Hey guys,

New to the Volvo world. Have built and raced BMW M3. Know those cars quite well. But, I'm a fish out of water with this vehicle.

Vehicle: 1998 S70 GLT (non turbo)

The car belonged to my sister and has been given to me. I'm preparing the car for my daughter to drive when she attains her license. Which brings me to this forum. I've done a search and for the life of me I'm just not sure what to do.

Here's some history...back in October, I washed the car. After drying it off, I started it up and immediately noticed that it was running rough and the car died. I figured it probably ran out of gas (which was something that happened to my sister on numerous occasions...since the gas gauge stopped working while my sister owned the car and she never fixed it.

Anyway, got some fresh fuel, and the car started. Again, it was idling rough. I pulled the car back into the parking space and attempted to feather the throttle. When I did, the car died. Tried to restart and it would only crank. Killed the battery and lost interest. Let the car sit until this week. Put a boost pack on the battery and began cranking. The car wanted to start. I remembered that she had mentioned the car had thrown the MAF code but was running alright. For giggles, I pulled the MAF plug and cranked it again. The car started right up. It ran fine until I plugged the MAF back up. Immediately killed the engine.

Since I knew it had the P0102 code, I decided to purchase a *new* Bosch MAF. Installed it tonight and tried to start the car...won't start. I had left the code intact (hadn't cleared it)...could that be an issue?

I'm now concerned that there may be multiple issues (fuel pump or pressure regulator). By the way, after cranking for some time...it smells like the system is flooded!?

Can anyone offer up some advice?

I hate to admit that I don't have any repair manuals for this car. For my BMW's...I've got a library. Looks like Chiltons or Haynes for the Volvo. Which one is better?

I truly appreciate any help you guys can offer.

Ken Arutunian

 

I think you got a defective MAF. I've seen it... but your car has all the signs of the problem being with the MAF... won't start, code 102, starts when you unplug the MAF... I think your new MAF is defective. Exchange it.

As for repair manuals... I dislike Chilton's myself, for most cars... however, the Haynes manual out there is a British- spec manual, so much of the information is inaccurate. For the home mechanic, on one of these cars, I'd get an Alldatadiy.com subscription for your car- it's very informative, much better than a plain repair manual- many shops use alldata. Or, look on bittorrent for a copy of VADIS, which is Volvo's own computer- based setup. There's also a copy of some repair manual out there on (I think) Matthewsvolvosite.com for a 1995 850, and most of the info from that will apply to your '98 S70.

 

Thanks for the confirmation on the MAF. I'll definitely check into alldata.

I'm going to try cranking on her again this afternoon and see what happens. If the new MAF is indeed defective and the car doesn't start...will it throw code 102?

I cleared the code last night, but the battery to the car was dead and my jump pack isn't functioning well with these single digit temps outside

Thanks again!

Ken

 

For what it's worth, these cars are prone to lawn mower syndrome. If you can get it running don't shut it off till it's warmed up some. Upon cold turnoffs they lose compression and will crank the battery dead, trying to start but not getting there. Best cure for it is to pull the plugs and put a couple drops of oil in each cylinder, put it back together and fire it up.
If the new meter is bad the car should start with it unplugged.

 

Oh, and it won't necessarily throw the code if the car hasn't had a chance to actually run with the new sensor installed. Codes stored in memory won't affect the car's ability to run, either.

As for the "lawn mower syndrome" Paulie mentioned, it does happen, and when it does, usually the engine will crank "weak," as in, it will sound like it's spinning a lot faster than normal. When that happens, holding the pedal to the floor will also help sometimes- don't just press partway, or it will flood- holding it to the floor will keep it from flooding. If that doesn't do it, do the oil trick Paulie suggested.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, the engine is turning over too fast. I cranked and cranked last night and it wouldn't start with the MAF plugged in or without it plugged in. So, I'll try the low compression start method with holding the throttle to the floor and if that doesn't work...I'll use the oil method.

I feel like once I get it started it'll be fine. Crazy.


Ken