My Volvo 850 (manual transmission) sometimes dies at a red light and would not properly restart. The ignition seems to work o.k., it engages; however, the engine does not engage. When this happens, I usually turn off the ignition and wait about 5 - 10 minutes and try again ... so far the car would then start up o.k. and I can drive it.

I have brought the car to 2 local Volvo dealers to diagnose the problem. One dealer gave the car a major tune up and tried unsuccessfully to download its problem code. Both dealers told me that it is an intermittent problem and they have no way to find out.

Finally, I brought the car to a small maintenance/repair shop ... the mechanic had the car for a day and he test drive it. He told me that he had not encountered the problem; however, he say that it could be the fuel pump. He suggested that it would not be wise to replace the fuel pump unless we are quite sure that it is the problem.

My question is if the fuel pump is the problem, what are the symptoms? Also, is there a way for this mechanic to do some basic checks (maybe some pressure readings) to identify whether or not that is likely to be the problem? If the problem is in the alternator or voltage regulator would he be able to diagnose it by
doing some otspecific tests ... and what are the symptoms?

I appreciate your comments and suggestions because I am not knowledgeable about cars. I am driving a rather old car and I desperately need
help to educate myself about this car.

Thank you very much for your guidance.

 

What year is the car? How many miles?

It could be the fuel pump or fuel pump relay... I'm assuming there were no codes.

 

Could also be the Cam sensor.