2002 S60 Stalls when placing into gear (auto)

[EdRedSled]

Mine has about 163K, but we have had it perhaps 10K and there are known tranny issues. About 4K ago I took a chance with a full flush and some Lucas ATF treatment. I worked better, getting us through the warmer months (when the trans would seem more prone to slipping). At THAT time we had a similar issue with stalling.

This past week, sonny boy took the car into a snow covered parking lot and got stuck. His buddy came along with a pickup and hooked the cable to the hood latch...and bent it. Fixed it easy enough.

Now the car is running rough. First it would idle for quite some time and then just stall out. Another time I sat while it idled and then the RPM shot up so high I shut off the motor. I tried it again and the idle went very high, but I left it for a minute and realized it may be going through some kind of throttle body reset? where the idle goes up and down in lower and lower increments until it lands at a normal idle. I saw this happen after I had cleaned the throttle body months ago.

That seems to have passed, but now when I tried shifting into D, then N, then R, etc (All while remaining on the brake) the car will often stall out, often when shifting into Neutral.

Car has been undriveable due to the stall issue.

No CEL light (although I guess I should plug in my code reader)
Recent work
New fuel pump 6 weeks ago.
Brakes F&R, Pads and rotors 2 weeks ago.

[JDS60R]

Could be stuck solenoid in the transmission, vacuum leak at engine etc.

Lets plug in the code reader and see how the fuel trims are to rule out any leaks. If it bucks a little when in drive ( or you can keep it going with some gas (while still on brake/not moving) the solenoid may be an issue.

If you have a VIDA Dice setup - now is the time. perhaps a local helper.

[EdRedSled]

Thanks JDS60R,

I am surprised to have codes since I usually check only when CEL is lit, but now I know...
So the ODBII reader gave me P0420 and P0068.

I had P0420 in the past, and seems related to the Cat Conv. Seems someone here suggested a spacer http://www.ipdusa.com/products/8656/109553-oxygen-sensor-spacer-cel-boss from IPD. Which I can try, or live with if it just triggers a CEL.

I also have P0068, which seems to be new.... Is this possibly the dreaded ETM issue? I'm past the 10Y/200K extended warranty.

[regent]

If the Oxygen Sensors are 163Kmi old, then I would consider replacing them (you may or may not not see a straighforward HO2S code but after 100K the sensors usually start degrading, and at 160K they are already 'lying')
The P0068 could be just a dirty/faulty MAF; I would try cleaning that one and the TB also.

[EdRedSled]

Thanks Regent.

I cleaned the throttle body several months ago. I just ordered some MAF and TB cleaner to give that a try again, thanks for the suggestion. At this point the car sits at idle pretty consistently (its been about 20 degrees F in CT for the past 2 weeks), so the issue is primarily when in gear. I got the car out again this am for a ride around the neighborhood and when going slow there the throttle would hunt. When driving anything faster is was better. Basically the stall happens when off throttle, slowing down... when the rpms come down to idle... and just keep going down to a stall. After clearing the codes last night, I have no new codes, but may not have driven it long enough.

Ill do the cleaner and hope some eventual warm weather will help. I don't have access to a VIDA except to take it in for repair.... I'd like to exhaust what I can do myself before doing so as I fear I will be in for a variety of parts replacements (MAF/ O2/ TB) with little guarantee of success. With a weak tranny and an impending timing/water pump change, at 168K I think she may be done...

[draser]

P0068 is for throttle position correlation. If your scanner reads live data you could read throttle % opening at idle, 1500 and 3000 rpm along with pedal position and post back. That should give an idea if throttle follows pedal input. Is engine turbo or n/a?

[precopster]

Turbo or not turbo? If turbo idle should be around 580rpm. If not turbo idle should be higher at around 850rpm.

[regent]

I recall that power supply issues could cause a sluggish TB response and 'hunting' - with or without a code: When you are at it, you can read the resistance to chassis/ground from the 'negative' pin on the electrical connector at the TB Module - the value should be close to zero (or just fractions of an Ohm). Also verify that you have very solid +12V going in there: relative to ground you should read something very close to the battery voltage or within tenths of a volt below. If less than that, swap the Engine Management Relay with one of the Headlamp relays to see if the Engine Management Relay's contact was causing the drop in voltage.

Have you tested if the stall (or a dip/surge in RPM) would also occur if you put some load on the engine (like swithching ON several electrical consumers and AC at once while in N or P) - this may give you an idea whether or not you want to blame the transmission at all (just a thought)

Let's hope you have the n/a engine - the TB on a turbo is a bit of a PITN to get to (N as in Neck)

[EdRedSled]

Thanks Guys,

She is non turbo. Well its so cold outside these few days 9 (15F before wind chill) I have no intent of wrenching on her until temps come up. I have not tried the idle with the engine under load (A/C, lights, etc), but will definitely do so. I cleaned the TB not long ago, so it seems an unlikely culprit, but I did buy the CRC kit that included the MAF and TB cleaner, so I'll give that a shot. I had not considered the electrical, so I'll pull out the multi meter and see what I can find. My reader is an Innova 3030, which is pretty decent, but not sure it does a live read (and no real access to a VIDA).

Looking at ebay, I realized the VIDA seems to be about $160, which is less than I thought it would be. I know I can't use VIDA to upload software updates, so what is the big difference between VIDA and another OBD2 scanner? I don't want to hijack my own thread, but maybe this would be MUCH easier with the VIDA? I own two volvos....

[regent]

Thanks Guys,

... I own two volvos....

This makes the investment into a VIDA/DiCE setup quite justifiable.
You can have very friendly 'conversations' with your cars in their native language on any subject (including proprietary codes that a generic scanner cannot figure).
Uploading s/w will require a subscription (like for a shop) and a live internet connection to the Swedish Elves' Servers though.