I've narrowed down my car's no run situation to a fuel problem. No current to the pump, and when I shot it with 12V it didn't do anything. I got a new pump, but before I install it I need to figure out why it's not getting current. Where is the pump relay, circuit breaker, or anything else that might interrupt FP current? Stupid Chilton manual.

Thanks for any advice.

 

behind the ashtray, you'll have to also pull the thing under the radio with the cigar lighter so your hands have room. Far left, a white-ish grey big thing behind the square relay. Fuel pump relay has six prongs. You can pry it open at its base and shim the clickers with wads of paper for testing purposes.

I resoldered mine with good old mostly lead solder and it came back to life despite it not looking all that bad. The nasty eco freak solder they use has a shiny plasticy look to it. It won't really reflow but mix a little lead in and it's happy stuff again.

 

Thanks a ton for the info, eljefino, I found the relay. Hopefully I can get a bit more help, here's my car's situation:

- With the ignition switch "on" (not turning the starter motor) the forwardmost coil of the FP relay (a Volvo part that is prolly original) engages briefly and the pump gets 12V momentarily. The rear relay coil does not engage. Maybe the rear coil only engages when the car is running. Is this correct?

- With the ignition switched off and the rearmost FP relay coil manually engaged the pump gets 12V continually. With the ignition on and the rear coil manually engaged the pump also gets 12V continually.

None of these conditions result in a working pump (it doesn't even hum). I am assuming the pump is bad, but before I return my new FP relay and install a new pump I wanted to get the opinions of the good Volvo peeps here. Thanks again for any tips.

 

Are you getting 12V to the pump ever? You can temporarily remove the relay and jumper the connector in the tray it plugs into to see if the circuit is ok. After removing the relay, make a short 6" or so jumper wire w/ a male spade connector on each end. There are two columns of 3 female sockets where the FPR plugs in. Jump from the socket closest to you on the left to the middle socket on the right. This will complete the circuit and engage the pump continuously, whether the key is on, off or in your bedroom laying on the dresser. Assuming the fuse is ok, you should have continuous power to the pump. If the pump isn't running after doing this...it's dead.

 

there are indeed two relays inside that 'fuel pump' relay One is for the fuel pumps, the other powers the whole EFI system. I can't say which is what by position, but the EFI one should engage when you turn on the ignition and stay engaged til you shut it off, while the other one runs the fuel pumps, and is on about a second to pressurize the fuel system, then comes on again when the engine is turning

 

Thanks for all the help, I owe you guys an update. With good fuses I jumper-wired the relay tray and the pump did nothing (btw my key was actually on my bedroom dresser at the time - good call swiftjustice). So I removed the pump assy and shot 12V to it - still nothing, not even a slight hum. Not sure if my relay is OK as per pierce but I can deal with that later.

Lotsa sediment (and a gallon of 2 year old gas) in the tank, and the strainer is ripped wide open. Any tips on removing the tank? I'm assuming it's not too big for jack stands. I have an Airtex pump from Ho'reilley's but I was wondering if y'all had a favorite. I don't want to go through this again soon.

 

Forgot about one more item: the metal parts of the in-tank apparatus are covered in white chalky corrosion. What's a good method for removal and prevention? Please forgive my ignorance on all this, I'm used to dealing with mechanical pumps bolted to engines.

 

AirTex is as good as any. All new fuel pumps seem to be a crap shoot. Since you're in Plano...I have a clean 740 fuel tank I'd sell cheap. My shop's in Garland.I have the fuel sender assembly as well w/o pump. The corrosion is from moisture, condensation. Yet another reason my Dad always told me to keep my tank full. If you're interested in the tank and sender assembly, shoot me a pm.

 

for all the newbies out there like me - to access the relay you can pop off a little plastic cover on the cigarette lighter and then remove the two screws that are holding the center dashboard console in. From there - you can just pull out the center dashboard console and you will be able to reach the relay.

 

She runs!!

I should have posted an update a few days ago, my apologies. I slapped in the new fuel pump and tank (courtesy of swiftjustice44) and it started up after a few cranks last Friday. No smoke, no leaks, no strange knocks/noises, no misfires, so I am very pleased and surprised. This car hasn't run/been driven in about 2.5 years so I was fearing the worst.

The inaugural drive 'round the block revealed the usuals - noisy brakes, power steering cuts out, and the temp gauge runs slightly above half. Nothing ground-breaking - the odo works but the speedo doesn't. Strangely the o/d switch makes the check engine and upshift lights flicker, I'll check into that. She won't be on the road for about 3 weeks so I'm in no hurry to solve everything immediately. I'm just happy the car is in better than anticipated condition.

BTW I re-installed the fuel pump relay that came with my car and it works fine (as per above). Thanks for the help everyone supplied and I look forward to enjoying my first volvo for a long time!

 

Woohoo!! Good news!!!

 

re: the power steering, use a turkey baster or whatever, suck out as much of the old PS fluid as you can, fill it with fresh ATF, put the front end up on jack stands, start the car, and slowly turn the wheel from stop to stop to stop, stop the car, suck out the fluid again, replace with fresh ATF, and repeat until it comes out clear and there's no more bubbles in the system.

the bit about the dash lights makes me suspect a sketchy ground. most of the dashboard stuff is grounded to a 'bus bar' that is under the fuel panel, and this in turn is grounded near the right front door lower hinge. SOME stuff is grounded to a point near the LEFT front door lower hinge. both these ground points are behind the kick panels on the respective sides.

 

Pierce did you mean to say the dash is grounded under the fuse panel (vs 'fuel panel')? Tomorrow I'll check all these grounds - thanks for the info. I'll do the SeaFoam action and hopefully she passes emissions.

I plan to renew the power steering along with all the fluids. Gawd knows their age. I've boiled brake fluid before and it's no picnic. Hopefully I can catch the last coupla autocrosses of the season in '******* Wagon Mk 3'.

One more question - does the climate control use engine vacuum? There is a dangling vac line coming from the firewall, I have no idea where it's supposed to go.

 

yeah, fuse panel. sorry.

yes, climate control (manual, or automatic) uses vacuum to control the air flaps, etc. also, turbos have a vacuum line to the turbo boost gauge.

 

Actually, Airtex manufactures fuel pumps O.E. for Chrysler. I recently replaced my wife's fuel pump in her 2000 Grand Cherokee and ordered an Airtex. When I opened the box, it was a brand new Chrysler unit with a pentastar embossed in the plastic top plate! Helluva deal! i've used Airtex many times and have had fairly good results in my shop. I've had a couple of immediate Airtex failures on GM's, so prefer Delco for those.... Motorcraft for ford.... nippendenso for Toyota, etc.