I have a 94' 960 and it will not start. I turn the key and it clicks but will not fire it starts when it is jumped so I was thinking it was the battery but before puing a new one in I want to be sure that it is not leaking power from somewhere. It started in the morning and when I put it into gear the engine shut off and nothing happened when the key was turned. Later prior to jumping it, the engine turned and tried to start but failed to until jumped. When it was jumped it made a clicking sound for a few seconds then firred normally and started. I let it run for about 5 min then put it into drive and got a few yards before the engine quit again. I had this problem with a Mercedes I have and it was cured easily (and inexpensivly) with new carbon brushes in the voltage relay inthe alternator. It was an older car but is there a similar setup on the Volvo and could it be the cause?
Was just playing with it turned the key half way (engine not on)and the lights come on and it dings as usual, I acidentially hit the wipers and the tachometer started going crazy. When I tunrend them off it was fine, to test I flashed the highbeams and the same thing happened to the tach if that makes a difference no other guages moved.

 

Maybe a bad ground or bad connection somewhere.
Has any work been done to the engine lately?

 

The head gasket as well as plugs nothing else and that was about a month ago. Where should I begin to look and should I put the new battery in?

 

First thing to look at is look buy the drivers side engine mount(Left side of car U.S.)
Under where the mount is you will see a wire loom that bolts up by the mount. Look on the back side of the mount. There should be 2 or 3 ground wires that should be on the rear screw. They are the fuel injection grounds. That will mess with the car stalling. Maybe even mess with the guages as well.

Make sure those wires are on there and grounded good.

 

I just went out and it started no problem ran fine same old battery and I took it for a drive without any problem that engine is a pleasure, itran perfectly. I am in Connecticut and it is freakishly hot today 65could that be the cause of the ease of operation today? It has not been particularly cold though

 

I would still check the ground wires.
I have seen them left off and cause the same problems.
Some of the cars won't start right away.
I have seen some last 3 months before acting up.
It is all according to where the wires sit. They might sit on a ground then when you hit a bump they might fall off and make the car stalll.

Is the Check engine light on?

BTW it is 90 here in Florida today.

 

No no warning lights I will chack the wires thanks tech I will post my findings, the battery was making a hissing like sound afterI shut it off and was looking in the engine compartment not loud but enough to hear.

 

Also hook up a Meter while the car is running and make sure the Alt. isn't overcharging.

 

I started the car again succesfully as well as checking all of the wires around the drivers side engine mount and they all seemed to be fine no loose wires or ones with cracked or worn insulation prior to starting there is a clicking sound I asuming the starter which did not happen prior to the start of the problem at $115 I am still hesitant to install the new battery aside from the alternator is there anything else to check? Thank you tech

 

Maybe PNP does it start in Neutral when it won't start in park?

 

I installed the new battery which was very difficult due to the ammount of corrosion. It is all cleaned up now and the car is functioning fine. Are the holes below the battery tray supposed to have plugs or just be open? Also what would be the best thing to do about the corrosion below the tray asthetics is not really important thanks.

 

No on the plugs there.
Clean the body with Baking soda and water.
Then paint or pretect with something.

 

The radio now says code I assume it is antitheft and i have looked through the paperwork but can not find anything that is a dealer thing right? Also when I turn the wheel at low speeds especially while parking it makes a grinding shudder.

 

Maybe steering fluid low?
The code needs to be gotten from the Dealer.

 

Yeah got the code they were actually very helpful. I have changed the steering fluid on my mercedes as well as the filter is it the same set up? Is there a filter and then just drain with a turkey baster that I use for that purpose and refill? Also could you recomend a good literature source for the 960 I am only very familiar with Mercedes but I do love the 960, I'm a sucker for an inline six lol. Thank you as always Tech.

 

No filter on the power steering.
You can drain and refill the way you want.
Or remove the return line and start it up and flush the system. Catching the return in a container.

Search E-bay for a program called VADIS it is very helpful.