Man, I LOVE this car but so disappointed (and a little embarrassed) that it left me stranded on the side of the highway.
2004 2.9 with 90k.
I was just cruising down the highway and it just started hesitating and then completely lost power- I put it in neutral and coasted off the highway and now it sits on a side street. Right before I put it in neutral I tried to give it gas put the rpms just kept going lower and lower. Once in neutral, engine just died and coasted to a stop.
I popped open the hood- nothing unusual, no smells, nothing loose... I checked the fuel pump fuse-ok. Checked the battery connection- tight.
I let it rest for a few minutes and tried to start it up- cranked over and ran for about 1 second and suddenly died.
Here is all I know
1/2 tank of gas
engine temp was fine
no computer warning or check engine lights came on
not the timing belt as I would have heard a violent noise
I took the fuel filler cap loose and re-tightened it.
Batter is only 9 months old
fuel pump replaced by dealer 9 months ago under recall

One thing I should mention- I doubt it has anything to do with it, but my darn computer keeps saying bulb position failure and just for the hell of it i held down the reset button to see if it would go away- then the car died right after that- I'm sure its just coincidental but thought I'd mention it anyway in-case i somehow messed with the computer.

I lost my job and would like to ride my scooter to it with my tools and see if I can check/test/repair it.
Please let me know where to start at least.
Thanks!

 

I would start by checking fuel pressure and volume at the fuel rail.

Sounds almost like you lost the flow of fuel for some unknown reason.

Fact it ran for about 1 second also leads me to beleive it is not related to the belt.

 

This happened to me less than a week before my wedding back in April. Thankfully it died about 5 minutes away from iPd. It turned out being my alternator. They put a new battery in and the symptoms were the same but when they hooked up a steady power source the car just kept running like normal. It's not a cheap fix so check everything out. (about $500 after labor) I would have changed it myself but had enough on my plate with the wedding.

 

Update:
Well, I was going to take DCM's advice and do the fuel pressure check but decided to go over there on my scooter with a handful of tools first to see about doing simple things like disconnect/reconnect the battery. The first thing I did was to crank it over. It turned over normal speed and after a few seconds it wasn't starting, so I kept cranking it but now I mashed down on the accelerator and not only did it start but it kept going! It seemed to idle faster than normal for a bit then gradually went down to normal speed.
I took it for a slow test drive. It didn't idle funny and it drove fine. After the engine was at normal operating temp I gunned it a few times- no hesitation at all. Drove perfectly normal. What the ???
I'm happy I don't have to have it towed into a shop (where I feel I'm at shop's mercy) but now I obviously have an intermittent problem which are a PITA to diagnose. There are no display messages on the dash and all seems fine.
Now what should I do? take it somewhere to have it hooked up to a computer? I would think that there is a short or a sensor that is going out but not at all sure..

 

Glad it started.

Take it to someone who has a special tool to read all the volvo codes. Hopefully something was stored.

Many non-dealership garages which specialize in Volvo service have a tool to do this. Your typical Autozone code reader can not access all the codes. BSR makes one and possibly others as well.

PS- Try a new fuel filter.

 

Two questions:
what or who is BSR?

also, isnt the fuel filter on an 04 inside the fuel tank?

 

BSR is a Sweedish Company which makes a code reader which reads the proprietary Volvo codes (over a thousand codes which the conventional readers in US cannot access). The first generation reader was about $300 new USD. If you can find one used, it is a very good investment. The new generation which has replaced the first costs about $700 new. Great tool but not practical for the average car owner at this cost.

Euro Styles East, LLC - United States - BSR Dealer

http://www.bsr.se/docs/man_diagnos_uk.pdf

I have never heard of the filter only being in the tank. In the 2000 S80 a pick up screen (refilter) is in the tank and a seperate filter is located just in front of the right rear wheel under the body. If I get a chance later I will look it up in Volvo manual.

 

Ok thanks!
Also, I wanted to share advice from a member of a different forum on this mysterious problem. He apparently thinks there is a link to the "bulb position failure" light and possibly me hitting the reset button.

He said (with conviction):
"change the bulb failure warning relay,it is breaking down,tripping the immobilizer,a round relay."

Im intrigued with this diagnosis...

 

Regarding the filter- Vadis shows it to be in front of the RH rear wheel, possibly along side of the tank just like the 2000 model.

Look the filter up on rockauto.com so you can see what it will look like.

Please keep us informed of what solves this. 90% of what I learned about Volvo's came from what other people experienced on this web sight.

 

Update:

So today I thought I'd drive it around and see if I could get the computer code read. Auto part stores said if the check engine didn't come on then there will be no codes to read. I still don't have an explanation of why it died so decided to go home and find a volvo shop near my house. On the way home I noticed my turn signals stopped working, and the lights on the dash are very dim. The a/c blower is stilling fine, head lights fine (brights now not working).
Found a shop and took it over. They said first off, the alternator is only putting out 12.5 volts. They then said they would need to keep it and do more research to see if that doesn't solve the other problems what else could be the cause.
Stay tuned..

 

12.5 volts was what my alternator was putting put. These cars should be putting out about 14. If they put power through the alternator and then try the same bypassing the alternator and find a big change then you may have found your problem. Worked for me. Definitely let us know.

 

Well they called me to tell me that a new alternator and battery (said I had a dead cell) was going to be $815 to change both out. I told them I'm out of a job and can't afford it. Went and picked it up and paid a minimal charge (diagnostic fee $50) but on my way out they said the mechanic was doing some more checks on it and said something was loose behind fuse block and you had several fuses that were blown. Great, so I drove it home and then today I started the car and drove off like I did the first time it died and it died at the same exact place on the highway! No check engine light, it just started to hesitate than it died. Pulled it over and cranked it over it still wouldnt start. Back to square one. I had the fuel pump replaced for the recall a few months back- wonder if they didn't make a good connection.
This truly sux...

 

Just because your alternator may be bad, it does not mean your battery is shot. How old is it? I replaced my alternator and have the same battery from when the old alternator died. BTW the alternator is not too bad to replace yourself if the shop is sure that that was the issue and it will save you about $200 or so. What are the local auto stores in your area? O'Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA, Autozone, etc.? Shop around for an alternator IF the mechanic says that's what's wrong. O'Reilly has lifetime warranty on their rebuilt power steering pumps so I'd be curious to see what they say on alternators. You should be able to do the alternator for less than $300 yourself if the battery is good.

 

Here you go. $185.99 + 68.00 Core Charge =$253.99

Ultima 13997 - Alternator | O'Reilly Auto Parts

It is a re-manufactured Bosch alternator with a lifetime warranty. Just keep your receipt. It comes without the pulley but if you bring your core in, they should put the pulley off your old alternator on the new one for you. They did it for me for free with my power steering pump. Give 'em your old alternator at time of purchase and it is only $185.99 + applicable tax.

 

You still think it might be the alternator? The battery isn't being discharged plus wouldn't I get a check engine light?
summary of facts so far:
1. car has died twice now while going a steady speed.
2. when car stalls, it "shudders" briefly then engine cuts-off. No warning lights at all.
3. First time this happened car sat over-night then restarted and drove fine.
4. Later while driving several of the electrical features were not working but car could still drive.
5. mechanic did something behind fuse block and replaced fuses- car drove fine home then next day (today) same thing happened- stalled on highway at exactly the same location as before- weird!!

MAF problem or ETM malfunctioning?

My plan now is to take it to the dealer and just pay them a diagnostic fee to see what the problem is (I would like to request any stored codes on the computer) and hopefully fix myself- I'm unemployed

 

You should be able to find a warranted used one for about $50.
I have had better luck with used ones than rebuilt due to quality of parts used for rebuild.
Problem with these alternators is they start to make noise. If you get a noisy one, return it.

Look here
Used Auto Parts | Used Car Parts | Auto Salvage

 

Here is the thing, I never threw any codes either. But in my post I did recommend it if a mechanic, albeit a qualified one can say that for sure it is the alternator, then it may be worth taking a look at. If your battery is not discharging then, no it is probably not the alternator, but the reason my car kept dying was because my battery was and you had similar symptoms.

Your battery can run the car for a while but will die out because of the electrical requirements of this car. In talking with IPD, DSTC and ABS messages can pop up because they require more electrical current than other systems and can eat a battery. But then again, yours doesn't seem to discharge and hasn't done this. Someone can correct me on this but I believe the ETM would activate a limp home mode that cuts back fuel in most cases but in many cases is still driveable. Even though the mechanic messed with the fuse block or behind it, it still isn't fixed so that's probably something different.

This may be a dumb question but you are lacking fuel entering the motor, but you seem to be lacking spark also. When you turn the key and it doesn't start, does it crank and then after a while just click?

 

plot thickens...

Although the gas gauge reads over half tank I decided to take a couple gallons of fuel over to it. I crank it up- no dice. Pour in the fuel and sure enough- it starts!
So I don't know what to say about the previous electrical issues- maybe that mechanic did fix that part and it was just coincidental that happened at the same time as this apparent fuel delivery problem.
So now I think I can narrow down the stalling issue to either a faulty fuel pump or a clogged fuel filter.

 

I was going to ask about the fuel filter next but you beat me to it. I hope the electrical issues are fine now. Your float is definitely not reading correctly. On the other hand, you may not be getting enough electrical current for the fuel pump to operate properly therefore messing up your reading on your gauge. Let us know what you find.

 

Maxy, are you speaking in code? ha ha...