course to no avail. They replaced the cam sensor, but still no improvement.

So we decided to tackle this logically - it must be either the electronic engine management system at fault, or some failure in the fuel delivery. So first thing we did was to change the fuel filter - and in doing so we found what we think is the cause:-

Below the filler cap is a very small air vent (you have to look carefully to find it). A piece of the trim around the filler hatch had come away (the piece that's meant to catch the drips of petrol when refuelling) and was lodged and covering the air vent. This, of course, would cause a vacuum to build up in the fuel tank - and, if so, would result in no fuel getting through to the engine.

It would explain the unpredictability - and also the variation in restart times. Plus it would explain why no garage can identify the fault by running diagnostic tests.

The car's been running fine since we've made this discovery - although that's only a week.

So my advice to anyone suffering this problem is to first check the vent below the filler cap - it could save you a great deal of money in garage bills.

lambertmt · Post by **lambertmt** » 20 Sep 2006, 11:42

I'm getting a consistent sputtering or lugging when I push the throttle and the engine is between 500 & 1500 RPM. It feels like the engine is misfiring: jerky and rough.

I have a manual transmission, so I know it's not that. This happens after I put it in gear. For instance, if I'm in a high gear at low RPM and push the gas, it jerks.

This problem happens less frequently when I use Amoco Ultimate (93 octane) than it does when I use cheap gas.

Car has 156K miles.

Any ideas?

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Sep 2006, 13:10

lambertmt wrote:I'm getting a consistent sputtering or lugging when I push the throttle and the engine is between 500 & 1500 RPM. It feels like the engine is misfiring: jerky and rough.

I have a manual transmission, so I know it's not that. This happens after I put it in gear. For instance, if I'm in a high gear at low RPM and push the gas, it jerks.

This problem happens less frequently when I use Amoco Ultimate (93 octane) than it does when I use cheap gas.

Car has 156K miles.

Any ideas?

what have you tried? fuel additive is dead simple and cheap. checking vacuum hoses for cracks is also quick and painless. they're the white small tubes in the engine bay.

lambertmt · Post by **lambertmt** » 20 Sep 2006, 14:02

I haven't tried anything yet. It feels like some of the cylinders misfire.

I will certainly try fuel additive, but what do you think could be the root cause? I have the sense that it's part of the fuel delivery subsystem, but I don't know the particular components well enough to venture a guess. It might be too much fuel that floods the chamber ...

thanks,
Michael.