1993 850 stalls at highway speeds and while idling.

[i_is_tiger_woods]

Good day, all,

I recently became the owner of a 1993 850, and considering the remarkable price I managed to get it at, I would really like to hold on to it as a testament of great value shopping. There is a bit of a back story to how I became a Volvo owner...I was a die-hard Japanese driver...my first car in college was a 1996 Toyota Camry, until that was totaled and then I went to a 1997 Honda Civic...then to a 2000 Mitsubishi Galant...then a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse...back to a Galant...traded out of the Galant to a 2001 Accord that got totaled in Virginia (got rear-ended and then shoved into the car in front of me...that was a heart-breaking loss)...purchased a brand new 2006 Toyota Corolla. Well, money got extraordinarily tight after I lost my job, and I was forced to get rid of my Corolla. In an effort to cut expenses, I began searching for cars that cost no more than $1000, but everything I looked at had some sort of major defect or malfunction. I stopped at an independent car dealership, walked up to a dealer, and said simply "what do you have for $750?" He replied "I have this old Volvo in the back i could give to you for that much." Skeptical, I decided to examine it first. Words could not describe my shock when I discovered just how well the car appeared! No leaks! No huge dents! No rust! A working (and kick-ass) sound system! All of the electronic components still worked! Heated seats! An ashtray!!! The only physical issues came in the way of the paint, which was so heavily oxidized to the point that the clearcoat was non-existent in spots on the roof and hood, and the fact that the bottom portion of the front bumper cover was missing. Otherwise, for $750, this was a no-brainer. I drove the car home happily that day, knowing that I may have very well pulled off the impossible, and for about a month that feeling remained...until one day on my way home from work...

While driving down the interstate at about 75 MPH, cruise control set, I noticed a slight degree of hesitation in the engine. RPMs were reading substantially lower than normal (normal being approx. 3000), and efforts to accelerate were met with no response or a jerky increase in RPMs, only to be followed by the same "coasting" effect. After pulling off to the side of the road, once RPMs dropped below 1200, the entire instrument cluster lit up like Christmas and the car coasted to a stop. The first attempt to re-start was met with an electronic "whirring" noise, but no cranking. The second attempt involved cranking, but no engine turnover. The third resulted in a successful start, and I drove the rest of the way home with no issues. However, as time passed, the problem increased in severity and frequency. Unfortunately, since it is so intermittent, it is difficult to place a bead on exactly what is wrong. The car has a tendency to stall while at high speeds, at stops or whenever idling, and the car also has difficulty starting at times. All of this has occurred regardless of outdoor temperature or weather conditions. By "difficulty starting," i mean initially the car makes that "whirring" noise, then after waiting a few seconds a re-attempt is usually successful. Also, sometimes following the whirr comes a muffled "thuddish-click" which resembles the sound of a large electrical breaker being shut...like some physical component under the hood has just reset itself and rotated into another position. After that noise is heard, the car ALWAYS starts up. The frequency of stalling varies; the car has gone for days on end without a stall, but then it would make up for lost time and stall out about four times in the course of a one-way journey to wherever. The record to this date is six stalls in one trip. Six. That's six times the frustration and embarrassment. Mind you, these are twenty-minute journeys; it's not as if this occurs on a cross-country drive.

So, there you have it. My dilemma. The car has AT LEAST 191,000 miles on it (the odometer stopped at 191,096), so considering the fact that this is the only problem (and based on the consensus it seems like a fairly common problem), I made out fairly well on scoring this car for $750. I have read a couple of forums involving the same or similar issues, and it would appear that the solutions suggested worked. I may try all of them at once, and hopefully something will work, but if anyone has an other suggestions, I'm open to them. I just want my car to work again. That's all. Is that too much to ask?

[Ozark Lee]

Since you have a '93 you can check OBD socket A-2 and see which if any codes come up. I would start with the cheap and easy stuff and then work toward the more expensive.

The very first thing I would do is to remove and thoroughly clean the battery cables. Most, if not all of your problems, can be traced back to a bad battery or ground connection. Check and clean them at both ends.

Check through the database for the instructions on how to read your true mileage from the OBD ports (A-7 I think). Of concern is that on a '93 you must change the timing belt every 50,000 miles.

...Lee

[i_is_tiger_woods]

Thank you, Ozark Lee. My first instinct led me to believe that it was in fact something electrical, so I had my battery and charging system checked. The charging system was fine, supposedly, but the battery provided low readings when placed under load. I purchased a new battery and for about three days I went on without a problem, but then it started up again, just as frequently as before. The next step will be cleaning the throttle body housing. My tax return is pending, so I am going to put a little bit of that into getting the car back in working order. If it ends up costing me more than $500, then I'll just move on and find something else. Hopefully, it will not have to come to that, because I really like the car...as long as it's running.

And thanks for the tip on how to acquire the actual mileage.

[MadeInJapan]

I'm thinking your charging system is off...your alternator?
This means to check it and the tensioner on the service (serpentine) belt too.
A new battery shouldn't drain after 3 days unless you got a bad battery to begin with.

[i_is_tiger_woods]

Yeah, I'll be getting that taken care of during the tune-up. Although I am very much open to all possibilities, based on other threads that describe the same symptoms, the electrical theory is looking to be a slim possibility...but a possibility nonetheless. I can't leave anything to chance, so thank you as well, MadeInJapan.

And what's the basis of "MadeInJapan?" Volvos are Swedish, so I would assume that you have some personal ties to Japan...perhaps you were born there?

[MadeInJapan]

Yep, born and raised there. Was also principal of the only accredited Japanese high school in the U.S. until this past year when it closed.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 312a5.html
Volvo's bring the ends of the world together. I have many friends in and around Tokyo who own Volvo's and a few whom I've made friends with because of these forums.

[i_is_tiger_woods]

So I've noticed. I've been doing extensive research lately all over the web and discovered that Volvos have a staggering international presence. The Toyota Corolla is the number one selling car in the world, but there are so many variations to a Corolla. An 850 is an 850 no matter where you go. I really want to restore the vehicle and bring it back to its 1993 condition, but I also do not want to spend more than the car is worth. First the mechanical defects, and then the cosmetic flaws. A new paint job is definitely on the agenda. But I do have two questions for you: I have the standard rims on the car and the tire size is P195/65R15...do you have any recommendations as to a good tire for the vehicle, and the second question involves a bit of an explanation. After the 5th stall one day on my way to my girlfriend's house, I became so irate that I engaged the e-brake with a great deal of force...so much to the point that it got stuck in the engaged position. Already pissed at the fact that the car had stalled again, and coupled with the anger brought on by my own stupidity, in order to release the brake I literally ripped the center console apart to access the internals of the lever. Do you know where I may be able to find a new center console? Window switches are not necessary.

[akitawagon]

If you haven't seen it already, there's a lengthy thread here on stalling that would be helpful with the areas you can check to find out the cause(s) of your stalling.

I had the same problem with my '93 850 - No diagnostic codes reported and the stalling was intermittent with the frequency increasing over time.
A new fuel pump relay (and a bit later, a new fuel pump) eliminated the stalling.

You might be able to find a new center console at your local salvage yards or by calling places that have used Volvo parts like Erie Volvo. Also, there's usually people parting out 850s on Volvospeed.com or Craigslist.

If there are no maintenance records available for your car, you should also change the timing belt as soon as possible to prevent catastrophic engine damage (change interval is at every 50k miles)