Hey guys,

Hope someone can help here...

Last year I was having intermittent stalling problems on my 1993 850 GLT, so I checked the codes and determined the cam sensor (3-1-4 lost signal) was bad. I bought a new one at Piston Ring, slapped it in and voila...problem solved.

However, just this week the car starting stalling again in the exact same way so I checked the codes (they were cleared during the last repair) and 3-1-4 showed up again.

Ideas? Are these parts designed to last only a short time or is this a dud? Or could there be another problem here? Or just pure dumb luck? I'm not even sure this thing is waranteed but will look into that tomorrow. I don't want to have to fork over another $170 for a sensor that has barely seen a year on it.

ThX!

 

they should last a really long time. first thing i would check is the connection for a good tight fit, and see if it is corroded at all.

 

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I did a solid job the first time (cleaned contacts, di-electric, etc) but will re-check tomorrow. It's been unusually humid lately and I'm wondering if maybe there's a moisture issue...?

 

could be.

 

Yes could be moisture.

 

Ok, checked out the connector, looks clean, but cleaned off old di-electric grease anyway and applied some new stuff, reconnected nice and tight. Drove the car for a few hours and boom...died on me again in traffic again. I pulled over and she started right up again. Wtf?

And this time when I checked the ECU error codes nothing showed up (1-1-1).

I'm baffled. I got a show to do and a 3 hour road trip ahead of me and not feeling too secure about taking her on the road.

Any ideas? TX! ;-)

 

Fuel pump perhaps??? Maybe not related to the sensor at all...

 

Injector relay located over the radiator?

 

Haha nope...relay panel at fuse panel near windshield. You're thinking heating up?

 

There is an injector relay located on the top of the radiator. It is closer to the drivers side.
2 things happen relay goes bad or the wires mess up and cause a problem. It should be a gray relay.

 

Ah okay I gotcha. It's grey with No. 3 545 803. I've come to know this typically as the "MAIN RELAY" rather than injection relay, sorry. Visually inspected the relay, nothing obvious. Is there a TSB related to this? How do you test one of these? Or am I going to end up like everyone else (including a Volvo mechanic I know) just randomly replacing relays until the problem goes away?

I'm starting to think this car is a real piece of work. Never had these types of "intermittent" problems with any other vehicle I've owned (GM, import, etc).

Is this The Almighty's way of telling me (and the rest of us schmucks out here with the same problem) that the 850 is a turd on wheels?

 

I think it is due to lack of repairs in the past.

Try playing with the relay and wiring with the car running and see if it dies. If it does one of them is the issue.

 

Be careful what you say of the 850 on this forum; I would guess it is one of more popular models here. I would also remind you that the '93 was the first year model (say no more...).

Further I have owned and worked on domestics and imports over some number of decades (had a '84 pontiac sunbird that was total POS!) and have found volvo quality (in general) to be well above average IMO. So there!

 

Ew Pontiac lol

In all seriousness, I hear ya. I absolutely love the car, it's been a gem and has been my favorite car of all time. As for tech's comment, this could be true but in my case it's just the opposite. I bought the car from a physician who maintained it so meticulously. She would go in to the dealer for every little thing, including missing interior trim pieces, and even buy spares lol. The engine was so clean and well maintained I still can't believe what I paid for it. It started a small rust spot on the rear door and she just got up one day and decided she wanted a new one (ah to be wealthy). This was the main reason I bought the vehicle, plus it's reputation.

The car has been running without fault for a few days now. I scammed an extra pump relay just in case after reading this fellow's article on how common fuel pump relays start to fail after ten years, nice...

http://www.davebarton.com/volvorelays.html

So, I'm hitting the highway for a show 3 hours away. Wish me luck eh?

 

Also if it dies check the relay I am talking about as well. Remember you checked it and that might have fixed it for now.