Hey guys, so I have a 1995 Volvo 850 Wagon (non-turbo), and recently I decided to replace my PCV System. Simple, right? So I replaced it, and during the process I accidentally broke the plastic intake "tree." So we ran to the junkyard and grabbed a new one and put it in and the car turned on perfectly... for the rest of that day.

The next day, it took much longer to start, it would crank for a few seconds and eventually start. So I decided I'd redo the PCV job, because I must've messed something up. So I did it again, and found nothing. So I asked some of my mechanic friends to come and take a look (I'm just a broke teenager), and they told me I'm not getting sparks, noting that my under-3,000 mile spark plugs were burnt to a crisp. They said it could be the ignition coil, seeing as I had just recently replaced my distributor rotor and cap (bought it from FCP).

So we got a new ignition coil from the junkyard, and nothing changed. If anything, now it doesn't even want to start at all. So then we thought it was the Camshaft Position Sensor, so we replaced that, and still got nothing. At this point I'm at a complete loss and no idea what to do.

As everyone else commonly says, "help!"

Just a kid who didn't think depression was real until his Volvo broke, -Shihab

 

did you check the fuel injector relay and its connectors? this the one on the cowling... see if you can find the Youtube vid on this relay.

 

The above is a common problem. It's a big relay mounted above the radiator. You don't need a relay. Rather, you need to determine whether getting power past the relay solves your problem, which you can do for free. The relay plug is the greater problem; the insides of the plug will rot.

One of the problems with an old oddball car like this is that when it won't start, nobody can start it except somebody who works on volvos all the time. Apart from that situation, they're very reliable and in my opinion easy to take care of.

There is a good diagnostic in the shop manual for a no start, if you're interested. It's good that you already know you have no spark. that is useful.

 

Maybe that's also what happened to me then? When I tried disconnecting the relay, the connector came out while the pins were still attached...

I would love to take a look at that shop manual if possible, thanks!

 

Get a volt meter and see if you have power going past that relay. You'll also need a multi-meter if you start looking at the shop manual.


The shop manual is here:
Volvo 850 service & repair manual


Look at "basic testing" and "systems and components". You don't have a breakout box, so there are certain things you can't see. But the ones you can see are very useful.

 

Also this is the same manual, straight PDF's. Might be easier or harder to read:
https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/volvo_w...techdocs.shtml

 

My car would suddenly cut out and not restart until I would pull out this relay and reconnect all the points. I finally went to PnP and found a good connector that I spliced in.