My wife's S60 was running fine. We left the house and a few blocks away, the check engine light came on as we were getting on the highway. About that time, I activated the cruise control which I have never used before. Within a mile, the engine lost power and we coasted to the shoulder. I tried to restart the engine, you can hear the starter spinning but it does not sound like it is engaging the flywheel. Had a wrecker tow it home and tried again a few days later. Same thing, hear starter spinning but doesn't sound like it is trying to start or engaging the flywheel. Low battery light has come on and says it is in safe mode.

I found my OBDII reader and checked the car today. It shows 2 codes. A P2402, Evaporative Emmisions Sys leak detection pump control circuit high and a P0606 ECM/PCM Processor. Not many places near me that work on volvos and it is going to have to be towed someplace to be diagnosed but the ECM code just about had me pulling the ECM and sending it out to be rebuilt but from what I am reading, it seems that they rarely go out. I figured that I would get on here and see if anyone else has had this type of problem and might be able to point me in the right direction to try and look for the culprit. Otherwise I will just have to tow it to a shop and hope that I find a good one.

The car has been running good up until this incident and it just died with no warning. Everything that I read that is somewhat similar, it seems to be an intermittent problem for them and the vehicle will start and drive for a while before it happens again.

 

The evap system won't do anything more than create a potential vacuum leak. the P0606 says an issue was detected thw the ECM but is not specific as it could be wiring, a connector or a battery voltage event that triggered the code (possibly related to your low battery light warning). Did you check your battery voltage? its possible you have an issue with your alternator/voltage regulator and your system voltage dropped low enough to cause a computer to fault.

Intermittant faults are a pain since you sometimes need to catch the fault to do your diagnostics. This may be a case where a generic shop may not be equipped to dive deeper and collect run time data so it may be worth a call to a dealer or a Volvo specialist who has access to VIDA.

If you are hands on, you can always try checking battery terminals/connections, test the alternator output, disconnect the ECU and related modules, clean the connectors and reseat etc.

 

Has someone observed if the engine is spinning over when you say "it does not sound like it is engaging the flywheel".

If your timing belt failed - the car will stop, and when the starter is engaged there will be very little resistance. The starter will spin the engine over much faster with no compression. Check to see if the serpentine belt is turning -

ECM is not a high failure rate part on a Volvo.

 

No, that is a good point. I am just going by sound because I have been checking it out solo. I was not losing electrical power like from a bad alternator but now that I think about it, the car had been sitting for a couple of weeks and I think it had read low battery a few days before. I put my charger on it and it read 12.1 v so I tried using it to help start but I think that I will pull the battery from my truck and try it with a known good battery. I have a bad back from a spinal fusion so I just don't have it in me to be bending over and do all the necessary work to trouble shoot it. If the battery doesn't work, I will get someone to check to see if the engine is turning with the starter. I have now pretty much ruled out the chances of it actually being the ECU and will just have to bite the bullet and get it towed to a shop for repairs. Hopefully it won't kill my pocketbook.
thanks for all the suggestions

 

If the timing belt came off, bending the valves, causing the engine to spin over faster due to the lack of compression -

I would expect the solution to that problem to be at least $3000 retail.