Hi I am new to volvos. I am an avid mechanic and i have a 95 850 turbo. Driving down the road the other day the lights on the dash lit up and the motor shut down. My first thought is timing belt broke. it would not even crank at this point. You can hear the starter engaging but its not turning the motor. So then i thought the motor is seized. took the timing cover off and the belt is fine. Turned the motor manually and its not seized. What can it be. My next guess is the starter. But why would it just shut down. Crazy stuff. also when i pulled over the fan relay was buzzing loudly. That was something new. Volvo pros out there help thanks Danny

 

I agree on the starter being bad.

Next I would try pulling the ECU codes follow link to learn how.
http://www.troublecodes.net/Volvo/

 

Could be a broken Grounding connection to motor. I think its on the front of the transmission and is bolted with a 12mm bolt. It could be corroded and gave up as you were driving.
With bad grounding to engine,starter will not engage/turn because it needs lot of juice to trn the engine.
Just a food for thought

 

Check the starter, but I don't know if a bad starter would cause the motor to shut down. I think you have two separate issues, both sound electrical.

 

I will check the grounding wire today. I dont hace the cel on. i will try to check those codes today as well. That gounding issue sounds like it maybe it. I will see today. Thanks Danny

 

The lights comming on before the car died seems like you lost power to the ignition system, like turning the key back and on again

The starter engaging but not turning over is wierd. When you say the starter is engaging is the motor of the starting motor spinning(you can definatly hear that) or would you say the starter engaging sound could be just the bendix drive of the starter moving out to the flywheel properly with out the electric motor turning.

I have seen that happen to a starter before where there was low voltage to the starter solenoid(relay) that was enough to power the bendix but not the electric motor.

Either way seems like you have an electrical problem, try grounding it never hurts to get a good heavey wire and make your own ground wire from the frame to the battery and the frame to the motor.

Mike

 

Its just the bendix shooting out but not spinning. Like a low battery would do. Its like the starter cant turn the motor. The actuator is shooting out but not spinning. I am going to pull the starter and test it. But why would the car shut down while driving because of a starter? I dunno. Its a weird one.

 

another thing is when i coasted to the side of the freeway i popped the hood walked out and the fan relay was buzzing loudly. the one up front right on top of the radiator. What could that be all about?

 

A faulty alternator can cause all sorts of weird issues on an 850.

I'm simply assuming here you have checked the battery is still functioning O.K (i.e. correct voltage across poles - 12.6 v).

Good luck!

 

I wouldn't pull the starter until you are sure you have the proper voltage, if need be put the car in park and energize the starter solenoid directly with some jumper wires to check, use 12v from another car if need be

If a relay coil is recieving low voltage it can buzz because of the lack of voltage it struggles to magnetize enough to pull in the relay

Mike

 

well i pulled the starter. I bench tested it and the bendix shoots out and spins but not very fast. It has been a long time since i have tested a starter but it should shoot out pretty hard and spin fast and hard? Right? This one is kinda like a sloth. It shoots out quick but is weak on the spinning. I am taking it in to a starter/ alternator shop tommorow to have them test and rebuild it. I would do it but i really dont have the time. Between school and work. We will see. That still leaves the stalling on the freeway problem. I dunno. I am gonna get the motor cranking over again and then worry about the stall. And Yeah it does read a solid 12.6 or higher accross the poles of the battery. Thanks so far guys. Danny

 

check the brushes for the motor to see if there's good contact

 

The bendix drive on the old 'inertia' type starter motors shoot out pretty fast fast but, don't take this as gospel because I really don't know, I would have thought Volvo have a 'pre-engage' starting system.

This system is far superior to the old 'inertia' type because when you turn the key (1) the the solenoid coil levers the small bendix drive gear into the ring gear and, (20 when the ring gear and bendix drive gear are in mesh, a contact is made that energises the starter motor.

The advantage of the 'pre-engaged' starting system is the bendix drive is not spinning at a million miles an hour when it hits the ring gear - I guess most of us have experienced a burred bendix drive gear and/or stripped ring gear that gives off that expensive zing sound.

 

Thanks so far for all the help guys. You have been Great. I will post some pics of my car soon. Itis a beaut. You will really like it. Thanks Danny

 

This is it guys. I think i have hit a wall and i am about to punch it. Not really. But i am getting desperate. I Checked all the wiring in the vehicle. CHecked all the relays and fuses. Took my starter in and got it bench tested and they said it was bad. So i went to a junk yard pulled another one. They even bench tested it before i left the yard. Tested good. Came home put it in nothing... Same freakin thing. Once again it clicks but does not turn the motor over. I turned the motor manually just to make sure it could spin. at this point i just am not sure what to do next. I wish i was more volvo saavy. Let me know guys. Thanks Danny

 

Are you getting 12 Volts to the small wire going to the starter when the ignition is in the start position?

Do you have 12 volts to the big wire at the back of the starter?

 

I am getting 7.5 to 8.6 volts going to the small wire when cranking. And i am getting 12.4 to the big wire. And to the other big wire i am getting about 7.5 volts. THere is 2 big wires and one small wire going to the back of the started. And there is another small wire that powers the bendix that shoots out. That one is at 12 as well. I Bypassed everything with some jumper cables and the motor cranks over. So atleast i know now that it is something with the wiring. Whats the next step. Is there something you can think of that might be common on these 850s. Let me know Thanks Danny

 

Check, double check, remove and clean the battery terminals. On some models the secondary battery leads are molded into the main terminal on other models the secondary terminals are bolted onto the main leads. If you have the latter type remove and clean the connections where the secondaries bolt on as well.

You will need your radio code if you have an OEM radio.

...Lee

 

The positive cable ends at the battery have been going bad alot lately.

 

Hi. So i dont know what i did but i noticed my battery was getting a little low from all the testing and trying to start the car. So i put the battery on a slow over night charge. The next day i tried cranking it and it started right up. WOW. WHAT> i know. I was just like amazed. But now my power seats dont work. Everything else works fine. I dont know. Could my power seat be shorting out and killing the battery and thats why i could not start it??? Weird.