Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to view my post, and a great thank you if you contribute.

The car I am working on is a 1998 Volvo S70 2.4 non-turbo model. It belongs to my girlfriend, and she came to me to have this issue fixed. Initially the car was having a really bad stutter issue when it started, which is what she explained, then I heard it myself. After some research online I figured out that it was either the fuel pump or the fuel pump relay. Since the car had been starting after some time, and after speaking with a local mechanic, it was easy to assume that the relay was working fine and the issue was the fuel pump since the car eventually started. when I put the key to on, I would not hear the fuel pump whir up. I ordered a new fuel pump, put it all together, primed it and it now won't start. I removed the fuel pump and sure enough, there was fuel coming up through the pressure hose because some squirted out when I removed it again. I switched the pump to the old fuel pump assembly unit that holds it in place, connected everything back together and the same issue. I hear the car sputter lightly, but no go. I checked the fuses, nothing was burnt out. The fuel pump relay should be working fine since the fuel pump is whirring up as it should. I primed it for about 20 min, and it would not go. There is a possibility that the engine is flooded, but I do not know how long it will take for that to dry up. Any suggestions?

Addition: I did change the spark plugs before changing the fuel pump or diagnosing that issue thinking they were old and the car just needed a basic tune up from what she had described. It made the sputtering noise after the plugs were replaced. I will be checking if they have any spark to them. Would a bad coil cause a sputter?

Update: I went back out to check on a few things after watching a video by rspi that is on this site and has a bunch of DIY videos for volvo, good stuff. I checked the fuel pressure at the shrader valve and had fuel spit out and was not a small trickle. I then removed the plug wires to see if some were not popped on correctly, and they were fine (I did not have another person with me to crank and check the spark). Tomorrow morning I will be checking the spark with her as well. I hope to get this resolved as she needs her car and I need mine back since I let her borrow my V70.

 

if you have fuel (you can get a pressure reading on the schrader that can confirm) and spark (you pulled wired and tested with a spare plug) then next is to check for mixture. Does it sound like it wants to start when cranking? Have you tried disconnecting or inspecting the MAF and ICV? If you pull a plug after cranking, is it wet or dry?

 

Thank you mt for replying. I checked the Shrader valve and fuel spits out, not a slow pour, but an actual spit of fuel. I took out the plugs today and they were all wet, one of them had a greyish slush on it. I took them out and it has been a few hours. I am about to go put them back in and see if that works. I had the assumption that the engine might be flooded, so i left it all night. I tried turning it on today and it did get that sputter like it wanted to turn on. The MAF doesnt seem to be damaged or tampered with, but i will remove the sensor today and see if its dusty. I will get back to you after I do that. I don't know where the ICV is, and how to check it. I will do some more research right now. As for checking the spark, I don't have an old or spare plug, I will be placing one wire next to the engine block to see if it sparks.

 

I tried it again after I let the plugs stay out and dry. The car had a sputter and then it stopped. It may be the plugs not firing, I can't be for sure. We will be taking it to a mechanic as soon as we can. I will try other things if anyone else has more suggestions.

 

So i did some research and have come to the conclusion that the ICV is the IACV? The Idle Air Control Valve. Possible that it can stick after so much time and use. I will be removing it as well and cleaning it out.

 

We have decided to leave it be, I have no clue what is wrong with this thing. Thank you very much for helping.

 

Back to your question on the coil - if you have fuel, then next is to check spark. Rarely will bad plugs cause a car not to start (unless they are fouled beyond belief or totally gapped wrong - an easy clean and regap to .028 even for old plugs should be good enough). You are on the right track asking about the coil. Assuming the car has the traditional distributor/rotor/wire harness (ie prior to S70s moving to the "coil pack" design ), and you don't know when it got a full tune up, I'd say to replace the wires/cap/rotor. You can test the coil itself (Ask your local Autozone if they test coils) but its not a common failure. I've seen distributor caps crack, rotors corrode to the point they don't make contact on all wires, I've had a coil wire fall apart due to corrosion etc - all of which can create a no-start condition. I tend to do a full tune up every 2-3 years on my 850... which has 200K miles and I've never touched the coil. On the newer S70s with the coil packs, most suggestions are to expect to replace the coil packs every 100K miles - before they break down... Its expensive but you only do it once every 5+ years.