Can anyone help me? Friday my car was hesitant to start when I shut the car off. I went on to get the oil changed. It hestitated to start there for the service tech. They told me about it. I drove straight home. Shut off the car. Immediately started it again first try with no hesitation. Yesterday, hubby and I went to get groceries. The car started right up so I thought maybe I had gotten gas maybe with some water or something in it or that we needed to change the fuel filter. While out and about, the car hesitated once and then finally would not start while we were in the parking lot of walmart. That's where the car is now. My husband and his friend are just trying to get it home so that he can look at it. We did change the fuel filter because we figured it was clogged and that the motor just wasn't getting fuel. That wasn't the problem. The fuel pump is working, hubby checked. He even took off the coil and took it to be tested. It tested out fine. So where do we go from here? Can anyone help us?

 

Welcome to the forum, and sorry about the problem.

Here're some of the most common causes for no-start on the 850s:

- Faulty Fuel pump & pump relay (this one seems out for yours)
- Faulty Camshaft Position Sensor
- Faulty Mas Air Flow (MAF) Sensor.
- Neglected scheduled maintenance.
- Etc...

Refer to the attachments for trouble-code retrieval procedure. For '96-'97 (certain '94 & '95 included), you would have to visit a local AutoZone to have it diagnosed for free. If you take this route, let them know what codes are stored in the car's computer (referred to as ECU-Electronic Control Unit, ECM-Electronic Control Module, etc...). If there is no AutoZone near you, you may have to give up some $ and go to the dealer to have the codes retrieved. Some '94 & '95 models have what is called OBD-II connector, which is used as the interface between the car's computer and diagnostic scanner; see its location in the attachment. There may be more codes than are on the manuals, in which case you can just tell us what you find.

If you plan to keep the car for a while, I would buy a Haynes Repair Manual; approx $14-$17.

Refer to my 1st & 2nd posts in the following thread for tune-up items:

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

And if your hubby can turn wrenches, I would suggest that you buy parts from one of the following vendors, as they carry "original Volvo" parts at reduced prices, that are referred to as OEM-Original Equipment Manufacturer. They may not have Volvo stamps on them but are the exact same parts that were installed on your Volvo at the factory.

http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm#850
http://www.eeuroparts.com/home.aspx

Let us know if you need further assistance, as well as the findings of the problem.


JPN

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Because your 850 is of '95, it may or may not have OBD-II connector. See attachment for its location, and if there is a coin holder in front of the shifter, remove it and see if you can find an electrical connector. If it does, try AutoZone and make sure to tell them that your can DOES have OBD-II port, even though your car is older than '96. But since it is a '95 model, you do not need OBD-II diagnosis as you can manually retrieve codes.


JPN

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Thanks for responding jpn. We both really appreciate it. Believe me, when we get it fixed we will definitely let you guys know. Someone else I'm sure will eventually go through the same thing and I would hope we could be help to them. My husband actually took off the cam sensor yesterday after he and his friend towed my car home. It looked to be in good condition. The connector looked good, there was no residue in or around it.There was some black where it looked like spark was supposed to be. He took it to autozone to have it tested. The only problem with that was they told us they could tell if it was completely dead. It showed to be working. They also told him that if it was working a little it would test out fine. So do you have any ideas onhow to test for sure? My car actually has both code displays. We looked yesterday and saw exactly what you just posted for us. We just didn't know what it was. Thanks a bunch for that. Hubby is going to check when he gets back. The only way I could get it to autozone for them to pull codes would be to tow it with hubby's truck so I think we'll just try to pull them manually. The check engine light never came onthough, so will it be throwing codes? We made the assumption it probably wouldn't because that light never came on. Also hubby did check the fuses. They were fine.Also, can the ECM and coil test out okay and actually not be?

 

Great news. My baby is up and running again. Hubby went out to volvo man we bought the car from and bought some good used parts for 130.00. Main relay, cam sensor, crank sensor, and coil with ecm. He was discussing the problem with his main mechanic and just happened to mention the main relay could also cause no spark. As soon as hubby got home, he put on the main relay ($20) and jump started my car (battery had gone dead from trying to start it so much). She cranked right up is purring like a kitten again. Thanks to everyone for all the help. It's amazing that that little relay can totally disable you, but now we know what to look for if this sort of thing ever happens again.

 

Glad to hear your car is up and running smoothly again.

But, keep this in mind.

If something like thisever happens again it may be somethingentirely different as the problem you found on your vehicle this time around is only one of manythat can stop a Volvo dead init's tracks.

Best of luck.

 

+1.

Well I'm glad that the kitten is purring happily for now. I'm only a bit concerned with "used" parts but if the car is running fine now, you can either drive it until something else fails or until you can afford new parts.

Come back anytime when you get another problem. And do not neglect scheduled maintenance; these cars DO need it. And make sure that the timing belt and its pulleys & tensioner have been done within the last 70,000 miles or 5 years.


JPN

 

Oh you can bet she gets her maintenance done. My hubby is a stickler for it. The timing belt was actually done at 92,000 miles (two years ago before the man would sell her to me). She is sitting at a little bit over 125,000 now.The man we bought the car from is great. He only deals in volvos, and his mechanics have been with him for years too. He usually at least has good used parts at his shop when you can't get them anywhere else for a couple of days. So, at least you can get up and running quicker if something goes wrong at a fraction of the cost. I probably will buy a brand new relay for the car soon and have it on hand in case this one goes caput, but this way it didn't cost a small fortune and hours of frustration replacing wrong parts to locate the problem. I am keeping the other 3 replacement parts just in case something like this happens again (hopefully it won't)and just gonna treat my car good. I'm a firm believer that if you take good care of them, they will take good care of you.

 

Excellent, I agree.

If treated right, Volvos can last as long as Japanese cars or even longer.

I wish you have a pleasant driving experience in your 850 with your hubby.

Come back anytime when you need another assistance. There are many 850 experts on this forum.


JPN

 

Hi
I have recently developed a non spark problem with my 850 t5 glt automatic 1996. symptoms:engine turns over butno spark, gear change light (arrow up) flashing, sport/economy switch lights flashing, no lamba sensor light on dash, handbrake light doesn't fully go out when handbrake released.
Have tried: coil, cam sensor, crank sensor, fuel pump relay, checked distributor & rotor arm. Have tried re earthing. Could this be the ecu? Are there any other relays that could cause this fault? To MelMel1703 was the main relay you changed the fuel relay? could you let me know. Car has obd11 fault finder, haven't been able to acquire equipment forthis as yet. Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

Like Hairbear, I have the same issues with a 2.3 850 Turbo. Where should I go next? I've replaced the Cam Sensor and nothing changed. I was doing 65 mph of the HWY and the engine just died! My wires, distributor, and rotor look fine. I have voltage running to my coil and from the coil to the distributor but still no spark. Could it be the ecm? Relay? I have pressure in the fuel rail and I hear the pump priming......HELP!