Hello all,

I'm stuck, so I'm frantically posting this over all of the Volvo forums, so please bear with me here. I just got out of the Navy and I'm currently doing a cross-country road trip in my NA 2.3L 1985 245 from San Diego to Pennsylvania (Crazy, I know). It's got a little over 294K on the odometer and I've had it for about 6 months. The only issues I've had up to this point are an intermittent high idle which is usually resolved by shuttin' her down then startin' her up, and one time I had a weird issue that made it sound like it was all cammed out and what not, like a "bwub-bwub-bwub" and laggy response when accelerating... but that issue was never seen again so idk.... I absolutely love this car.

Anyways, on to the current problem...So, last night I was having a puttering issue (Kind of like what happens when you've gone and run out of gas, like it stops accelerating for a split second even though the accelerator is pinned). I pulled off to the side of the road to look around and make sure nothing major was out of place and all seemed fine. I go to start it and it was a pretty hard start, but I pumped the gas pedal and eventually it fired up and ran normally. This morning I had the same hard start issue but, again, it started up after pumping the pedal a little.

I then stopped for the requisite coffee at a gas station (Panguitch, UT), came out and kablam!!, the engine cranks, I pump the gas, nothing. I started to do some basic troubleshooting.

**I'll note here that I don't hear my fuel pump doing the normal fuel pump "buzz", but then again I've never heard it in this vehicle before, and I also have a lot of stuff in my hatch and no friends to stand back there and listen for it. So this may be the issue but I'd like to consult you guys before delving that far into it. Also, parts are basically impossible to get in this part of UT on short notice.

I've confirmed that I have spark at each plug wire, and I have fuel getting to the engine (Confirmed by taking off the hose of the fuel pressure regulator), the camshaft turns when trying to start, rotor turns fine with no "ticking", ignition coil is fine, all of the silly ceramic fuses are ok, fuse #4 (I think is what it is, 25Amp blade fuse located in the hood on the driver's side fender) is fine. I did a quick inspection of vacuum hoses and wires, all looked fine however I will do a more thorough inspection. There are no odd or misplaced odors. Nothing leaking. I do indeed have gas in the tank. I've tried starter fluid into the throttle body... Nothin'.

I'm now at a hotel a few blocks away charging my phone, my self, and letting the car breathe a little. A lot of other posts have had the fuel pump relay as a common culprit, so I will go check that out in a little, and I really hope to god it's not the MAF,ECU, or the fuel pump (However, based off of my previous note about not hearing it, this seems likely). Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks, in advanced... Also, if you're in/near Panguitch, UT-- Plz come save me.

Also, neat picture, for reference.

 

unplug the MAF and try to start it
if it runs, the MAF might be bad. unplugging it will put the car into "Limp Home Mode" you will get about 15mpg's and 80HP but it'll get you to where you need to go.

the ECU on these cars is very rugged and failures are rare
The wiring however if biodegradable and very very prone to failure


You also have 2 fuel pumps
an in-tank low pressure one
and a high pressure one fitted below the car next to the fuel filter


Spark, fuel and compression are great but what about timing?


I had a similar issue, mine was however with the fuses. Give them all a twirl to clear off corrosion between the fuse ends and the connections. A good fuse that is corroded (even if you can't see the corrosion) is the same as a bad fuse if not worse.

by starter fluid in the throttle being "Nothin"what do you mean? no start? no fire? no signs of life at all?



for the fuel pumps, get yourself a paperclip and jump the fuses (see attached photo) this will test them and effectively by-pass the rule pump relay (its also safe to drive for extended periods of time with the fuses jumped so long as the car is running)

 

So, after it had sat for about 4 hours I went and it started right up, it idled high, and I adjusted the idle screw and let it idle for about 10 minutes. I then drove it to my hotel parking lot and it ran fine. I let it sit there for a little longer to at least charge the battery up and see how she was coping. About another 10 minutes later, I revved it and the response was sluggish. So, since I was in a much more desirable location I shut her down and tried starting it back up and the same symptoms from earlier today were apparent. No start, pumping the gas doesn't help, etc.

I attempted this earlier today, to no avail.

The low pressure one is basically just a lifter, right? Could that explain why I'm not hearing the atypical fuel pump "humm" yet it still runs (sometimes).

I mean, from what I can tell my timing seems to be okay. I'm not well versed in spotting timing issues though.

"Nothin'" as in there wasn't any combustion... Still the same frivolous cranking.

So I tried this and couldn't hear anything and I even got a friendly passerby to lend me his ears on the backside of the car. He didn't hear anything. I also checked the fuel pump relay and didn't feel it click (I remember reading somewhere that you can feel it click). Also, the year on the relay was 2011.

By the way, thank you for the awesome response.

 

sure, glad to help.

if you hear nothing when jumping the fuses then the pump(s) are bad or there is no power

if you have a multimeter test that there are 12 volts at the fuses, also since thy are on a switched circuit it could be a faulty ignition

 

note that the tank pump fuse won't have any power until the pumps are turned on, which normally only happens for a second or two when you switch the key on, then they go off until the engine is cranked over.

 

Yes, this is very common stumbling point. Folks expect power on fuse 4 with key on. In the OP's particular car (LH2.2 fuel system) this momentary "second or two" does not occur either. The circuit is not powered at all until the engine is turning.

Supplying power with the paper clip and not hearing the pumps is sometimes a problem on the side of the road because of the ambient noise. That picture Nichals posted is part of the diagnostic procedure discussed in this link. In the Tank.