Hi All,
This is my first post and my first Volvo! I'm very excited about both. I just bought a used 1995 Volvo 850 GLT from a trustworthy private seller. It has been very regularly maintained, 86,400K miles, no service recommend at recent mechanical assessment. I've had the car only 5 days. Starts right up every time, even on two recent frigid mornings. I just drove it about 250 miles to visit family this weekend and it ran like a dream.

This morning: Started right up, moved to adjacent spot in driveway and then turned off. About an hour later, it won't start. The accessories work, radio and horn, all dashboard lights are operational, parking lights but no headlights. It's a new battery. The engine doesn't even attempt to turn over.



Any insight would be appreciated! Thank you very much for your help.

 

Likely your starter solenoid is going bad. Can you hear the starter clicking when you cycle the key? If there's no repetitive clicking, this is likely the case.

Either way, you can try and jar the solenoid to get the car started. I had to carry a pipe with me for the first week of owning my 850 for this very reason.

The starter can be found on the front of the motor, below the intake manifold towards the driver side. Get a pipe of sufficient length (I actually used an old bicycle seatpost), and hit the starter and solenoid a few times. Then, go and try to start the car. Sometimes it takes a few tries like this, but for me it always worked eventually. Would be even better if you had a helper to cycle the key while you smack on the starter.

Of course, you'll want to replace the solenoid or starter eventually. In my case, I found out it was actually more cost effective to get an entire starter from my local scrapyard than it was to get a new solenoid from the parts store.

It'll be a little tight to get at the starter due to its location, but you should be able to get at it without removing the intake manifold. Post up if you'd like a step-by-step. Good luck!

 

Have you tried to jump start it yet ??

 

Even though the horn radio and lights come on, it needs a LOT more power than these accessories use to start the car. First thing is what Kiss says, try attaching jumper leads.

 

Make sure the battery cables are tight and clean. You may even want to take ALL of the wires apart at the battery cable and clean between them.