Dear users,

I've used this forum (among others, I admit) for quite some time to look up issues on my 1988 volvo 240. However, this hasn't helped me to solve the utterly persistent bad cold start of my technical monument on wheels. Therefore I have come to seek your online help and get my baby to start swiftly again.

First I will describe what happens (or what I experience that happens) and aftwerwards I'll present the long list of stuff I (unsuccessfully) tried already.

What is happening:
When starting the car in a normal fashion, but waiting a couple of seconds in II before cranking, I can hear the fuel pump turning. When actually starting the start motor cranks the engine and usually it turns on after one or two tries, only to die out immediately after that (half a second, second). When turning the key to position II, the speakers give a short hum that stops after a second or so. Finally, after 6-13 times the engine will keep running and after half a minute it runs normally and I don't experience any loss of power or other out of the ordinary behaviour. When starting again, it does so very well. The mileage is also decent (1 liter is good for 10 km on average).

What did I check already:
-Throttle position sensor ok
-Idle air valve ok
-New air filter
-Throttle body cleaned
-New spark plugs
-New spark plug cables
-New distributor cap
-Checked fuses
-Replaced coolant temperature sensor
-Sanded some ground connections
-Checked inlet manifold for air leaks (none found)
-Checked if lambda sond was properly tightened in the cat
-Googled for one consecutive month

Also, the previous owner (I've had the car for half a year now) stated the valves had been adjusted (that 12000 km ago now) and the timing belt had been replaced by a mechanic.

I hope anybody has any suggestions on how to tackle this problem, since it really bothers me. Thanks in advance!

Merlijn