Please help: I am a full time student, have 2 part-time jobs, I’m a single mom of 3 children and live 6.8 miles from nearest bus! I purchased an 88 Volvo 740 turbo with 72k miles 5 months ago and it ran beautifully except for stalling every so often when I was going very slow (example going over a speed bump) but it would start right back up in neutral. I have been very careful to get oil changes with high mileage oil and add fuel cleaner once a month on a full tank of gas. Then 2 months ago the a/c went out. I first noticed spikes in the voltage and then a nasty squealing sound. I live in S. central Texas but I stopped using it and it was very uncomfortable but the car ran fine even though the voltage showed up high. Then 1 month ago I accidently let the fuel get very low. When I filled it up at the station (I didn’t force the gas to overfill) I got back in the car and was calculating my gas mileage when a guy came up to my window and told me that fuel was gushing out of the bottom of my car. He said he was a mechanic and could take a look at it. I was going to have it towed but the gas attendant made me move the car and since I could do that I drove the car to his shop where he jacked it up and said the gasket before the tank was bad. He put some epoxy on it and told me to bring it back to have the tank dropped when I could. I applied for a student loan but have not received that yet. I have only been putting a ½ tank of gas in since but about a week later the car started dying at high speeds (while on the highway). Two weeks ago it died repeatedly on the way to school and it was very difficult to get started again, I managed to get to school and then it would not start again. I replaced the voltage regulator on the alternator and the car would start but not remain running. Then some friends helped me tow the car to their house and we put a new in-line fuel filter on (old one had some crud in it) but there was no sound from the pumps until we replaced the fuel pump relay (we did check all the fuses especially #1). Car still won’t start. No spark so we have replaced the distributor cap and rotor (which cracked and fell apart when we took it off), the coil and the ignition control module (powerstage). I even got another computer from the junkyard off of an 89 760 that had been in an accident). Still no spark! Last night my friend noticed that the inline fuel pump makes noise when he jiggles the key or any of the 4 doors are closed. When I try to run it it sounds like it wants to start but it doesn’t. I have very little money left, I am out of ideas, out of groceries and very tired. Please help.

 

Have you had the battery tested? is the check engine light on? Check the 2 wires on the fuel pump. The connectors will look connected and not be (ask me how i know)

 

The first thing I did was have the battery tested and it is good. With all the tinkering we've done we have put the battery on the charger and it holds a good charge. The check engine light never came on when it was running, but the tachometer went crazy when it would lose power. I gave it gas and it wouldn't respond, then suddenly it would. Now it doesn't start, sounds like it wants to but it doesn't.
My friend went under the car and replaced the in-line fuel filter (which is in a cage with the pump that is not in the tank)...he put everything back together and we replaced the fuel pump relay, so now we can hear both pumps...would we be able to hear them if it was wrong? How should it look?
I realize that I am a novice, but I am not afraid to learn...necessity is the mother of invention.
Thank you, I appreciate your help and look forward to your reply.

 

Make sure you did not get the flow backwards on the filter. Can you spray starting fluid in it and it make a better attempt to start? Pull the fuel line off at the intake and see what kind of flow you have when u try to crank. Does your electric fan work?

 

By following this guide http://www.stepbystepvolvo.com/Resou...20No-Start.pdf my friend and I were able to determine that the no spark issue with my car was cause by the Hall Sensor. The mounting clip on the distributor had broken and oil got on the wires causing it to short out. My friend removed the distributor and cleaned it up with gasoline. We put new "O" rings on and epoxyied the mounting clip in place, replace the whole thing and wah-la the car started...ran for about 2-3 minutes and died. After tinkering with it for 10 days he intuitively reached for the ignition control module (powerstage) and switched it out for the one we got from the junker and wah-la the car started, ran, drove and got me home. It runs a little rough so I will go get a tune-up tomarrow so it's back in time.
A big thank you to everyone who has helped and an especially big thank you to my friend Reza and a huge thank you to the author of The No Start Guide.