Hello Everone;
My name is Doug from Platteville, WI. Platteville is located 20 minutes from the tri state area of WI, IL, IA in the southwest corner of the state.
In December I purchased a 1993 Volvo 850 GLT 4dr sedan for my son Josh as his 1st car. We are very pleased with the quality and amenities that are part of the Volvo tradition of fine motor cars.
Shortly after having the car Josh tried to start the car and it would crank over nicely but failed to start. I arrived on the sceen about 10 minutes later and the car started immediately. Josh felt foolish and went about his day. A day or two later same thing happened. This time I could not get the car started so I took the car up to my friends repair shop and he could not start it either. He preformed a "wiggle" test of the wiring under the hood and the car started and did not have a problem for 7 weeks. The mechanic sadly did not know which wire did the job or even if the wiggle test in fact was the reason it did start.
Yesterday the same situation reared it's ugly head. The car would not start in the morning before school but did start after school with out having open the hood to do anything. Having glanced at a previous posting suggesting a possible cam sensor issue does this seem a likely starting point? When the car runs it runs acceptionally well. This being prior to OBDII would it likely have stored a code even though there was no check engine light indicated?
Nothing more frustrating than intermitten electrical issues especially with temperatures struggling to reach the single digits. THINK SPRING!!!
Thank you to any all people who can shed light on this problem.

 

Hi Doug,

Welcome to the forum, and I'm sorry to hear the problem.

Recently, many people have been experiencing the same issue and many of them are due to:

- Retiring Fuel Pump or Pump Relay.
- Faulty MAF sensor/sensor connection (kinked electrical wires).
- Faulty Camshaft Position Sensor/connection.
- Neglect or some other reasons.

I would first retrieve codes from the ECU and post them here so that we can help you narrow down the problem.

Also, see following thread for general servicing & tune-up reference.

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

In the meantime, I would dump a large bottle of Techron Fuel System cleaner & fuel line antifreeze (dry gas) as a cheap fix. Do not mix them; use them on different occasions.

I hope this gets you started.


JPN

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Thank you for the advise. I will investigate and report back Have a great day!!! Doug

 

If it's running fine, IMO I don't think it's the camshaft sensor...However, I am not expert...

 

Next time the car doesn't start. Have somoene put their ear near the rear passenger side wheel well and listen if the pump is priming.