We have gotten a ton of work done to our 960 over the last year including a new head gasket and various seals, new motor mounts and several other things I can't remember. The car runs great except for one thing it stalls at idle.

You can run it all day and no problem as long as it is moving but as soon as you stop at a red light or are in stop and go traffic it just dies often shuddering violently first and you have to fire it up again. Trying to get 3 miles home in stop and go traffic it can cut our 20 or 30 times.

The other weird thing is that when you move the car to neutral from drive at a red light it takes a lot longer to cut out. Also when in neutral and it starts to shake just before it cuts out if you floor the brake the rpms actually jump and the car often will not cut out, pressing the gas won't do anything and this doesn't work at all when it is in drive.

We have had it in to the dealer twice now and they say they cannot find anything wrong with it and it has never cut out on their test drives but it does for us constantly. They also said they have never heard of anything like it before and can't really do anything.

So we are really stuck and I'm hoping some of you could give some input. As with everyone else now cash is really tight and this is our only car and getting even a different used car is not an option at all.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

I just posted with the same problem after replacing some parts. maybe we will get some answers.

 

A few things come to mind quickly that may be causes:
idle speed motor, air leak intake gasket, air leak in intake air ducting, bad throttle sensor, bad MAF.

Are there any codes? Not all codes will trip the check engine light, so there may be something stored.

I'll assume there is no check engine light currently, so I would guess the idle speed motor may need some cleaning. Or the throttle sensor is bad.

If the MAF is bad, disconnecting it should make it run on limp home mode which will be much better idling.

DanR '94 964 358,000 miles (124,000 on the new engine)

 

I'm not sure what you mean by codes. The check engine light has been on for years every since one winter the front air dam got ripped off in a show bank and the outside temperature no longer displays. We were told not to worry about it as it tends to come on and off every now and then and seems to have a mind of it's own.

 

When that check engine light goes on, that means there are malfunctions sensed by the computer, which gives one leads to what the causes of the malfunctions. Not sure why missing a front end part would have anything to do with the engine management system, unless an engine part was damaged in that snow mishap? If that is the case, then one would need to start with that as a possible cause for your problems now.

So if your check engine light is on, the codes need to be read. That can be done by your mechanic for a cost or just about any of the large auto parts stores for free. Get the codes read, and get back to us.

DanR

 

I called around to every single large auto part store in town and every single one refused to read the codes saying they don't do that at all and I had to go to the mechanic or dealer. A few said they had the machine to read the codes but still would not do it even for a fee.

So I called the dealer we always take it to and they quoted me at $140 per hour to read the codes and said odds are it will take multiple hours but I can't see how. So I called the new dealer in town (the first one has been a volvo dealer since the 50's) and they said it would be 30 mins and $60. So come payday or hopefully sooner I'll come back with the codes for you.

 

Dan's 1st post is most likely problems.

Why don't you go and purchase a code reader? You can get them for $60 off eBay and other places. That way you will have one for yourself. If you are going to start trying to fix your car yourself, you will need a code reader and more tools.

You may also want to start charging people $10 or $20 to read their codes for them.

I use mine every time I go look at a car that I'm thinking about buying. Saves me $$$ every time.

 

OBD get you very confused.
Best thing to make the right diagnosis is fuel pressure gauge, cylinder compression gauge and also the voltmeter for checking all sensor.
Go on youtube and look how to check sensor with voltmeter.

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