Hi folks.

I need some troubleshooting guidance before I bring my 1989 Volvo 245 wagon back to the shop.

I was driving the wagon in the hot sun today for a few hours and intermittently the oil pressure gauge needle was jumping back and forth wildly. Stopped at an intersection and the car stalled out. Every time I tried to start and drive, it would stall again. And the engine had no compression.

Luckily it was a block from my garage. Got the car parked and let it sit for five minutes or so. When I started it back up it idled fine, but the "Check Engine" light was on.

I've only had the car a couple of weeks. It stalled in the same way two days after I bought it. The Volvo mechanic could not replicate my experience. He said it could be a number of things. He replaced a cracked fuel pump relay switch and did an oil/filer change.

Any ideas on what is causing this problem? Thanks in advance for your time and consideration. Hope all is well with you and yours. Kind regards.

David.

 

wildly jumping oil pressure needle could be 1) bad oil pressure sensor, 2) bad wiring to 1. 3) bad wiring or grounds behind dash. 4) catastrophically low oil levels or failing oil pump. 4 is bad news.

'engine had no compression' ? you did a compression test ?

if the check engine light is lit on a 1989, you can display the ECU and ICU error codes via the little blinky-box under the hood near the left strut tower. see https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/Eng...agnosticCodesi for the procedure to read them.... you want to perform "Diagnostic Test Mode 1" in both positions 2 (fuel injection) and 6 (ignition), then compare the codes you get with the ones listed farther down that page.

 

Thanks Pierce. I appreciate your expertise. Cheers. David.