96 850 N/A no start issue.

[Bob Mazzi]

Hey all,

Monday my 850 decided it was time to play games. I drove it 85 miles with one stop, parked it and then moved it 30 feet. All good. It sat while I did a few hour job and then did not start. Car is roughly 350k miles. Runs well except for a puff of smoke after a few minutes idling. I'm not sure if it's tired rings or the PCV system needing to be cleaned. But, oil consumption is reasonable so I can live with that. One known issue was that i had to jiggle the key to get accessory circuits to light off after a start.

So, midnight, 80 miles from home and no start. I figured the ignition switch had finally died and replaced it with a known good one. No help. I reseated the engine computer. Nope. Checked every fuse. All good. I can hear the fuel pump running. And, when I tap the port on the end of the fuel rail I get a small spurt of fuel. So, I figure spark. Pull the coil wire and try to crank and don't see a spark between wire and ground. By now it's 2 AM. And I figure I'm not fixing it here. Tuesday AM I rent a pickup and dolly and tow it home as the tow companies were asking $7-800 for an 80 mile tow. I got on the web and ordered a coil and a cam sensor figuring those are likely suspects and would be good spares to have on hand even if they are not the problem. They are due tomorrow.

Am I on the right track, or are there other common ignition issues that I should be looking for?

[454cid]

I'd verify fuel pressure with a gauge.

What do the plugs look like? I had black smoke that I could see at a stop light, and my mileage was terrible. It was a bad O2 sensor... I did not have starting issues, Though.

Maybe look into your engine coolant temperature sensor. I've heard of those reporting wrong, and causing issues.

[Bob Mazzi]

Oh, while trying to get it started I did a battery disconnect as it did seem like it might be immobilizer. I'd run into that on a Saab 9000. And it has been locked and unlocked since.

[Bob Mazzi]

I'd verify fuel pressure with a gauge.

What do the plugs look like? I had black smoke that I could see at a stop light, and my mileage was terrible. It was a bad O2 sensor... I did not have starting issues, Though.

Maybe look into your engine coolant temperature sensor. I've heard of those reporting wrong, and causing issues.

I'd thought about trying it on ether to see if it coughed. It is high mileage on the fuel pump so I know that's a likely suspect. I don't have the right adapter to check the pressure, but it is a good thought to rule out fuel even when i don't see spark.

As far as the smoke, it's gray and the fuel economy is 25 plus. But your comment on the O2 sensor and temp gauge also has value. I have noted that after a warm start the instantaneous fuel economy seems to improve a bit. In any case, either of those issues would not cause a change from running fine to no start.

[scot850]

With the fuel pump, you should hear it priming when you turn the ignition key to POSII. It may help to have someone doing that while you are near the fuel filler as you have a better chance of hearing it. If you hear nothing and/or press the Schrader valve on the fuel rail after switching on and get no fuel peeing out under pressure (wrap a cloth over it to catch the fuel while doing this), then it is either the pump or the relay. You can jumper the relay connections to run the fuel pump full time and that will eliminate the fuel pump relay as the culprit or highlight it as guilty.

If there is no difference and all fuses are good, then your pump is dead/dying.

Best time to try this is in the morning as you are going to lose all residual pressure in the fuel system over night, so the pump priming on first key turn is more obvious.

Neil.

[Bob Mazzi]

I definitely heard the pump. And I got fuel from the Schrader valve. Twice. Not the spurt that I was half expecting, but it was definitely building some pressure. I am going to try a can of starting fluid as a way to confirm no spark. I'll know that if it coughs on ether that I have a fuel issue as it's not even coughing now.

[Bob Mazzi]

OK, after action review.

First, after some comments here I did try a shot of starting fluid to confirm that it was not fuel. After all, I was propping the coil wire next to a bolt and watching from the side as I cranked it to check for spark. I could have missed it. Cranked, but no cough. So, not fuel.

Then with todays deliveries from UPS in hand I rolled the mental dice and said coil or sensor? I could see how the coil was attached and had not done a cam sensor before so I decided to try the coil first. New coil, still no fire.

Now I started getting worried. What if I fired the parts cannon and it was something else? So, while I was installing the cam sensor I was kind of worried that I was still not right. But, I started feeling better when the plug on the old sensor came apart in my hands as I pulled the connection apart. Hmm. Pick the bits out of the car end of the harness and installed the new cam sensor. And,..... Success! She starts up. Cam sensor it was.

Of course, I now owe it a cap and rotor as I was not happy with how they looked while I had them apart, so I'm not "done". Might break down and do wires as well. But it runs and drives!

[duke1]

OK, after action review.

First, after some comments here I did try a shot of starting fluid to confirm that it was not fuel. After all, I was propping the coil wire next to a bolt and watching from the side as I cranked it to check for spark. I could have missed it. Cranked, but no cough. So, not fuel.

Then with todays deliveries from UPS in hand I rolled the mental dice and said coil or sensor? I could see how the coil was attached and had not done a cam sensor before so I decided to try the coil first. New coil, still no fire.

Now I started getting worried. What if I fired the parts cannon and it was something else? So, while I was installing the cam sensor I was kind of worried that I was still not right. But, I started feeling better when the plug on the old sensor came apart in my hands as I pulled the connection apart. Hmm. Pick the bits out of the car end of the harness and installed the new cam sensor. And,..... Success! She starts up. Cam sensor it was.

Of course, I now owe it a cap and rotor as I was not happy with how they looked while I had them apart, so I'm not "done". Might break down and do wires as well. But it runs and drives!

nice one glad to hear it!the leads if original make have a code date on them so you can see how old they are,some good fuel and quick italian tune up will do it the world of good!im sure you will love the car,proper volvo.

[Bob Mazzi]

A few months later and it's still running well. The cap and rotor are sitting waiting to go in, but it starts so nice that I'm not in a rush. I know I gave it a set of plugs a while back, but I've not done wires. I doubt they are original as the car now has 322k showing, and another 10-15 k run while the odometer was not working. It's had gears in the odometer head replaces as well as an issue with the ABS control unit that was preventing the speedo and odometer from registering. So, it's got close to 350k on it if not over. <G>

BTW, for anyone interested, it's auto and N/A. I'm getting 24 mpg on most tanks, and 28-30 when I am on the highway with the cruise set at 5 over. So, I'm pretty sure the compression is still where it ought to be.

[scot850]

They are sweet motors when they are running well in NA form. I had a 2000 V70 NA with the 5 speed auto. Foolishly sold it to my buddy who just loves it. On one run he told me he got 34 mpg (US gallon = 3.8 liters). On the highway it is really comfortable and smooth.

He says he is going to be buried in it. It now has close to 200,000 miles on it.

Neil.