First time posting, been on the site a few times but have never posted. Here's the info:

1985 240 sedan , cranks but no start

-New in tank pump and FP relay (36psi pressure while cranking, fills a bottle fast with feed line disconnected)
-180psi on all 4 cylinders
-Hot spark off the coil and every cylinder down to the plug
-All injectors hitting with noid light hooked up
-25amp underhood blade fuse good with new holder - continuity all through the wire
-No difference with MAF plugged in or unplugged
-No air leaks on intake or tube
-Fuel pressure regulator dry inside
-Grounds tested and good
-Cap and rotor in good shape, no tracking/cracks, it is spinning
-All plug wires ohmed out, A-OK
-Timing belt good, cam and crank turning normal, timing marks lined up and all spot on
-Good suction on throttle body when cranking over

Any ideas??

Completely stumped here. Funny part is it won't even pop or attempt to fire with a shot of starting fluid. Leads me to believe I have a spark problem, but all four plugs are new and have a hot spark when grounded to the block. Car was running and just stumbled and quit one day. In tank pump was dead and relay replaced for good measure.

Myself who is fairly skilled in Volvos and a couple of local 240 guys are stumped. Be a hero and solve this mystery! Thanks

 

the fuel pressure should be 44 PSI +/- 2 PSI relative to manifold vacuum. if you unplug the vacuum line from the FPR, then you'd get 44PSI +/- 2. don't even need to crank, just jumper the fuel pump relay (pull out the relay, and jumper socket pins 30 (red wire, ALWAYS HOT even without ignition) to pin 87/2 (yellow/red wire) and both pumps should spin until you remove that jumper.

after cranking it some, if you pull a sparkplug, is it wet ?

 

Plugs are wet after cranking, clearly getting fuel but no spark. Hot spark when checked though. Its almost like when I put the plugs back in the head, I lose the spark. Motor is grounded well.

 

any chance the spark plug wires are out of order?

 

Checked and rechecked firing order. Its all there. I have everything I need to make it run, but it just won't fire. I don't know what would keep it from firing at this point .

 

Check to make sure the timing belt hasn't slipped. Align the crank pulley till the timing mark lines up with the 0 degree TDC mark on the timing belt cover. Pop the top off the distributer cap and verify that it is pointing to cylinder 1 firing position.

I had a no-start condition once where I found that my half-shaft timing was off by a notch or two. I found my timing belt was very loose.

 

Belt is tight and marks lined up, its perfect. With marks lined up cylinder one is at tdc and rotor is on 1.

 

If there is no difference with the MAF plugged in or unplugged, wouldn't you consider this a possible cause? I would certainly try plugging a different maf in. Are you certain the spark is good? I would check for any fouled plugs too. Ive had issues with my 1980 not starting from oil fouled plugs.

 

the engine should start and run, albeit weakly, without the MAF, at least the 2.2 and 2.4 ones usually do. I've heard you shouldn't hot-plug the MAF, make sure ignition is switched off before connecting or disconnecting it (really any electrics).

 

It should, but I have also heard that if the pre-pump is failing/bad that the car will still run [poorly]. I have experienced to seperate occasions, one with an 87 240 and one with an 89 240 where a bad pre-pump or a bad MAF caused no-start conditions.

 

my 740T ran fine for months without the prepump, only stumbling at high throttle high RPM acceleration in 2nd/3rd...

 

Sadly, I am tapping out on this one for the time being. I have a pile of other cars that need to be fixed and have spent a ton of time on this one. Owner might bring it to the dealer, but they aren't not sure yet. Myself and two other Volvo "experts" put countless hours in and couldn't get it going. One guy has owned over 200 240s. Keep the suggestions coming, the customer is local and I can pop in and keep checking things.

I did unplug the MAF with no change. Both fuel pumps are running and fuel pressure is sufficient enough to make it run. Plenty o' fuel