Hey all, I have a '94 Volvo 850 base non-turbo, and I have been having some (becoming more) intermittent starting issues. The care will go stupid and will crank, and crank but will not catch and start. If does catch, it will idle very rough and will either stall out (when given gas), or will steady out to a smooth idle. The car will go through this it seems after being warmed up. Sometimes you'll have to try and start it for 10 minutes before it will catch. I have changed out the coil, thinking that was the problem, but it appears I was wrong, as this evening, it actually died on me while I was driving it! Can anyone help me out with where to look? Thank you in advance.

 

Any chance you have a check engine light ??

If I was just going to guess at a part I'd say you might have a bad coolant temperature sensor located on the thermostat housing just under the upper hose.

Having a good coil doesn't rule out worn plugs, wires that are breaking down or a cap and or rotor with carbon tracking.

When it's not starting and before you do any stepping on the gas pedal you should stop .. and pull a plug to see if it's wet or dry. It should be a little wet if everything is correct. If it's dry or drenched with fuel we can go from there.

 

No light has been triggered yet. I'll check the plugs today, and post here what I find. You know, would a bad temp sensor also mess with the ECU? I also am having issues with the blower inside. Only get speed 4, just replaced the motor, planning on doing the resistor next.

 

Thanks for the link, I'll also be doing this test this weekend. I'll be sure to post up results!

 

If the fan worked on #4, the fan is fine. Usually the resistor is cracked and has broken wires.

 

What he said !