I bought a 1985 volvo 240 a bit ago, and a friend and I have been doing regular maintenance on it for a few months. Most of the issues have been wiring problems. Currently, we got it running well after replacing the four wires that often rot in the engine wiring harness. We went for about a mile, then went to turn around and it died. We messed with a ton of stuff, and are now assuming its a fuel issue. We opened the white fuel pump relay (on the passengers right hand side), and one side wasn't properly initiating. We replaced it and the car would turn on for about a second. We then assumed it could be a fuel pump issue since we couldn't hear it running. Today we replaced the inline/main fuel pump and fuel filter, and now the car sputters and turns on for half a second, then dies. The new fuel pump is running well (it was leaking terribly and we tightened the bolt for the hose, and it was fine then), and we attached the in-tank fuel pump to a second 12v source we had, so we had both pumps running. Same issue with sputtering but not starting.

I'm wondering if it could be spark plugs, injectors, or perhaps ecu? We have had intermittent starting issues in the past, but it would resolve itself after some time/plugging and unplugging in relays. I do NOT have the pink-label ecu that are known for having issues. Any input is appreciated!

 

Check out my page. I just uploaded a whole bunch of wiring diagrams for a '84 240. A lot of it will translate to your car if you know what fuel and ignition system you have.

From the sound of it, you have a charging issue. Being that you died on the road, but it started and ran great at first. Dive into the battery and alternator and make sure those components are good before my moving on.

 

I can send you photos of the Bentley manual too if you need it. You can do all fuel ecu checks step by step with it. It removes all doubt. Ignition system too.

 

that would be great if you could send me photos of the instructions for checking ecu! We fixed alternator and battery issues a while ago. Doesn’t start with a junk either…

 

LH 2.0-2.4 system electrical tests