Riddle Me This

[zachlandreth89]

i was driving my 850 the other day and i noticed my lights and speedometer were not on/working so at the next red light i put the car in neutral and turn the car off and when i went to restart the car it would turnover but not start. so i ended up getting it towed home, i have replaced the distributor cap and radial arm and carbon brush, new plugs and wires, new ignition coil and have thoroughly cleaned throttle body sensor, cam shaft sensor, MAF sensor, connectors too. i also cleaned out PCV and the pipe the leads into the turbo not sure of the name. i have jumped the 103 relay (pin 15-87) when i put everything back together i started the car and it cranked up an ran for a split second then died and now all it will do is turn over my fuel pump is coming on when key is in pos 2. when im trying to start the car im getting a slight bit of smoke from the back side of the motor near the firewall not sure where that is coming from though as i can not see while starting the car. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!!! there is only 2 volvo certified tec's in my area and they are outrageous prices i can not afford at the moment

[jacobharding]

My 96 was in my garage from Nov 2011 until August 2012. It would start right up and then die every time. I tried EVRYTHING with no luck. Finally one day in August I was out there racking my brain and trying this and that like so many days before when suddenly it would start...and STAY running. I was like "what the heck" after no less than 500 (honestly) start and cutoffs, for 8 months, it was now sitting there running. I hadn't replaced anything but I was able to recall that the last thing I did was mess with the plastic shroud that was popping off over the radiator because it was cocked from missing a screw and no being seated properly. Well come to find out there is a relay under there that controls the fuel injectors. the connector to it was badly rotted and coroded. I went to my 94 parts wagon snipped off the connector, spliced it in and no problems since.
Oh and the lights and speedometer thing are most likely your ignition switch which also could be the cause of your no starts. I would start by ckecking the condition of that relay and if it is good than try swapping out an ignition switch if you have access to parts. Or just get a new on they are like 40-5- bucks and are an easy fix.

[jacobharding]

oops...typos. Sorry