Didn't drive for 1.5 months - now stalling out. 1997 850
 

Hi all - my 1997 Volvo 850 Turbo was running just fine and dandy. Then, I didn't drive it for 1.5 months. The first time I got in to drive it it started up fine and ran fine for about 15 miles - then on a hill it suddenly lost power and stalled out. I was able to get it started again - but it consistently stalled out on hills and sometimes on non inclines. Ever since it stalls out regularly.

I'm thinking that this has to do with me not driving it and something nasty settling in the gas tank and then clogging up the filters / injectors / ????.

Please tell me this is easy to fix..... Any help would be greatly appreciated.:(

More Info - bad smelling exhaust also.
 

Oh - I forgot to add that the exhaust smells terrible as well.

Thanks

Is the check engine light on?

Use a bottle of fuel injector cleaner, and fill up a tank of 97.

The remaining fuel probably went bad.

Also check your air filter and MAF.

Yes - the check engine light is on.

Get the codes pulled and it should lead you to the problem.

apologies for hijacking the thread but is there a cheap tool to read the codes out there Tech? I'm not in N/A anymore so a trip to autozone isn't possible. I have an ABS light coming on occasionally and don't know what wheel is the problem if its a sensor.

what year is the car?

I have a '95 850 GLE. Are the scan tools fairly versatile across volvo's ranges? I'd hope it would work on at least all the 850's including the 1997 850 that's the subject of this thread.

as long as it is obdII they are fairly versatile unless its a cheepy tool.

I would not imagine that gas had gone bad in 1.5 months, I think it takes longer than that. I would pull the code and see what it says.

Try not to let older cars sit for a long time. I think of it as "Keeping The Current Flowing". I would try to drive it once per week at a minimum.

Did you have any luck with this? If it is bad gas, it would have had to been bad from day one when you filled up.

Gas goes stale in less than 30 days, that is why you need to treat the gas in your gas can for your lawn mower and snowblower with Sta-Bil or some other gas treatment that prevents it from going bad.
What he needs to do is fill it up with new gas, add a bottle of good injector cleaner and just drive it right down to empty.
If you are going to store a car for more than a couple of weeks fill the gas tank first, gas goes bad when it is exposed to air, so the more empty space in the gas tank the faster it will go bad.
Not to mention water contamination from condensation getting into the gas tank from the heat of the day and the cooler nights, you know how your windows are foggy first thing in the morning when you car sits outside at night?
Same thing happens to your gas tank, crankcase, etc.
When storing a car for more then 2 months not only fill the tank but also add Sta-Bil and then park it and leave it alone, do not start it, do not drive it around the block, just look at it.
Short trips will speed up the corrosion process of the exhaust as well as introduce extra exhaust gas and water vapor into the crankcase thus contaminating the engine oil.
Hook up a battery tender and leave well enough alone.
Once you remove the car from storage then drive it until the gas tank is empty, if it has sat for more than 6 months then change the oil after the first 100 miles or so of driving.
Keep in mind that water collects in a unused car and speeds up rust, only driving it long enough for everything to get nice and hot to evaporate all of the water will prevent the car from rusting inside out.

You can pull the codes through OBDI.
The OBDII scanners that read ABS are more $$$.

slightly confused. Will OBDI pull all the codes except ABS? I have an intermittent ABS/TRACS light that I'm worried about.

OBDI will pull all codes.

Hey now,

I had a similar problem for almost a year.

The car would run fine for days and then for no apparent reason it would stall out. I could be running on the highway at 120kph and the car would feel like it's losing power, even after stepping down on the gas, it would die out. I'd wait a couple of minutes and the car would start right up.

This was an off and on thing until it became dangerous and I finally changed out the fuel pump, as I was able to finally rule out over draw on the electrical system, and haven't had a spot of trouble since.

This may not be your problem but I was able to get just the pump, did not need the entire assembly, for very little from the dealer.

I changed it out with around 324,500klm on it (327 now) and not a problem since.

Just two cents worth from a "I'll fixit myself or get someone who knows better" guy.


Later.

Thanks everyone - I'm in the process of running the car almost out of gas - then adding the fule injector cleaner to an almost empty tank -then filling it up and running it through again.....I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Kathva