'89 240 Misfire and Random No-Start

[LoveMy240Wagon]

I just recently purchased the car I've been trying to find for years... a gray 1989 240 wagon in near perfect shape with a MANUAL transmission!

This car has been very well maintained with a complete set of service records and the A/C even blows cold!

So I'm about to take it on a road trip next week and the car has one problem (possibly two, I'm guessing they are related if not the same problem) that is bugging me; while driving under normal conditions the car will randomly misfire, just a quick stumble. It seems that when I downshift and floor it there is no misfire, no hesitation at all.

Also, every 1 out of 15 times or so when I try to start it it just cranks and cranks, no firing. After trying it 3 or 4 times it will start right up like nothing ever happened. During one of these no-starts I got out and sprayed carb cleaner into the intake, still no start so I believe this is a spark issue.

The problem(s) are not getting worse, occur whether it is dry or wet outside, cool or hot, doesn't matter. I cannot find any sort of correlation with these issues, completely random from what I can tell.

The cap, rotor, plugs, and wires have all been replaced very recently. I also just replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump.

For some reason I am suspicious of the coil but I have no reason to be, maybe it's because someone wrapped a bit of duct tape around the middle to make it fit into the attachment bracket better.

There are no codes and the ground wire seems to be well connected.

Any ideas what I should be looking for?

Thanks!

[billofdurham]

Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

Check the earth (ground) connections on the inlet manifold.

If you suspect the coil test it with an ohmmeter. Primary circuit should read 0.6 - 0.9 ohms and secondary circuit should read 6,500 to 9,000 ohms at 68F (20C).

Bill.