Hello everybody just made this account in hopes that sombody has the answers i need. I have a 94 850 sedan the natually aspirated 2.4 sadly but i recently ran into some issues. It got super cold where i live and my car wouldnt start one morning and ive needed a new battery (I havent owned the car long and i kindof impulse bought it because i missed my V70 so it has its fair amount of issues) and it sat for a few days until i could get a new battery. Replaced the battery today and got it running but it ran very rough and died when i gave it any gas to try to drive it and now it wont even crank it just clicks. Im not sure that its a starter because it cranked before im more leaning towards ignition but thats why im here. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Sounds like starter to me.. tap on it a bit with a screwdriver and hammer

 

I typed a long response but I lost it because i didn't submit in time, ha ha. There is nothing at all unique to volvo in the charging and starting systems on the 850. It's all really basic stuff. If it is the starter itself clicking, then either you don't have enough power getting to the contacts inside, or the contacts inside are "bad". If you are getting power to the starter but it doesn't turn the engine, the engine might be locked up. That's not impossible. You do need to know at this point whether you have enough power, and my advice is to get a volt meter and see what is happening. You should have about 12.5 volts doing nothing. When cranking, voltage will drop dramatically to about 10 or 11. With the engine running, it will rise to about 14.

Once you get it started again, you will have to figure out why it's not running right. In my experience the NA 850's run pretty well with the MAF unhooked, but there are 3 different kinds of fuel injection and I am not sure about what it'll do. In any case if you unplug the MAF it may switch to speed density air measuring and it may run fine. if it does, that would point you into the "air" direction. Vacuum leaks can be a big issue with these cars. The PCV system in particular may have a rotten hose that you don't see.