Hi all.Happy New Year. Hope Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza were/are all wonderful.
My 1993 240 Wagon has a new battery, a new coil, a new distributor, rotor, wires and passed smog "like a new car," according to the shop. Now it has resumed an intermittent no-start issue. It used to do this ion damp weather. We towed it to a good shop that has worked on it in the past. They fiddled and got it to start, said it was a loose ground, but did not specify.

So, a week later it has done the no-start twice. Battery and starter are good. It cranks well. Has fuel, fuel pump relay is fine, as are fuses.

Testing for spark, there is none when this happens. That is when the key is turned in the switch and it cranks well, just no spark and no start.

By wiggling the key in the switch we got it to start.

One other electrical component that has shown an issue is the back-up light. It flickers and periodically will not light in reverse. The other thing is that if the shift lever is wiggled when trying to start the cranking is slower.

Please give me your considered experience-based opinions of what we should check to cure this no-start issue.

Thanks to all.

 

not uncommon for the ignition switch to fail in these older models. If you get the car to start only after wiggling the key, that's your smoking gun

 

Thanks, I thought of that and need to make it happen again to see if that's what it's doing. I'm going to run the self-diagnostics to verify what IS working.

 

not sure how smart the diagnostics are for a 93. You may want to turn the key on then start probing the relay and fuse box to see whether the key circuit paths are getting voltage

 

Thanks. So far in the past 2 weeks it has started right up. The key does not seem to be the issue.

 

You mention in your original post that you don't have spark when the no-start condition presents itself. Have you checked your crank position sensor? The crank position sensor is what provides the signal for spark. When it starts to fail it may do so intermittently. It is located on the top of the bell housing where the engine and transmission are mated. It has a fat black coax type cable that runs to a connector on the firewall. If the insulation on it is cracked and/or flaking off then it may become intermittent and should be replaced.

 

Thanks for this tip. The shop I had recently deal with the no start just said it was "wiring" and vaguely referred to a bad ground. While I trust the shop (they did get it going and did not charge much) I value the specific advice I get from the Forum even more.

Sounds like a preemptive action may be to obtain a replacement for the crank position sensor, then examine the installed one and be ready to replace it. I guess I should have done this when I had the intake off to do the flame trap and emissions work.

 

Now the BIG question. Please give me a designation for the part and where to source it.
So far I have not found it in VP Autoparts. Next will look at RockAuto, IPD. Others? Thanks

 

OK i think I know what I am looking for now and I have found several items on RockAuto and one on VP. The Rock items are called Crankshaft Position Sensor. The VP is a part called Lambda Sensor Regulating Probe. They do not look the same. The Lambda, I think, is for the exhaust system.
Please give me advice on best manufacturer of the CPS. Rock has Beck/Arnley, NTK (most expensive, OE specs), Karlyn/Bremi/STI (German OE), Facet (Italian) . Based on the product descriptions I am inclined to go with the Karlyn/Bremi due to German OE manufacture. or the NTK (36 month warranty.)

 

Goldenblock here! Senior member
I would also suggest the CPS
We have many used and tested Bougicord sensors available when you need it.

L&D Volvo Redblock parts
Completely Independent
Atlanta Craigslist
Shipping Nationwide

 

I highly recommend inspecting the sensor first prior to replacement. I'm not a fan of the "parts cannon" approach to diagnosing problems. If you need a sensor this is what I would get:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...780-940-271949

The same site has Genuine Volvo for an extra $20 but Bougicord was the OEM supplier to Volvo so I would go with that one. I avoid the "economy" aftermarket suppliers.

 

Thanks Golden Redblock. I'll keep you as a parts resource.

 

Thanks act1292. I appreciate the parts source and guidance.
Can you give me a test procedure?

 

First inspect the wire for flaking/peeling insulation. Otherwise, here is a nice description of the CPS:

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/Eng...stition_Sensor

The FAQ there is very good for diagnosing engine/transmission issues. It is for the 740/940 series but most the engine and transmission stuff applies to the 240 as well.

 

Thanks for this. It is exactly what I was looking for.
To be clear, my issue is exactly what this link describes: a hot no-start condition. This is the first place I have seen that reference in any troubleshooting manual. Sometimes you just have to keep asking and researching.
I have ordered a new CPS and rather than try to remove the old (original, as far as I know) and install the new, due to the difficulty described in the link, I will ask my shop to do it. This link does not describe any procedure to do it other than from the engine bay, but I suspect a shop with a lift will have an easier time since they can access it from underneath the trans and bell housing. But with their extensive tool sets and experience they will take alot less time than I would.
Thanks again.

 

Yeah - you have to access it from the engine compartment. I didn't read all the way through the FAQ I linked but if they say it is hard to access for on the 740 I know the 240 is harder as there is less room between the engine and firewall. I had to invent some new cuss words when I did it on my 240. Need small hands to get back in there. Good luck.

 

Oh yeah, the "small hands" tool set. I have alerted the shop that it is coming with the part this week. Felt odd to be educating them about the needed fix. Oh well. It is a 32 year old tank.

 

how full is the gas tank?
- if the pre pump dies it will usually run so long as it can siphon ot the main pump IF it is more than about half full.

if the pre pump runs you can hear it listen from the filler cap. or get near the pumpo and you can always unplug the wires and feed the wire that powers the pump, probably a pink but I could stand corrected. there is on wire to feed power tot he pump and it is grounded near the access bung there are two wires for the fuel sender, do not back feed those. if you have power at the pink wire then it is geting power from the repaly if not Id try feeding it from the battery, you can add a fuse ot the wire if you like. listen if it runs,

if the tank is ful it may still run but it is feeding up and over by gravity so simply filling the tank with a gerry cannn may or may not help.

if you wan to change the in tank pump I'd first drain the gas, you can pull the hose off from the maiin pump , Id siphon i tto a gerry can using a small hose. dump it in another car to empty your can, you can filter the gas to have a look for bit of rust etc.

next is the main pump working, best to check the fuel pressure. why because even though the main pump runs does not make certain you have fuel pressure, how old is the main pump? if its original Id replace it and the filter at the same time. the filter could be plugged up. both are in the same area so do both at once.

careful because you wil find you neee a 18mm wrench and thye are not that common. and the filter may have corroded connections. If you have to you can remove the entire assembly.. find an 18mm before you go at it.
you can test flow by putting the hose ot the fuel rail in a small gerry can but yiou will need a helper as the hose is then short and you do not want o start a fire, careful the main pump moves a LOT of ful very fast.

if you have fuel pressure and flow , no dont go playing with engine sensors yet.

put a small test bulb, a dash lamp or similar incandecent will do. not a great bug bulb
put that across the coil terminals,
crank the engine, the bulb should blink. if the bulb womt blink you do not have an impulse at the coil so you have no spark. in that case l=ook at changin the crankshaft position sensor. and check that wire it gets exposed ot vibration and fumes and heat changes so it may be a bad.

in a 740 of that ery Volvo employed a "radio suppressor relay" that relayis near the water bottle, this is a 240 so Im not sure if it ever had one.
the radio supressor relay has absolutely nothign to do wit hthe radio it will kill the pulse ot the injectors. a 240 maynot have ome. it is a black relay in my 740 and the car will not start if it is bad and the bullet connectors tend to not fare well.

look around near the driver side inner fender, look for a small white plastic box with a fiuse , if that is corroded it can cause a no start.

check the wires on the battery, not just the big cables but make sure the other wires that marry up also are getting power and you domt have somethign loose.

if you have access to a fuel pressure gauge, you can connect it between the feed hose and the fuel rail, some later models may have a shraueder valve ( tire valve) to make that easier, if not you need a suitable adaptor. its a metric fitting I made my own from the bit on a fuel rail and the end of that feed hose, you cna buy the fittings and the gauge so you can actually check fuel pressure properly.

its not a bad idea to pull the spark plugs see if they are wet with gas.

if you spray quick start in the hose after the mass meter, and then crank it , if the fuel is defficient it will start. if the spark is not there it will not start so this is a simpleand cheap check that you can do.

wiht the age of the car you are due for both pumps and the relay and the fuel filterand the TDC sender.

what you should avoid is trying to shotgunn parts becausse in that process youc an create a seconnd issue and then really become confused.

lets say for example you do as I say and verify yes I do have a pulse at the coil, then wahy would you go mess with the TDC sensor, It is obviuosly functioning because you cant; get a spark with out ti working.
if it is missing its pulse then yest go try replacing yoru TDC sensor.

in the fues tray of a 240, there are some small screws disconnect the battery, take pics so you know what fuses are of what value.
youll need ot remove a fuse or two, take those screws out. pull the fue tray away it has avout a foot of slack now remove all the fuses give the fues tray a good cleaning and the fuses too or replace the fuses they are cheap.

240s are bad for corroded fuses so Id do this every once a year.

also look at each wire where it connects to the fuse tray, pull them off one at a time feel if they are tight and clan and correct any issues there. this wil avoid a lot of issues now or in your future.

id replace those parts but do that when the car is starting not during the middle of troubleshooting a no start isue.

does it have a spark?
does it have fuel pressure?
does it have an ignition pulse?
will it fire up if you spray in quick start?
is the pre pump running?
is the filter plugged, well if it has fuel flow, then no it is not plugged.

pulloff the distributor cap is it all green inside where the contacts are? avaoild caps with aluminum electrodes they are junk. they will work and then they corrode fast.

pull the wires out of the cap and look down, any green stuff in there?
check the engine bay fuse clean the fusebox properly, dont just twist the fuses,or youll be chasing your tail with issues.

pull the connector off the air mass meter, if it will not start,

witll it start with it unlugged? it will run in a get home mode wihtout it, look for green corrosion in and around that connector.

the auxillary air bypass valve is not your issue, it may affect idle but idle is not the same as a no start. dot suspec thrat if the engine won't fire.


ok some other stuff, to check not relating to the no start.. :

near your byspass cvalve under the intake manifold there is an S shaped hose from the flametrap, in that hose or just above it there will be a plastic screen, do clean that screen or it will plug , this will increase crankcase pressure and blow a seal or blow your dipstick out. dont let it become plugged up, the S shaped hose is cheap at rock auto Id replace that and youcan replace that plastic screen or take your time and clean it

the flamertrap can crack or leak bolts can come loose, it can be removed withotu removung the manifold. the last prepump I bought was about 15 bucks they are cheap make sure to get the screen tank sock screen as well.

for the main pump there are cheap ones. Id go fot the bosche, they are a better pump,
th filter will be a bosche one. Just change it if you do the main pump.

I sometimes run a couple wires ot my maim pump so I can put a test lamp on them to virify power from the relay.

I took a used relay and jumped the contacts and added a fuse if I install that it will run the pumps continuously just for testing or maybe a get home trip. noit for funning normally. youcan check with a meter poser at both sides of th efuses that run the pump and the prepump.

you cna use a bit of wire with only one spade connector, push it into the socket of the fuel pump relay to see if each of the 4 prongs has a good amount of drag, its not gone all loose, You can't feel that when inserting the relay because you are pressing in all of them at once,, its just a handy "feeler tool. "
I had a no start in my 240 , it had an ignitoion pulse but no spark, the smalll terminals on the coil they have nuts, they were rusty. my brass push on terminals were clean but the little bolts were rusty and so the coil would not create a spark..

you can connect a timing light tape the button down and crank it see if it flashes, if it does you have an ignition pulse.

normally when you turn the key you will hear the fuel pump run just a momen tot proiime the system . if you do not here athe this is s asign of the pump not running.

I think you are being thrown off by the ignition switch advice. please don't confuse the key and its barrel with the the ignition switch.
the switch is behind it so it is a common and misleading that wilglling the key or having too many keys wrecks the switch, yes it is possible but rare to have a bad key switch. its easy to remove just undo the screws and the switch will come free from the key and its barrel and tumblers. you can check it out to make sure it works right with a meter if you like.

what can cause a problem and is more likely is that the shifter has a bad contact. if it is an automatic, is it?
there is a sliding switch down in the shifter near the gear selection diplay, as you change gearsit makes contact, the car can start in neutral or park, if it wont start try either.
if you need to go in there to examine and clean it, be careful, it is very easy to break those plastic bits. there is a piece of film that slides and has the numbers on it. yes this can be a problem but take osme patience with those parts. I do suggest cleanign the contacts, it can cause a no start. you might fine it starts in neutral but not drive.

you can jump that switch as a test check but you do not want the car to be able to start in drive or you may run someone over.

typically when you go digging in that shifter area you will find a few small bulbs and they burn out so good to have some of those on hand so you can replace the bad ones.

if you can make it start or not start by wiggling the shifter and it is an automatic than suspect that switch, a lot of people will fail in puttin gthat assembly together correctly, take your time or youll be looking for these odd pastic bitsbecuse you broke something.

the shifter and that film hook together make sure to get that aligned correctly and check if the gear selection display works properly. thats where you can easily mess it up.

 

My '94 940 died last February from a dead crank sensor. It had no AC voltage when cranking, and infinite ohms between the 2 pins.

I grabbed one I changed by the parts cannon over 10 years ago from my parts stash - that one had 400 or so ohms IF I'm remembering right, and 1-2 AC Volts cranking. Car started right up after being parked outside 3 months before I had time and a helper to crank the engine while I tested.

 

if you have a timing light youcna check if it blinks, if it is still not starting and you have a blink on the timing light then it has a sparktherefore the CPS is functioning.

sometimes with no helper Ill just tape the button down so I cna see the timinglight flash from the drivers seat. otherwise if you do have a helper you can check spark with a spare spoarkplug grounded to the block.

I thik that CPS just requires a small 10mm wrench, its a bit tight but there shoud be room to loosen it then it just pulls straight up..

if you really do need more finger room you cna probably remove the engine mounts and let it lower a little further support it with a jack. and also at the same time chck if they are broken. a broken motor mount might make the engine shake around and can go unnoticed.
what you can do is take a 2x4 and by prying carefully, Just try to lift the engine up, if you see it break loose from the mount because the motor mount is broken it becomes evident that way.
there is a transmission mount under the transmission also with rubber.

try starting the car in neutral, you might find that the switchin the shifter mechanism is dirty. normally it will be in park when started but it shoudlstart in drive as well, if that seems intermittent it might just need a careful cleaning. I dont think it will crank at all unless the shifter switch makes contact, your issue seems to be that is cranks and won't start. look at the shifter switch if it fails to crank. if it cranks and wont fire that isnt; the shiffter switch.

also follow the battery lead from the negative side ot the body, take that wire off thebody and clean it, its about a foot or so away fromt he battery itself. everythign electrical needs that return path so if it goes bad you can have all soes of strange issues. It shoud also have a good ground the block, you can alway s just add a jumper cable from battery negative to body and to the engine to check that. if it suddnely starts with a jumper in place you are on to something.

I believe the same fuse powers the O2 sensor, lambda sensor.. and the fuel pump so you could have an intermitten near the fuse, try spinning it or better remove the fuebox for a proper cleaning of all connections in there.
i dont think a dead lamda sensor will cause a no start, but if power to it is dead then it could be an intermittent contact to the fuel pump relay.

Id check the wires out to and from that fuse, I wont quote which fuse but instead, just look at the diagram on the fuesbox cover.

I just hopped in my 89 240 it would not start, it had sat about 6 months.. I immediuately rotated the fuses and it started up, if that fues connection si flakey ot can kill your engine instantly in traffic so make sure its making a good connection.

the fuel pump takes a considerable number of amps particularily if it is starting to seize up,, it uses enough current that a bad connection will heat up , If it gets hot it can loose it springiness and haunt you because then , with the temper lost from the fuse holder you have less spring pressure, similar wiht the female spacde connectors, feel them. clean them, look for any blackening or green corrosion. see if they seem tight.

if you simply roll the fuses and then it starts workign fine what you have done is set yourself up for a repeat occurance and if that fuse loses connection even for a moment, your car will instantly die.

normally when you turn the key yoiu will hear the relay click and you will hear the main pump run when the key is first turned so listen for if that happens or not.


also during cranking you may note that the speedo or the tach has a little blip every once around of the engine, if you see that it does it means the cranksahaft postion sensor is working.

the car is late enough that it should have a code reader, for what it worth you can check if it has a stored code or clear the codes by unhooking the battery.

I think you might get misled by a lambda sensor code if the fuel pump relay and the o2 sensor have a bad fuse contact .. It may not have a code secific to the fuel pump. it might instead cough up an error about the lambda sensor (O2 sensor) I thnk their relationship is that they are both fed from the same fuse.

although this is completely unrelated Ill mention that the signal lights in my 240 are fed from the switch on the 4 way flasher. My signal lights stopped working and when I found the problem it was that 4 way flasher switch had gone bad.. funny thing is the 4 way flashers stll worked. the switch is a dual switch and half had gone bad, I fixe the issue by running a separate feed for the signal lights from the fuesbox.. I only mention it in case your signal lights stop wrking , because the 4 way flasher switch is not something youd suspect could cause the signal lights to not work.

i guess this switch prevents you from using the signal lights and the 4 way flashers at the same time.