240 station wagon, 250k miles, and she's great in all regards .. except ..

When I turn the key to position 2 (and listen carefully), I can hear either a faint pair of quick, back-to-back clicks or I hear a faint whirring.

If I turned the key to position 3 after the back-to-back clicking, she would crank and crank but never start. If I turned the key to position 3 after the whirring, she would turnover immediately and run.

The cranking-but-not-starting sounds exactly like an engine cranking with no fuel. The faint back-to-back clicking sounds exactly like a solenoid or switch being tripped. The faint whirring sounds exactly like a pump priming somewhere around the engine (sound seems to come from ahead of the driver, not from behind).

6 months ago (which also happens to be summer & fall in warm California), it was 50/50 my first key-turn of the morning would meet with clicking versus whirring. So given 2-3 key turns, I'd always meet at least one whirring and thus she'd start and my day would go on.

4 months ago (chilly fall/winter mornings, but not "cold"), I'd have to turn the key 4-5 times before coming to my first whirring at all. Once I'd get to the whirring however, she'd run fine.

2 months ago (frosty, icy mornings), I'd have to turn the key 20-30 times before coming to my first whirring. Whirring now would also sometimes result in not quite enough fuel to the engine - she'd try to turnover but fail & stall. I'd have to hunt for the next whirring noise before she'd really, truly turnover. Also happening (albeit rarely), the engine would cut out of fuel while driving. I'd coast to the shoulder, put her in park, throw the hazards, and turn the key. She would start right up, and I'd continue on my way.

A week ago, she would not start at all. I'd turn the key 50+ times, and all she'd give were those clicks, and never any whirring.

Tank has always had gas. Battery has always been charged and in good condition. Transmission was always in park.

My top suspicions are fuel relay, then main pump (because the whirring comes from up front), then tank pump (because the front fuel pump was supposedly replaced only a year ago and noises can originate not where they come from).

Thanks much, in advance.

 

It's getting worse it sounds. I would think it might be the ignition switch. Maybe the fuel injection relay. The whirring noise is the fuel pump and the clicks are the fuel injector relay under the hood (It's there on my car).

From what you said it sounds like the fuel pump relay is not making contact or is simply not energizing. That's why I'm thinking the ignition switch. It may be the park/neutral lockout switch getting finicky, but I have no experience with the automatic tranny setup.

What year is your car and is it a stick or and auto?

 

If you are referring to the radio suppression relay, it doesn't exist on 240s. Instead, I would suspect the fuel pump relay is going bad. As Joe said, the whirring is the main fuel pump. If you don't hear it when the key is in the II position and you only hear clicking, I would check this relay. It is a whitish colored relay behind the glove compartment. They are known for developing cracks on the solder joints of the circuit board. You can easily re-flow the solder if you have a soldering iron to see if the problem goes away. Or you can just replace it. They range somewhere between $30-$50 depending on where you purchase it.

You might want to check out the functioning of your fuel pumps while you are at it. Here a link with a nice writup on how to check the pumps:

In the Tank - 240 Volvo Tank Pump and Sender

 

Titan Joe, thank you very much for the reply!

 

Act1992, thank you very much. I will try that first.

I've seen that article on checking fuel pumps - I caught it from other threads on here. It's great! I intend on using it. Thank you again.

 

junk yard relay man.....but don't buy the cheap 17 dollar relay...if you buy the fuel pump relay spend the 45 bucks for a good one...FCPEURO.COM or IPDUSA.COM both offer an economy relay and recommend "only as a back up in the glove box" as mine worked for a week then quit....but it did get me home so 17 dollars to keep in th glovebox...45 dollar one as replacement.