So tonight I was leaving the grocery store and I started the car. Immediately after it started, it died. it did this several times, then everything was fine. I wonder if it has to do with the extreme cold we are having or something else - it's -15 here right now. Fahrenheit.

I cant help but wonder if the issue is somehow related to my blower motor. I have replaced 3 of them in the last 6 months - sometimes it comes on and sometimes not...sometimes I can shut the car off and turn it back on and it will work. Weird things.

Hoping this is nothing major...

 

My best guess will be your coolant temp sensor. Does it start when cold and shuts off when it warms up?

 

No, I start it and it shuts down within 5 seconds.

 

Had the same with the 850 from a friend. The fuel pump relay was dead. It did however work when you turned the ignition on but afterwards not. So the car builded some fuel pressure and the engine run for some seconds and then died...

After resoldering the relay all was fine. You can take a fuel gauge and check how the fuel pressure is acting.

 

Oh in that case check for fuel pressure. It could be fuel pump or relay. Pressure should be 31-42psi on warm. If it reads 29 or 30 when cold its fine. If it falls below then ur problem is fuel related

 

"So tonight I was leaving the grocery store and I started the car. Immediately after it started, it died."

What Slimflex was getting at was did you go out to go to the grocery store and start the car up cold and it started and ran ok, went to store then tried to restart it warm and only had the problem restarting an already warmed up car ?? Different fuel mixtures from the input of the coolant temp sensor.

But checking for fuel pressure would be good before choosing which part to try. Both the coolant temp sensor and fuel pump relay can fail without setting any check engine light. I take it you don't have one

If the coolant temp sensor fails fully it will set a code but if it's starting to go and it's calibration is off that's where you can get some really hard to diagnose hard starts. As it's off enough to give the engine just a little too much or a little to little fuel to start properly but only at temps at the high or low end.

 

Good to know. I actually changed out the coolant temp sensor about 6 months ago though. I got in the car cold and went to store, was in the store for probably 20 minutes with it being -16 outside with a -40 wind chill. When I got back out to the car, that's when it gave me issues.

 

That would be cold starts ok, warm start not ok.
Given that you did the sensor 6 months ago it's unlikely to be the temp sensor but never rule out a bad new part. But knowing that, fuel relay is more suspect.

Windchill does NOT apply to cars. Windchill is how it feels outside because the wind evaporates the moisture from your skin. Wind and windchill have no effect on metal as far as harder starting.
If the car actually "felt" -40 from the windchill you'd have frozen antifreeze as in a ruptured radiator if you're running the standard 50/50.
65/35 you're good to -50/-53 but I have no clue what they use below that as any more than 65% antifreeze and the freeze point actually starts to come back up

 

If it happens again try to jump the relay. I would make a jump wire and keep it with me.

Also check your wiring, especially the positive cables. Make sure none of them are loose or broken.

 

I swapped the fuel pump relay and the issue has not come back.

 

Hopefully it stays that way!

 

Yeah no kidding. this car in the last 6 months has really started nickel and diming me...I'm probably going to sell it this summer.

 

WTF!!?? You get it setup the way you want now you're getting rid of it? What's the story..?

 

gdog: I can't afford to hold on to a car that strands me like this one has - that situation the other night could have, quite literally, been life-threatening. It sucks, but I'm probably going to wind up with a camry or something.

 

Are you talking about the '94 855T?

 

rspi: yessir. I love the car, but I am starting to think it's time to move on. I don't really have fun driving it anymore because I am always thinking in the back of my mind "this is a 20 year old car, and pushing it too hard could cause something expensive to break"

This probably isn't rational, but I can't help thinking the way I do.

 

Ouch! I guess you can update your signature.

 

That's sad dude!


Pontification warning on:

Most guys here drive these cars because they are 20 years old meaning you can pick them up for cheap, and if you want to invest some DIY time and some money, you can end up with a pretty awesome car. You can easily spend less than $10K including purchase price and refurbishment parts to get it virtually like new, but then you will have a car that 20 yrs ago sold for $40K range. A new camry (IMO) is not comparable to good condition 850T, esp with the few minor + mods like you did. On top of that you'll have spent another $10-20K at least.

Pontification warning off:

Most of us 'round here consider a fuel pump relay preventative maintenance; ask rspi how many he has in his glove box?

 

I get what you are saying, gdog, and trust me, I have a box of misc volvo parts that ride with me - fuel pump relays, a fuel pump, an ignition coil, an idle air controller, a maf sensor, etc...

the point being, when I had that issue, the wind chill was pushing -45 - and it would have been impossible to work on the car for even a couple minutes without the risk of frostbite. I love the car, I really do. But that issue really made me stop and think about things...I dunno, we will have to see.

 

I'm having similar issues with my 99 V70. The vehicle stalled on me about 10mins into my morning commute yesterday. After sitting for about ten minutes it started up fine with no issues. I made it to the shop and they decided to replace the fuel pump and MAF (I suggested a relay)... I got home with the car last night after the repair and tried to start the car within a minute of turning it off and I couldn't get it to start until about 30 mins later. The vehicle would start up and die.

Is it possible it's just the relay? If the relay goes bad is it still possible for it to work intermittently?

Thanks for the help.