I recently bought a 94 850 Turbo Wagon for $1500.00. The reason it was so cheap, wasn't running. Placard under hood states timing belt done 4/15/05. Miles are 136k. Nice car for the money, just won't start. Car is getting fuel, but no spark. Plenty of pressure on fuel rail. Checked the plugs, covered in what appears to be oil more than fuel. Any comment? Plug wires look fine. Checked all lines, relays, connectors, all appear normal. Look in motor oil cap while attempting to crank, cam is moving. Timing belt off? Coil? Engine trashed? I checked the oil level with the dipstick. Nothing showing. Poured 4 quarts, still nothing showing? Running out of ideas, need your help, would hate to sell. Thanks in advance.

 

You could pull the timing cover (1 bolt) and take a look at the belt. It will be easier if you lift up on the coolant resevoir and pull it out of the way. - AB

 

Remove the oil cap and crank it over and make sure the Cams move.

The Cam sensor might be bad.

 

Hello Mr. Parker,

Greetings from Chicagoland.

I'm sorry about the trouble.

The easiest way to check for a trashed engine is to do a compression test. Have it done at a shop, unless you have the equipment to do the test (a screw-in type compression gauge and a service manual). If the plugs were covered in oil, it could be either worn piston rings or valve guide seals, or simply worn filler-cap gasket allowed oil to leak down the plug holes. If the compression is good, the problem is elsewhere.

No spark? Have you checked inside the distributor cap for the conditions of the rotor & cap? You can also test the ignition coil, if you have a digital multimeter. Double check the ignition wires for tightness and inside the boots to see if metal prongs are still there. IF they still show good, it could then be one of the sensors, as Mr. Tech has stated. Is the check engine light on? Even if it's not on, check for stored codes, there might be codes for the ignition system.

As to the engine oil, B5234T engine takes a little over 5 quarts. 4 quarts may not show anything on the dipstick.

It is almost impossilbe to give you accurate diagnosis without actually testing the car, so if you could provide us with a bit more details & findings, people could help you better.

Good luck,


JPN

 

Here's the latest.
Power to coil, no power from coil. Might be the problem. Expensive little part.

More concerning. Check the OBD and I am getting no codes at all. Nothing, no beeps, nothing. Is this a sign that my ECU or main relay is down?

Tim

 

Might be the Cam sensor and it isn't throwing a code for it.

You tried pulling codes from A2?
How about A6?

 

A2 and A6, nothing at all. Push the button. Lights up, but nothing afterwards.

 

Hello again,

As for A2 & A6, you're not getting even 1-1-1?

You could perhaps swap the ECU's with known good units and see if the car starts. If so, $$$ for an ECU or two.

As for the ignition coil, I know it's not cheap but I would go with Bosch, OEM. I usually buy my parts from FCP Groton.com and their parts are usually genuine Volvo or OEM (Bosch, ATE, Sachs, etc...).

For a cheap trial, you could remove the two ECU's from their nests, spray WD-40 on both male & female contacts, then wipe off excess and blow off excess with air duster. Put them back in and see if it cures the problem. Make sure to clean off WD-40 good, since the stuff is conductive.

I wish you the best in finding the culprit.

Regards,


JPN

 

How many modules does your car have under the hood?

On the passenger side just behind the washer fluid fill lift the cover off the box and see how many you have.

If you have 3 there then you should get codes from one of them.

The Button on the OBDI might also be dirty and not make contact for long enough to start the process to pull the codes.

 

I would suggest a contact cleaner instead of WD-40.

Just my $.02

 

You mentioned both ECU's. I know one is under the hood near the fuse panel. Where is the other? Going to tinker with tomorrow during the daylight.

Only have an A and a B modules under the hood. Nothing from either.

 

The ecu's are under the lid of the Box that the Diag. ports are hanging off of.

The one by the fuse box is the ABS module.

 

Hello again,

As an addition to Mr. Tech, the ECU box is right in front of the coolant expansion tank, and there is a plastic pipe attached to the box. Move the metal handle and slowly pull them upward.

Should you decide to pull them out, first disconnect the battery, and then WAIT for 6 minutes or so, as replay keeps power to the ECU's. After removing the ECU's, make sure not to touch the electrical tangs with bare hand, they might short and get damaged. Before lifting the ECU's off, you might also want to touch the engine itself to dissipate your body's static charge.

Good luck,


JPN