i woke up thos morning to clean the ice off my car and let her warm up...the car sat for about 15 minutes warming up...just to let you know the car was pretty empty in regards to gas...it was under the bottom line.. so i took the car out to go fill up the tank...drove around for about 15 mins after that...all was well...parked the car back in my driveway...2 hours later went to go out again and the car started just fine...let it warm up for about 2-3 minutes...put the car in drive and it shut off....turned it back on and put the car in drive and it turned off again...tried to start it again and didnt touch the shifter and 5 seconds later the car turned off...turned it on again and gave it gas but it was as if the pedal was non responsive..the car was not revving higher and would continue to shut off...now im at the point where the car trys to start but doesnt completely turn over...all my lights and horn and radio and electrical devices are working fine...i tried jumping the car but no success...the car is now sitting and wont start at all...someone suggested that maybe because there was no gas and the car sat for a day or two in the freezing temps that maybe there is water in the gas tank and it froze a little? but then again i filled up the tank and drove for about 15 mins afterward and all was fine...i dont know if there isany fuel getting to the engine or not? i put some water remover into the gas tank and am leaving the car overnight to see if it starts back up...any ideas as to what this could be?? the car has 119000 miles on it...thanks for your help...

 

Hello 89mclarenstang,

Greetings from Yokohama, Japan.

I am a bit confused as to where the car is right now. Did you get it started after it died a few times, or is it still sitting where it died? Also, did the engine start in the end, or it didn't start? I'll list two scenarios:

1-Engine does not start:
Double check the battery for the following conditions:
1. Age (If older than 4 years, replace it with name-brand battery such as Interstate, etc...).
2. Cleanliness of the connections & posts.
3.Electrolyte level (wear eye-protection, remove the caps and just check to see if the liquid is covering the top of the metal plates in the battery).
*The battery sounded ok, judging from your description but it's worth double-checking.

Does the car have maintenance record? If not, I would give it a good tune-up with OEM parts. I would replace the following:
1. Spark plugs (genuine Volvo, Bosch platinum, or Champion would suffice).
2. Ignition wires (Bougicord or Bosch).
3. Distributor cap & rotor (Bosch).
4. Air filter (Mann).
5. Fuel filter (Mann).
6. Put a large bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner and drive until the tank is near empty. After the tank is near empty, fill it up asap.
7. Check the condition & level of the coolant (antifreeze).
8. Check & clean throttle body if necessary.
9. Check for codes in the ECU (You'll need an OBD-II scanner or visit auto parts shop such as AutoZone for free diagnosis).
10. Check the fuel pressure.
11. Clean/service PCV system.
*This is not cheap but if not done for a while, the car will benefit noticeably. However, no-start condition may not be directly related to tune-up items. I suspected fuel line icing as well.

2-Engine starts but dies in gear:
Check the following:
1. Engine/Transmission codes (you need an OBD-II scanner, or visit AutoZone for free diagnosis).
2. PNP/Micro switch.
3. Idle boost (air bypass) valve.
4. Check the condition & level of the transmission fluid. A good fluid should be clear red, while a bad one looks & smells burned. This is probably not related to engine stall, but you still benefit by checking the fluid.

If none of the above solves the problem, wait until others reply, as this is my subjective opinions.Also, every winter make it a habit to put a bottle offuel system antifreeze (isopropyl alcohol) at least twice/winter if your region gets really cold.

Goodday,


JPN

 

ok so i poured the water remover into the tank last night and came out this morning to start the car up...it started without a problem...i let it run for about 7-8 minutes to warm up...everything was fine..i put the car into drive and proceded to drive it around the corner...everything was still fine...i stopped in front of my house to talk to my wife for a minute and then proceded to continue driving and it died again on me in the middle of the street...it continued to do the same things it did yesterday...i tried starting it up again and it stayed on for about 5 seconds...i tried again and it stayed on for about 4 seconds...and i tried again and it lasted for 3 seconds and so on and so on until it does not start at all again..its as if its using up all its gas until it has no more...i dont know what this could be?? is this the fuel pump? fuel filter? im not very good with cars but if i get some detailed instructions im willing to try...all the fluids seem fine...the battery says it was from 2002 but i find it hard to believe that the car will run for 15 minutes and then just turn off all of a sudden due to the battery...the car had a tune up in the late summer of 2005...thanks for your help....

 

Hello again,

It may very well be the fuel pump or pump relay. Pump relay is located in the fuse box in the engine compartment but as for the pump you want to refer to a service manual.

Moderator Tech could give you better suggestions than I could, but he seems busy in the last few days. In the meantime, I hope someone else replies to you...


JPN

 

ok thanks for your help JPN...really appreciate it

 

how does one "push the schrader on the rail" i keep reading about this....anywhere that has instructions and possibly pictures as to where this is and how to do it??

 

Hello again,

I'm sorry I couldn't help you any better. Often, it is impossible to diagnose the problem without actually taking a look at the car. Car Talk guys are funny & intelligent (I don' t feel like arguing with MIT-grads), but I don't trust everything they say, as it is impossible to diagnose modern automobile troubles without doing tests.

The Schroeder (Schrader?) valve is the valve located in the engine compartment, along the fuel supply line. It usually has a cap on it, looks just like the cap on tyre valve. You locate the valve, and then attach a pressure gauge to measure fuel pressure. I myself have not done this, and am not sure what gauge would be used. If you can use an ordinary tyre pressure gauge, it will save some $, but if you need fuel system pressure gauge, you do need to buy one, should you decide to measure the fuel pressure by yourself. Some people on the forum have done this, so wait till they reply. Volvospeed.com may have instructions, but at the moment I cannot find it for you because I'm using dial-up and until I get the modem for DSL, my surfing time is extremely limited.

It seems that many people have had problem with the fuel pump relay, and I'm assuming that your 850 is probably having the same problem, rather than the pump itself (that pump is eye-poppingly expensive).If you did not receive repliesfrom others in the next few days, it may be better to visit a local Volvo dealer orshops that specialise in Swedish/European cars. I wouldn't visit generic shops for quality-related reasons.

I hope this is of some use.


JPN

 

It sounds like a fuel starvation problem.

I'd suspect the fuel pump which might have somethingblocking the intake orifice.

Why don't youdisconnect the fuel supply, put a hose toit and place the hose into a suitable container, thenwind the car over.

Watch the fuel going into the container and if the fuel peters outafter a few seconds, then it couldbe either the pump or the fuel relay gone faulty.

 

i tried pushing in the valves in the hood...i found 2 of them...one on the left side of the engine that had a cap on it that said "max 6nm" and another under the silver plate that covers some plugs on the top front of the engine...when i pressed the first one in it hissed for about 3 seconds and stopped...the 2nd valve made no noise when i pressed it in...i tried starting the car again and then tried that first valve again and it released a very tiny amount of air...after that itpretty much did nothing...im going to try to get another relay to see if that takes care of the problem..my dad has a 96 turbo and i have a 97 glt...it should be ok to interchange the relays right?? another question is how come when i put the water remover in the tank it started up the next day?? now i try in the morning and i get nothing?? what could the water remover have done that allowed the car to start up?? is it still possible there is more water in the tank and adding a couple of bottles of this water remover will fix my problem??? thanks for all the help..

with regard to removing the fuel supply i really have no idea how to doit if there was a website with picsthat you klnow of i would definately try it out...

 

i tried switching the relays and still no luck...im a little hesitant about bringing it to volvo...im afraid of how much this is going to cost me...lets say its the fuel pump...any ideas about how much to expect the price to be including labor?? any other ideas out there??