88 240 Wagon - What is draining my battery?

av1111 · Post by **av1111** » 26 Oct 2006, 16:04

I have an 88 240 DL Wagon and have been driving it for about a year now. Yesterday, I started my car without a problem. This morning when I tried, nothing worked. Not the automatic locks when I opened the door, no panel display lights, no stereo, and most importantly, no cranking noise.

I gave it a jumpstart and took it to AutoZone to have the cell checked. In the short trip there, it recharged and regained almost all of it's cranking amps. They tested the alternator and it checked out fine too. I cleaned the terminals with a brush. The cables are clean and corrosion free. Fluid-levels are fine. The battery will start the car but not if I leave it hooked up for an extended period of time.

I did all of the above just to rule things out because I KNOW that something is draining the battery when I shut off the car, because I can hear it. It is a buzzing sound that sounds like it's coming from underneath the car, loudest by my driver side door. Is this a pump (prepump?) or a relay? Something else? Any ideas what is causing it to run after the car is shut off? I thought about the fuses but if the fuse is bad or corrosion on the terminals, it still wouldn't be running anyway.

My home remedy for the time being is disconnecting/reconnecting my battery every time I start/stop.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Post by **billofdurham** » 27 Oct 2006, 12:44

The fuel pump is located just in front of the tank, on the left side of the car just under the rear seat, so it could be that is the noise you can hear. If it is running constantly there is a good chance that it will burn out so disconnecting the battery is a good idea until a permanent fix can be found.

Two relays are used to control the fuel injection system, the main relay and the fuel pump relay. It is possible that one of these is malfunctioning and the most likely is the fuel pump relay.

Bill.

av1111 · Post by **av1111** » 27 Oct 2006, 14:01

Thanks for the information. I really appreciate the help.

Oddly enough, the noise went away on its own. The pump and/or relay is no longer running after the car is turned off. I'm still going to have my mechanic (Capitol V Volvo in Austin) look at it but I'm thinking it may have been a temporary short from a wire or relay that got wet from the downpour of rain the day before.

Adam

Post by **billofdurham** » 27 Oct 2006, 15:28

Glad it has sorted itself but I would still have a look underneath at the fuel pump and check to see if there is anything, like a bare wire, which could have shorted.

Bill.