Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving,

We purchased this car this last Sunday,We knew it had a radiator leak, and would need struts but that was it. Stopped at an auto parts store, got coolant and a radiator stop leak. It ran fine on Monday, seemed "low-gy/loegy" on Tues morning, it was cool and damp, I went to check it that night and found nothing wrong, but went to check the lights/turn signals and replace some that were out on it Weds morning AND warmed it up, it took several attempts to get it to start and stay running, it idled a little rough but then seemed fine.
No problems, I went out about 2 hours after my husband got home from work, thus allowing the engine to cool. I drove it about 2 miles, and stopped at a stop sign where it went "low-gy" IE it acted as if it weren't getting gas, fuel filter being or getting clogged. But in Neutral or park the engine ran fine. I decided to let it idle for a bit, and again it seemed fine after that. Although it was a little "low-gi" at another stop sign about another 1.5 miles down the road.
After doing what I needed to do I checked the coolant and noticed it was low, so filled the over flow tank up, I was on my way home, with no idling or other issues , I would have to take the high beams off when cars approached and noticed the radio lights would flicker, sometimes along with the high to low beam switch, other times on their own. I then noticed the coolant level temp gauge had suddenly quit working, and then I couldn't get the high beams to switch to the low beam setting.
I got it home, turned it off, let it sit a moment and then found it would not turn on, and the shift lock had engaged and would not disengage, and after reading the owner's manual got it to disengage, I put the car in Neutral and it still wouldn't start, but per the manual, it should have.
Fast forward to this afternoon, I got fuses, (in case of), more coolant and more radiator stop leak.
I looked under the hood when I got home and saw there was a LOT of coolant all over the inside of the engine compartment. I am going to order a new radiator. My first thought is yes the coolant caused it, but what caused the rough idle/low-gi-ness in drive or reverse but not park AFTER it had been driven 20+ miles. and the hard to start issue that had previously NOT seemed to be an issue for 2 days?
I talked to the person we bought it from, he claimed no issues. The car had sat for a little while, and I just bought some fuel system cleaner, and have put some in the gas tank. And we have put new fuel in the tank on the first day my husband drove it to work.
I finagled with the shifter and put it in park, it wants to start now, but the battery is nearly dead.
But can anyone think WHY the electric system would be so wonky? OR why it would work great for 1 day, wonky the next, okay after a good warm up and then wonky again 2 hours later, and have a major electical issue suddenly pop up??

 

Wow! On the bright side, you don't mention the brakes, so they must be OK!

Seriously, I think you need to go to an inexpensive Volvo shop or find someone in your area who knows Volvos... Don't mean to sound discouraging but you need much diagnosis, then possibly a lot of parts, then some knowledge how to put them on.

BTW, what's low-gy/loegy?

 

Sounds like multiple issues going on here.

1) Get the coolant issue fixed and don't drive it till you do. Overheating these engines is the sure way to blow a head gasket. Not sure if it is already blown cause the previous owner is obviously not being straight with you. Check the oil. If it looks like a chocolate milkshake then your head gasket is blown and you will need to pull the head to replace it.

2) If the car is sluggish and it had set for some time, you may be in need of a fuel filter replacement. Many times after a car sets for some time, the gas turns to gunk and then that all accumulates in the filter and clogs it within a few miles of running. You may need to do this again in a couple of months until all of the gunk is out of the tank. You should also check the in-tank fuel pump. These cars have two fuel pumps, one in the tank and one under the car on the drivers side. The car will run with only the main pump working but can suffer fuel starvation when the tank is low and the in-tank pump not working. Here is a good site that describes how to check out the in-tank pump: In the Tank - 240 Volvo Tank Pump and Sender

3) Your engine is equipped with On Board Diagnostics (OBD). You can read the codes yourself and do some diagnosis on the fuel injection and ignition system. Take a look at this link: Engine and OBD Diagnostic Codes
It is for the 740/940 but your car has the same system (ignoring the parts about the Regina system). CHeck your codes and start diagnosing from there.

It's going to take some time and diagnosing to get this car to the state where it can be a daily driver. These engines are robust though and if the rest of the car is in decent shape it will be well worth it. Plus there are plenty of people willing to help you out.

Good luck