850 died and wont start

jamiem177 · Post by **jamiem177** » 10 Oct 2011, 14:47

i have a 1994 850. i pulled out of the driveway and made it about five houses down and it died. i have fuel at the rail and it will crank over but wont start... any help would be appreciated

VolvoTurbo850 · Post by **VolvoTurbo850** » 10 Oct 2011, 15:01

maybe adding some additional information will help.

When was the last replacement of the spark plugs and rotor and cap?

What is the condition of the air filter?

Did you try jiggling the key around.. in case the ingnition switch is not connecting properly?

Have you done any work on it or was it sitting for a long time?

jamiem177 · Post by **jamiem177** » 10 Oct 2011, 15:20

it is a everyday driver. i recently changed the fuel relay switch. everything else is fairly new that you asked about

windpirate · Post by **windpirate** » 10 Oct 2011, 15:53

I 'm in a similar predicament. I'll be following your post. Good luck. Brian.

VolvoTurbo850 · Post by **VolvoTurbo850** » 10 Oct 2011, 17:11

So as long as your getting lots of battery power then you should be looking at a few other things.

If you have fuel then check spark, that might mean you have to get tool to test spark. (although one mechanic i know puts the spark plug on top of the metal part of the engine and just tries to see if it sparks).. ofcourse one needs to be careful on this process.

If your getting spark then it could be the cam position sensor. If you can find a junk car and pull of some of these parts it will be easier for you to determine in the future what is going wrong.

Quicken · Post by **Quicken** » 10 Oct 2011, 22:51

Interesting, I have a 1996 850 GLE and yesterday it died on me as well, I can share some of my exp with it to see if we have similarities?
1. about a year ago, the car would give out a puff of blue smoke if i let it idle for more than 5min
2. PCV, and all other parts are okay, costed me a lot to narrow it down to something to either piston rings or valve stem/guide seals.
3. dealership got me some 'valve medic' and I drove on the highway for 40min to pass air care
4. yesterday, while driving on highway noticed rpm dropping along with speed with pressing the gas pedal doing nothing, sorta like car in neutral except rpm wouldn't go up at all with gas pedal pressed. Fortunately it came back within 10sec.
5. drove into the city stopped in front of a red light and suddenly rpm suddenly dropped to zero and engine died.
6. would crank (starter, spark, battery all fine I believe), but engine wouldn't start.
7. got tow truck and towed it back to dealership, I am thinking perhaps the valve stem seals completely broken off or something? so no pressure in cylinder heads and therefore engine wouldn't start at all?
8. but hopefully it would be something smaller, which can cost less...b/c i won't be able to afford to replace valve stem seals...cheapest around here asked for $2500 canadian...sigh...the car isn't even worth that much.

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » 11 Oct 2011, 01:34

Sounds pretty similar to my car - died off just in front of the the garage for all neighbours to see, what an embarrassment... I have the impression it is got to do with the fuel mixture somehow but I don't really know where to start.

windpirate · Post by **windpirate** » 11 Oct 2011, 19:29

Update- I installed new ignition coil. Fired right up. Must have been a weak spark. Thanks for everones help.

Quicken · Post by **Quicken** » 13 Oct 2011, 01:02

Problem solved, fuel pump it is...very costly for me though...about 1200 Cad to have it replaced at the dealership....sigh...

jamiem177 · Post by **jamiem177** » 14 Oct 2011, 13:41

well i just tried another coil and im getting fire i also traded out the pickup<is that the right term> it still acts like it wants to start but nothing.... im so lost