I have a 1989 Volvo 740, 2.0 that just won’t start! If I can’t get it running I’m going to have to scrap it, which I really don’t want to have to do. I’m in desperate need of help!!!!

The story so far – It all started with a leak at the main fuel pump under the car, which I had replaced. Then a few weeks later the car would cut out from time to time and the pump was making a strange buzzing noise so the garage swapped the pump with a new one thinking it might have been faulty but the problem remained. Then came a new in-tank fuel pump and they also said I needed a new distributor cap, leads, rotor arm and plugs, all of which were replaced. The saga went on for weeks/months, the car run for a while then wouldn’t start so it went back to the garage, they would fiddle about with it in some way and it would start and run…. But never for long. Oh, and it also had a new fuel pump relay and fuse.

Anyway, now the car won’t start at all and nobody knows why. I have tried a new ignition amplifier and ignition coil. The garage says it gets a spark and fuel though, but surely that can’t be! Needless to say I don’t use that garage anymore!!!

I really can’t afford to spend much more money on the car and cannot afford to take it to a Volvo dealer.

I really like the car and would love to get it running again but where do I start!!?? Any help/ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Norm

 

Number 1 suspect is the crank position sensor (RPM sensor). If it's original it needs to be changed anyway. I don't know how to test it without swapping it. Look for signs of broken/bare insulation on the wiring to the CPS. It sets on top of the bell housing behind the engine. Hard to reach and see at the same time. Don't break the mounting bracket or you will have to drop the tranny.

 

Your CPS should have a white band on the cable. Yellow band is old.

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exe...ategory_id/116

 

If it's an 89 it should have the hall effect sensor in the distributor, rather than an RPM sensor on the flywheel. This applies the the B230F and B200F engines which are SOHC. If it's a DOHC (B204F) it will have the sensor on the flywheel. It should also have a diagnostic unit on the driver's side wheel housing, see the attached picture. If you got the B204F, I can send directions on how to use the diagnostic unit. If you have the SOHC engine, then I'd pull the distributor and look at the hall effect sensor. If it's really oily there it's probably shot. I have instructions on how replace that too. If you need that. It depends on the system in your car.

 

Good point, Joe. He said '89 2.0 which kinda had me buffaloed.

 

Yeah, I've never seen a 2.0, so that has me wondering too.

 

I THINK the 2.0 is a tax bracket car for some small European markets, Italy comes to mind immediately. However, I though the 2 litre engines were turbo?
I will also mention crank angle sensor. By the sounds of the garage you took the car to, I would pull the codes from the car and also check fuel pressure. If you can't do that, have a compenent garage check them for you.

Regards, Andrew.

 

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I had heard CPS as well but I gather my car doesn’t actually have one. Here are links to some photos of the engine bay.


http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01435.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01434.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01432.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01431.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01430.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01429.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01428.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC00499.jpg

 

You need to check for spark, check cam timing and check for fuel pressure/injector operation.
Guessing and throwing parts at it won't work. It's probably time to buy a workshop manual.
You need to ensure you have the basics checked, then we can proceed.

Regards, Andrew.

 

Go to www.stepbystepvolvo.com for free guide to 740 no-starts.

 

After a bit of poking around it looks like your car has a B200E (SOHC) engine and the pictures make it clear that your car was made for a non-American market, so that explains a bit. I think you have a Bosch K-Jetronic Fuel Injection system. There's no FI computer, but there should be an ignition computer. It probably work like my old ignition computer in a lot of ways. The system wont start up (fuel pumps and ignition computer) unless the ignition computer gets a signal that the engine is turning over. It was mentioned earlier that it could be a bad crank sensor or hall effect sensor. Since the engine is an older design I would guess that it uses a hall effect sensor in the distributor (see pic, cap, rotor and shield have been removed). I think I can see the wire leading to the sensor in your pictures. Pull out your distributor and check to see if it oily like the one in my picture. Testing the sensor is almost impossible, but if it's oily in there, it's probably dead. The sensor get intermittent right before they fail. To fix it you can put a working distributor in or replace the sensor and if oily, rebuild the distributor. I rebuilt mine and replaced the sensor for about $30 bucks. For testing purposes it's easiest to pop in a working distributor.

If fuel is your problem, then try looking into this. It's for Mercedes, but it's pretty general and for K-jet.

Engine turns but won't start

1)No fuel pressure;
Test the fuel pump and pre-pump and do a fuel pressure and volume test.

2)Jammed and/or sticking airflow sensor;
Remove the boot that goes to the intake and loosen the center line on fuel distributor.This will relieve
the control pressure.Press down on the center bolt of
the plate and you should feel no resistance or binding.Also check that the rest height and centering are correct.

3)Auxillary valve is sticking;

4)Defective cold start injector;
If the injector does not function,the air-fuel ratio will be lean,preventing easy start up.

5)Shorted or defective thermo time switch;
The cold start injector will not work if the thermo
time switch is defective.Check this in the event that your cold start injector does not function before replacing.

6)Control plunger sticking;
Remove the fuel distributor from the airflow sensor and check to see if it moves freely.

7)Restricted injectors;
For this to be the cause,they would have to be severely restricted,which is why I listed it last.Do
an injector flow test and ensure that the delivery is
near equal.

 

Thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it.

I'll pull out the distributor this weekend and have a look, and will let you know how I get on.

Thanks again
Norm

 

Update – there does not seem to be a spark! Today I took a spark plug out, earthed it on the block and had someone crank it and there was no spark, then tried another plug/lead and also no spark. Then I tried the old leads and plugs that I still had in the garage and also no spark! I then took the distributor cap off (quite difficult to get at!!) then the rotor arm and dust shield. I took off the 2 bolts of the actual distributor but although it twists, I cannot seem to pull it off. How do I actually take it off?

Also, is the hall sensor the part that is actually on the distributor or the wire/connector that plugs into the distributor? Which do I replace?

As I mentioned, I have tried an ignition amplifier and coil in the past but both were second hand so a possibility of them being broken too I suppose.

Were do I go from here? Should I try to get a distributor?

Here are some photos

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01436.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01437.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01439.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01440.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/somnv/DSC01442.jpg

Thanks
Norm

 

I just noticed your car is stick shift, my hat's off to you. The distributor is just being stubborn. It should pull out. I regularly pull the whole distributor out without taking off the cap and rotor, but seeing as how it's being stubborn I can see why you did that. Just be a little more persuasive it it should come loose. By your pictures you definitely have a hall effect sensor. Judging by your symptoms it think it's gone bad. The hall sensor is in the unit. You can see the attached pictures. press the metal wirery thing on the connector and wiggle it loose. Most of the time the connector base breaks so be careful when disconnecting the wires. I have JB weld holding mine firmly in place since mine was already broke. If you can get a known good distributor that will quickly confirm if that is the problem. If you are adventuresome, you can just get a new sensor from your auto parts store. I'll post the directions in a second post.

 

So here's the procedure according to Volvo. I don't think their warranty statement applies to your car anymore. I found a sensor for 20 bucks here (when I replaced the the sensor I had to cut the wires and solder them to the old connector ends, if you buy from and auto parts place, it may be a bit more, but it should have the wires cut to the right length and the proper connectors on the ends). I also didn't replace the lock pin. It's still tight and when installed it's trapped so I don't see any problem. Here is the thread on my car when the hall effect sensor went bad on it.

 

That's excellent, thanks again for you help to this point.

I think I'll see if I can find a working distributor with hall sensor so that I can just replacement the whole unit, which is probably going to be the easiest way. If I can't find one, I'll just replace the hall sensor itself.

Thanks
Norm

 

I managed to get the distributor off and it all "looks" ok (here is a pic http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...v/DSC01483.jpg ) but I do think the hall sensor is the issue. I'm just trying to get a second hand one at the moment. Not so easy to come by. Hope to get hold of one soon and try it out. Otherwise I'll just have to get a new one.

Cheers
Norm

 

Yeah, that distributor looks really clean. The sensor can eventually just die with age too.

Check out this place:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=38960

and

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=37818

It would really be nice to know what type of ignition system you car has. If you can find that out it might make things clearer. It may even have the same ignition system as my car (EZK117). But I don't know.

You can give that www.stepbystepvolvo.com thing a try. It helped me, but it was written for my exact configuration. Since you have no spark, it may still apply. Just follow it from that point. Still, it might not match up at all.

Good luck.

 

Hi,

I can't get hold of a second hand distributor with hall sensor so I think I might have to attempt to replace the hall sensor on my current distributor. The instructions seem good but do you really have to drill the rivets out that hold the sensor in place? How do you secure the new one? Just JB Weld?

Thanks
Norm

 

The last few posts reminded me of an older car I bought, with an electronic ignition like the one being discussed.
The actual reluctor (the part with the teeth that the Hall sensor picks up) had lost it's magnetism. The car would almost catch sometimes, sometimes start with no problems, sometimes just not start at all.
So, I think a second hand distributor would work well for you.

Regards, Andrew.