i need help...850 1997 sedan 2.3 starts but, dies, wont hold an idle????? help

 

Hi Troi and welcome to the forum.

You may have a massive air leak, bad MAF, or low fuel pressure. You can start by letting us know if you have a CEL (Check Engine Light).

 

^^ +1
I had the same issue a while back and it turned out to be my MAF....

 

I'm having a somewhat similar issue. Mine on random days wont hold an idle and will come out of no where. Some days it works perfectly fine others I cant stop at a light without it cutting out. Once it starts doing it, I start the car, and once I put it in drive it sputters then dies...

 

Hi Dirty, welcome to the site.

When it's running rough, unplug the MAF and see if things change. Do you have a CEL?

 

Pardon my lack of knowledge on abbreviations but a CEL? Also following the advice of another part of the forum I carb cleaned the IACV, the mechanic I usually deal with suggested to start there. I will however try it with the MAF unplugged, when I got home today it would stall even when in park.

 

Of course when I start her up now, she idles in park and drive perfectly fine.... >:/

 

CEL = check engine light.

(aka MIL or malfunction indicator lamp) If you have a "check engine" light on your dash then there is a stored code which may point you in what direction to figure out why your car is not running well. Autozone or similar will read these diagnostic fault codes for free.

Anyhow, these sort of general "won't run at idle" issues can run a wide gamut of possible problems. The IACV is certainly a possibility. If there is no stored diagnostic trouble code pointing to something specific, I would first pull the plugs and see what they look like (excessive wear, gap, or rich/lean). Then I would perform an ignition systems and vacuum leak inspection and fix any issues there.

 

I probably do, but its been on so long the bulb burnt out. I don't fully remember the error codes, I had Autozone check them for me. The reason the CEL was on for so long was due to a burnt out o2 sensor. Last time I had Autozone plug the reader in there were two more error codes, one if I remember correctly was a MAF error, the other was some random vacuum error.

 

And you wonder why it is running poorly?

 

Was running fine until a few weeks ago. I'll have to go back in and have it read again. I took it into the mechanic a couple weeks ago and he secured the vacuum lines so that can be scratched off the list. Like I said I'm not sure if the error was specifically MAF related. I was told by the same mechanic that the IACV is the place to start and likely the cause, but the problem is so intermittent its hard to test it.

 

Dirty, you might want to fix the o2 sensor, the cel bulb and what ever else is wrong with the car. Your car also has the OBD-I port near the window washer fluid filler that will do a better job of telling you what's wrong with the car. Look up the word "code" or "codes" and see if you can learn how to use the OBD-I control box.

The thing about the bad o2 sensor, even though it doesn't appear to cause the car to run rough, it often causes a car to run lean/rich which can use up to 30% more gas. That alone will cost you the price of o2 sensor in less than 4,000 miles.

As for the CEL light, it can be replaced in less than an hour and the bulb cost less than $8. Having that work will allow you the function of finding out when something is going bad, not after it's running rough and leaving you stranded somewhere.

When was the last time the wires were replaced? They have a date stamp on them. Something like 29/97, 29th week of 1997. If they are older than 7 years old and you have misfires, go ahead and replace them. I suggest you use OEM Volvo plugs.

 

Thanks for the advice!
I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy the suspect parts for it.
I was just hoping someone on here had some home remedies to patch the problem until I can afford the parts.
I did go back to Autozone today and had them plug their comp in.
Supposedly Volvo Error Codes:
P0103
P0133
P0245
P0440
The explanation on the tickets is VW based but this is what they say:
P0103: Definition: Mass or volume air flow sensor circuit high input
Explanation: Air duct tube damaged
Cause: 1. Large Vacuum leak on engine (Unlikely, mechanic inspected the lines)
2. Faulty MASS sensor
P0133: Definition: Heated oxygen sensor - bank 1 sensor 1 (H02S11) sensor circuit slow
response.
Explanation: Air/Fuel ratio concern - Lean or rich (I know the car runs rich,
always has since I go it.)
Probable cause: 1. Air leak near sensor 2.Open or short circuit condition
3. Faulty H02S11 (bank 1 sensor 1)
P0245: Definition: Turbo wastegate solenoid "A" low (Pretty sure this is due to the manual
boost controller under the hood.)
Explanation: Open or short circuit condition
Cause: 1. Poor electrical connection 2. Faulty wastegate solenoid
P0440: Definition: EVAP canister purge regulator valve
Explanation: Open or short circuit condition
Cause: 1. Poor electrical connection 2. Faulty canister purge solenoid

 

Need to change your front O2 sensor and find out what's going on with your boost control solenoid STAT. The boost control problem could also be the reason you have a high MAF reading. The boost is uncontrolled and you have a higher volume of air moving through than the ECU expects (or the MAF is just bad and has gone out of range. If you could access freeze frame data you may be able to diagnose this further).

Especially combined with a screwed up A/F ratio because the ECU is working on bad/incomplete data, and you have a great way to ruin your engine.

 

I was planning on changing out the O2 sensors up until my car started having the terrible idling problems.
I'm fairly certain the error from the boost control solenoid is from the manual boost controller. I don't know if you skipped over that part, but I installed that due to the wastegate being preset to 5psi for some odd reason (even though from what I understand the 850 T5 should be running ~9.5psi).
Anyways, I could try backing off the boost controller and see if that makes a difference.
I'm kinda leaning towards a MAF problem, Im not sure but I dont think its ever been replaced. Correct me if I'm wrong but I wouldn't think MAFs last forever.

I want to thank you guys for the advice so far, this forums been a big help and a nice place to turn to for advice.
I hope you don't think of me as mechanically unsympathetic, I really haven't had the money to repair the obvious major issues this car is having.

 

Another reason I'm leaning towards the MAF, is I've been running the (forced) high boost for a while now. Easily over a year, maybe year and a half.

 

Please read this:

replaced-head-started-ran-shut-off-wont-start

 

I just tried running the car with the MAF unplugged, didn't change a thing.

To give a little back story today, went to school ran perfectly fine to and from. Ran fine going to work, on my way back from work just at the last corner before getting home it got close to idle and died. Pulling into the driveway it almost died but I gave it gas just at the right moment. Pulling into the garage it sputtered and died again. While sitting in the garage in park it idles fine, once i pop it into reverse or drive it sputters and dies, unless i keep my foot on the gas at least a little. Then I unplugged the MAF and tried again, same thing, park = fine; reverse or drive = dies... After this little test I'm leaning towards the IAC, I tried cleaning it out but for all I know it could just be bad and needing a replacement. :/

 

I had similar issues (low load/near idle shuts off) that ended up being the coolant temp sensor giving intermittent very low readings so the ECU would run way too rich (for even a few seconds at the wrong time) and foul the plugs.

I mention this not because I necessarily think this is the problem, but to illustrate that it doesn't take much for the engine management to go off. And you have a O2 sensor trouble code. That should be priority 1. The O2 sensor is the only reference (other than individual piston acceleration via the crank position sensor) that the ECU has to tell it if the constant changes it is making are working.

A slow O2 sensor is like asking a blind person if it is about to rain, or just cloudy.

 

Thanks for the advice Turkey, the only question I raise when you say that is I've had that error code for a while. Granted it could be finally going out, fast...
None the less, once I have the money to do so I will be replacing the important components. Should one O2 sensor be replaced before the other? I only ask seeing as the car has a before and after sensor. I don't know if one may carry more weight than the other in making the car run properly.
I'm also wondering if I should just replace the essentials once the money becomes available. MAF, IAC, O2 sensors, spark plug wires and distributor cap