My brother and I are buying a 2002 S40, but it doesn't start. It cranks over, and sounds like it's getting fuel in the cylinder, but not enough air. It actually starts to start, taking strain off the starter, but dies before it can start. Any suggestions?

 

Check the fuel pressure. Check the fuel pump fuse. Guessing is costly. Find out for certain. Get a fuel pressure tester. Harbor Freight has them for cheap. I believe you can also do the rental tool thing at Autozone or Advance. Not 100% sure about that one.

Also check the timing belt. Make sure it's intact and the timing marks on the cams line up.

Any stored trouble codes?

 

Not that I know of. We have no automotive specific tools other than a gap tool and a pair of oil strainer pliers. The car is getting gas, but it is acting like it has no air. I said this in my original post.

 

I'm trying to be as specific as possible given that I don't think you understand how this car works. The 2002 S40 needs a specific fuel pressure to operate. "getting fuel" is not good enough. You need to know exactly how much fuel it's getting. I say that because the 2000-2004 1.9L models have a specific issue of the fuel pressure regulator going bad. However, just throwing money at the problem is always a bad idea. It could also be as simple as the fuel pump fuse is blown. Have you checked the fuel pump fuse? Or worse, it could be a bad fuel pump. I've had all these things go wrong over the years on my 2001.

Not getting air has never been an issue. Ever.

 

​​​​​Fuel pump is good because I can hear a good healthy hum from it when I turn the key. I just bought a code scanner on Amazon.

If it is the air, I won't be able to not say I told you so. But if you are right, which you probably are given your experience, I'm probably going to feel like a complete idiot. And rightly so.

 

reason for checking the fuel pressure is that you may have a faulty fuel pressure regulator. You can guess about the cause or you can do some basic diagnostics to triage the problem. One quick way of testing the pressure regulator (its the small gizmo on the right hand side of the fuel rail with the fuel line coming into it as well as a vacuum line) - simply pull the vacuum line and crank. If you see fuel leaking out, the diaphram is torn and the injectors are not getting enough pressure to set the start mixture correctly... Also fuel pumps or relays can be weak - again not enough pressure to start. You can try jumpering the relay to help build pressure. For your issue with air intake - start by looking for any tears in the plumbing - turbo to intercooler, intercooler to MAF then to the throttle body. check the vacuum lines as well. Next scan for engine codes... How do you know you have spark on all 4 cylinders? Any misfire codes pointing to plugs or coil? Another thought is that after a lot of failed start attempts, you may have washed all the oil off the cylinder walls leading to low compression. A wet compression test can help here. Idea is drop a tablespoon or two of oil or so in the spark plug hole is enough to wet the rings and build compression. Finally as was suggested, cross your fingers and pop off the timing belt cover to make sure all is intact.

 

And the Harbor Freight "Fuel Injection Pump Tester" is $20 versus a new Volvo Fuel Pressure Regulator at $240 plus shipping. The cool thing is you get to keep the pressure tester forever as it's a tool that can be used on any car.

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/7057...ulator-s40-v40

vs

Fuel Injection Pump Tester

 

Have you tried flooring the gas pedal as you start it up? Two seasons ago I was routinely getting a non-starter in the morning. I replaced the FPR but that didn't help. I noticed that if I put the pedal to the ground and started it and then put some constant pressure on the pedal for about 10s she would then carry on, on her own power.


I took out the idle control valve and gave it a good cleaning with some brake cleaner and it has started every time since.

 

Years ago before discovering this forum I had the long cranking issue where cracking the throttle just a bit would allow the engine to start. I first replaced the IAC motor but it continued the same. After reading here about the FPR I replaced mine and solved my issue. But that was back when the FPR was $80. Those days are no longer. $240 is an expensive gamble.