1994 850 auto non-turbo. On a short run the engine 'stalled' as I pulled out onto main road (where else would that occur? ) Tried to restart and the engine lumped and juddered but would not start. After pushing to side of road, repeated grinding of starter produced short starts.
Then a start held, with accelerator pedal well down, at about 2k revs, but moving selector from park thro reverse caused stall again. I was able to repeat this failure by starting in 'N' then moving selector to 'D'.
As home was nearby, I did the 2k start, revved up to 4k and managed to drive off and get home by holding revs high and slowing car by other foot braking (!).
Haven't checked codes yet as raining heavily ... But if anyone has any idea of what may be problem, advice would be welcome, thanks.

As car ran home at 4k revs I guess fuel and sparks are there, so a sensor failure? 1,000 miles ago I renewed PCV, cleaned throttle valve and fitted new flame trap and t/stat; has run beautifully since until just now. A clue may be sudden problem and the moving selector from neutral to drive?

 

Update. Rain stopped!
A2 code = 1-1-1
A1 codes = 3-1-3, 3-2-3, 1-1-4
(Car has done 230k so far.) I guess A1 codes relate to problem 5 years ago when the 'yellow up arrow' was on for a few days, then cleared of its own accord.
I tried starter - car started on first try as usual. Revved up ok, selected drive, no hesitation. BUT, I'm worried this may be a fault that shows only when hot, and may let me down in traffic, so any help/ideas are welcome.

 

Look up the codes on Matthewsvolvosite.com

It's just a guess but I'd check for a vacuum leak.

Clear the codes and try some short drives once it's running a bit more normal to see if any code comes back.

 

My guess (and purely a guess based on your symptoms) is that either fuel pump relay and/or fuel pump are on their way out; poor fuel pressure at the rail would explain those symptoms. And yes, both can cause intermittent failure modes. You can wait for it to fail again and diagnose or, if neither has been replaced in last 100K miles, they're both likely due.


From here:

A1 codes are all transmission faults:
1-1-4 Break in driving mode selector circuit
3-1-3 incorrect signal from gear position sensor
3-2-3 lock up slips or not engaged

Slamming the shifter around while revving the engine could have set those faults and/or your trans is showing its age. Also ck and clean the mode (econ/sport) select switch.

 

+1.

Jpn

 

Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. Appreciated!

After searching further I found info on repairing the fuel pump relay; http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...pic.php?t=9681

As a first step, I replaced the two capacitors inside the case. For the moment the car is running as normal. Fingers crossed!!!

As a matter of interest, the original 100uF capacitor was only rated at 16v. I'm mildly surprised that this could survive at all in a spikey electrical automotive environment.

The replacement caps were simply got from Maplin:
Ref: DT57M - 22uF 50V at £0.29 and DT62S - 100uF 63V at £0.39 both are 105°C rated.

I'll be back if the car stalls again!! Thanks again.

 

Good to hear. I once ran my car out of gas and it threw about 8 codes. Gas was low and the street I was on was not level. A friend was talking and talking and the car started to chug and I quickly pulled forward to get on level ground. I made it to the gas station but I did have to reset those codes.

 

Heatherset, are you located in England ??

 

Yes, near Ipswich in Suffolk. (Visiting USA again in June/July!)

 

Now you know why the fuel pump relays are a common failure point on these cars..

 

The reason I asked was that you mentioned a "foreign" (to us) electronics store. Here in the states we usually send folks to Radio Shack. When dealing with people in other countries what you can do in one place you might not be able to do in another