1996 850 glt sedan 2.5

Last night my wife and I left the house and drove for about ten minutes then waiting at a stoplight, the engine hesitated, then sputtered and died. I was able to start it up again after much cranking enough to get it to sputter off the road and out of the way of traffic. Then no starting.

Two days Later I had a chance to pull the injectors and it looked like they were all squirting gas, so I don't think that it is a fuel pump. Although I don't know what amount of fluid should come out, it seemed meager.

Six months ago it had a similar problem that the volvo shop attributed to a faulty injector, could this have not been the case? Maybe just resetting the computer was the temporary fix and the injector was scapegoat for some other problem.

Background: Oil change about 2000 miles back, Battery is good, dealer told us that the engine was new @120,000 miles, now at about 156,000 miles. I personally installed a new fuel filter about one year ago.

So if anyone more experienced knows what the real solution is let me know, I will also go check the wire connections in the engine.

I found a similar problem here:
http://experts.about.com/q/Volvo-802...iving-road.htm
But no specific answers

 

Is the check engine light on?

Does it run now?

Do you have spark?

Do you have Pulse to the injectors?

 

The Car Doesn't run so I don't think the check engine light would work. But it doesn't come on. I took it to the import shop today and they checked the obd2, no codes came up at all. That doesn't mean I didn't reset the computer during all my electrical connection checking and battery cleaning.

It doesn't run. It sputters a little when I turn it over and sometimes wil crank itself a couple times but not smoothly.

I do have spark.

I do have pulse to the injectors although I question the amount of fluid that comes out, it seems almost too minute to run the car. I don't have enough experience with fuel injection to know what the pulse of fuel should look like. Is there a better way to check?

 

I had a similar problem with an '88 240dl. Turned out to be a faulty mass air flow sensor.

 

I will try it, but my experience with mass air flow sensors it that it should still run, just not well. Or it shouldn't have been so sudden. It really went from running great to not running in 2 seconds while waiting at a stop light (idling).

Thanks for the help I do really appreciate it! I need to see if I can fix it before I spend big money at a shop Monday, and they don't even do Volvo's normally!

 

Unplug the Mass flow sensor and try to start it. If it starts and Idles then the Mass Flow is bad.
They will go bad like that and also not leave codes.

 

Could be the fuel pump. If you have the ignition in the run position and hit the shrader valve at the end of the fuel rail, something should come out. Be careful with the flamable spray. You should also be able to hear the fuel pump prime when turning ignition switch from off to run.

 

I unhooked the fuel line at the end of the fuel rail and no fuel came out when the key was in II position or start position(engine turning over.) So no fuel is coming out, could it be a clogged filter? What are the possibilities of bad pump or bad relay? How do I best trouble shoot which is the problem. I already know the fuse is good.

If it is a pump, how long would you estimate it takes to replace the pump, and do I have to drain the tank in order to do so?

I found a pump, $231.00 new. Is this a good price or can it be gotten cheaper?

 

I replaced the fuel pump in my 850 wagon about a year ago. It's really simple as access is gained thru the cargo area. (trunk in a sedan) No special tools are needed, and you can probably make the swap in no more than a couple of hours. If you don't have a repair manual, GET ONE!! As for the price of the pump, you may find one for less if you shop around, but if you can have it in your hand now for that price, it probably ain't bad. Even if it is only a year old, when you change the pump you really oughta change the filter (good insurance)
You can use a test light to check the relay and the pump, and no, you don't have to drain the tank.

 

There are what seem to be clamps on the ends of the fuel filter, actually they look like just an inch of thicker tubing. How do I remove these?

Also where is the fuel pump relay located and how would you recommend I test that?

And If I am photographing all this for documentation, is there a place to post that here or should I just post to a blog and link it?

thx,
ben

 

Open the trunk and fold down the R/R seat. Then lift the Panel right by the shock mount. You will see the panel I am talking about. It kind of comes out. You will see about 4 or 5 plugs with wires.

The fuel pump plug has a Red wire in it. Stick your test light on the wire and turn the ignition on and see if the light lights. It should light then go off. Then if you crank it it should come back on for a second then go back off.

That will tell you if the relay is good. And that the pump is bad.

You can post pics here and post the Instructions.

 

As for those clamps, all you do is slide those thick ends back, and wiggle & pull the fuel lines off. Real simple.

 

When I replaced my fuel pump, I used an aftermarket Walbro. This is a good place to get it from: http://www.fuel-pumps.net/volvo-850.html
Don't spend $200+ on the entire assembly. The actual pump sits inside a housing which does not need replacing.

This is how I tested mine:
Check the fuse first. Turned the key to Off & Run several times; with the rear seatback down, you should hear the pump run. Leave in Run and hit the Shraeder valve at the end of the fuel rail with a rag at the end to catch anything coming out; looks like you've already done this and confirmed no fuel delivery. Then I used a multimeter to check for power to the fuel pump at the harness to the fuel pump; it's behind the right, rear passenger seat (fuel door site); lift the floor liner and you will see two silver covers. One cover is to the fuel pump, the other is to the sending unit. Power was good so I hooked up power directly to the fuel pump with a battery charger at harness.

The pump made a final abnormal noise for a second and didn't run. Tried to start the car and it only stumbled for a second.

Couplers are used to secure the lines to the fuel filter and fuel pump. You should be able to pull back on the coupler to release some tension on the connector. I used an interior body panel removal tool to pull back and pry at the same time. If you've used air tools before, it is almost the same concept as the coupler on the air hose to the tool.