Hey there everyone, I have a 1997 volvo 850, everything seems great on it except for this problem. (which happens to be a pretty big one, or so I think.)

I've looked through some of the forums on this site and some others about what it may be but seeing how I am no mechanic and and not all the symptoms on the other cars happen to mine, I figure it would be best to post on here before I went off and started purchasing parts.

So, to get to it.. My 97 Volvo 850 starts up fine bit when you start going, slow or fast it seems for a few mins sometimes you can feel it "fall on its self" in the peddle, I monitor the rpms while driving (usually above 35mph) and the rpms don't fluctuate at Ll, but it kind of feels as if the car isn't getting any gas. When you try to accelerate after it has fallen on it's self it'll feel like its not getting enough power. When this happens I can maintain the speed I am at or even accelerate eventually (just takes much longer to get the power) but when I slow down to about 15 - 10 mph you can notice the rpms will fluctuate. The will sink almost all the way down and you can feel the car rumbling then it'll go back up. It'll repeat this process until you either (eventually) speed back up, or if you slow down any slower or to a complete stop it'll stall on you. (it doesn't always stall, but most of the time)

After it has stalled I'll usually leave the car off for a min then start it back up and it'll run cometely fine again for a few mins until it falls back on its self.

(by falling on its self I mean you can feel the lack of power of isn't getting. Out of the blue.)

I've heard it could be the MAF but I would like to see if anyone else may have had this problem and how I should go about it.


Thank you so much for your time.

-Justin



Here's a video of it messing up while I'm driving. I made it on my lunch while I was running back from a store. (I was half awake, sorry if I'm dull. Lol)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlsV0...ature=youtu.be

After watching the video..

Also, a little more insight. Sometimes whenever I pull over and in a complete stop motion the RPM fluctuate. As if it's trying to get back to the 900RPM range. But I suppose when its that bad it just can't get it's self back up there.

 

Sounds like either MAF or IAC...

When was the last time you did a stage "0"?

 

I'm with matty: Idle air control or MAF. I'd try cleaning them before you replace them.

 

Thanks, yeah. I tried cleaning out the MAF with the spray. It was really gunky so I figured it would do the trick and for the first couple runs the car seemed to run smoother all together. Now, a few days later it seems to be acting up more then what it did before I sprayed it.

 

Lol, I wish I could answer this but I'm not entirely sure what a "stage 0" sorry for being a pain. I appreciate your help.

 

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/what-is-stage-0.html

 

Great, thanks for the link. I have just purchased the car a few weeks ago but I checked out the engine and the spark plugs, wires, rotors, look brand new and the engine in total looks really clean. I also know the guy I purchase the car from just got an oil change done on it and I put some gas additive in it to try to clean out the lines a bit.

 

Gas most likely is not your issue here: air is. Specifically: how MUCH air the engine is getting. A bad MAF will not tell the engine computer how much air is coming into the engine, and a bad Idle air control valve will not allow enough air into the motor when it's idling to keep it running. The idle air control valve is under the plastic throttle cover....its in the front, and it's a silver cylindrical piece that has 2 smallish hoses and an electrical plug attached to it. If you can remove that and clean it, it may help you. I'd also try cleaning the MAF again.

One way you can check to see if your MAF is the issue is to unplug it while the car is running. If the car dies immediately when you unplug it, it's most likely okay. if it runs about the same, your MAF is bad.

 

Thanks so much. So the plug that's connected to the whole peice just unconnect that and see if it still operates the same?

Also, not sure if this will help you or not but I went to do some running on my lunch break and it started acting up so I recorded it with my phone (half awake) ill upload the video to YouTube here in a couple hours first thing as soon as I get out.

 

If you turn on the A/C does it still happen?

 

Yeah, originally when I first found the issue it was after I got done driving and parked and kelt it runnin and the rpms were just fluctuating a little. I played with the AC and it stopped doing it. But ever since then The AC doesn't seem to make it any better. It still happens. :/

 

Hey there, I just checked unplugged the MAF while it was running, as soon as I unplug it it bogs down a lot and then rev's back up to what seems like normal. The only other difference I have noticed is there seems to have much more fumes coming out of the exhaust.

But, I did not unplug the MAF whenever it was having the bogging down issue. The bogging down issue seems to only happen after driving for a bit.

Should I unplug the MAF whenever it's having the low RPM issue? (Sorry, still learning all of this. Lol.)

Is this good or bad? or should I further and try to drive it

 

Bogging down is way different then dying.. If you unplug and it dies you are usually in the clear.. If it stays running its bad

 

Here's the link to the video I made of it bogging down.

1997 Volvo 850 Stalling low RPM issue - YouTube

 

Saw your video...it's the Fuel filter and or Fuel pump, had this exactly happen to a friend of mine in his Mitsubishi. Seriously it was the exact same issue. I changed out both and it was good to go. Fortunately fuel pump was underneath the seat and filter was in the engine bay. If it's not your MAF, it's your fuel pump.

Like mentioned before your MAF sensor could be the culprit because it should shut off when idling when uplugged and driving would be horrible, I always thought the IAC and MAF problems would throw out a CEL code.

 

Louie: not necessarily. And usually in a Volvo, the fuel pump doesn't go bad, but the relay does. And that causes the car to just die immediately. It doesn't bog down and doesn't die at idle.

 

Has the OBD-II been read for codes?

 

Only place I've been able to take it to is autozone. They plugged it up and weren't able to get any codes except a bad emittions code. Since I've unplugged the MAF yesterday I've had a check engine light. But that hasn't be read. And it'd obviously read something from the MAF

 

Can driving the car still with the issue cause more serious problems? I ask this because I won't be able to get the part for a few more days. I feel like its potentially getting worse and I wouldn't want to pay more money out of pocket. I have to drive 30 mins to work and back everyday. And I have to do it one more time before I head to the junk yard.

 

why hot just go to the junk yard pull a MAF for $5 and see if if cures your issue?