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240 Non-starting ignition problem

Art, your wiring diagrams for the 1987 Volvo 240 (which leads me to wonder if my father-in-law was correct when he referred to this vehicle as a 1987; I only started to call it a "1988" when parts dealers, selling me replacement parts, told me that the VIN indicated that it was the latter of the two) are a revelation. And your suggestion to switch around those blue wires at the coil is the most elegant and simple solution imaginable. I smacked myself on my forehead with my hand when I saw that they connected just as they must have when someone undoubtedly named Lars connected them over 30 years ago in the factory. Thank you for helping me to solve this mystery of the after-market alarm.
Now, I just need to wait until next week for the replacement coil to find out if that elegance is matched by efficiency, and the coil begins to function with the rest of the ignition. Speaking of which, I have photographed two unidentified ignition components--a silver and black box attached to the side of the engine bay which are located behind the power steering fluid reservoir. Can anyone tell me what they are, and if they should be tested, along with my ignition control module when the coil is working?
And, finally, the car of my dreams when I was just starting to get grease under my fingernails from working on my 1969 VW Beatle and a 1968 Mercury Cougar with a 289 V8 was a Ferrari Dino that Fritz, a German mechanic who helped me import to the U.S. a 1982 BMW 635i from Austria (but I digress too much here), had under a dusty car cover in his garage. Knowing that I have a similar ignition control module as that Ferrari will bring newfound respect to my Volvo if she ever runs again.
Volvo ignition? by Tom Fiorina, on Flickr
Volvo coil wiring by Tom Fiorina, on Flickr
 
Art, your wiring diagrams for the 1987 Volvo 240 (which leads me to wonder if my father-in-law was correct when he referred to this vehicle as a 1987; I only started to call it a "1988" when parts dealers, selling me replacement parts, told me that the VIN indicated that it was the latter of the two) are a revelation.

Tom, that 1987 manual is just the closest to yours I could find on line, but the ignition system wiring matches yours. Yes it is hard to read, but accurate regarding the wire colors and pin numbers. The interior of the manual is for North American market, but the fold out drawings which I referenced apply to all markets.

The only components in your primary ignition system are the distributor, electronic module (the 139) and the coil. That's it. If your car were mine, I would make sure I now have 12V battery at the coil terminal 15 with the key turned on. I would not expect the coil to be damaged by any "accidental short circuits" but that could have happened to the 139 module for sure. Be sure the module is good before replacing any other parts, especially the distributor Hall-effect sensor. The voltage to "run" that sensor comes from the 139 module.

The black box you see is distribution for battery voltage. Under the cover are wires and terminals bussed together. The silver box is the step relay, or hi-lo relay, which is responsible for switching between high beam and low beam headlamps.

Be sure the power is getting to your coil #15 before moving on.
 
Hi Tom
100% a K-jetronic engine. B230E

Stay with this, the best engine Volvo did ever.
The black box is a power supply box.
If I remember right: the silver one is the safety relay which will cut of the fuel pump if the engine stalls / got switch of
/ stopps running ( by stupid drivery or accident)

Kay, if got this mistake by name in my gender very often ;-)

I believe my parents didn't know about this.

Good luck, Kay
 
Like cleanflametrap wrote. Check if 12V is at the blue wire with ignition on and even if you turn the key to the start position.
Do a short cut between the batteries and 15+ at the coil. If the engine will start now the problem is inside the alarm system or the ignition switch behind the key.

At two stroke oil to the fuel if you like to store the car more than 2 month. 1:100 will be good enough. Never use E100/E85/E100 or E5 stuff. Be aware of the alcohol mixed at the fuel. It will kill the fuel distributor.
 
Hi Tom
100% a K-jetronic engine. B230E

Stay with this, the best engine Volvo did ever.
The black box is a power supply box.
If I remember right: the silver one is the safety relay which will cut of the fuel pump if the engine stalls / got switch of
/ stopps running ( by stupid drivery or accident)

Kay, if got this mistake by name in my gender very often ;-)

I believe my parents didn't know about this.

Good luck, Kay

Hi, Kay. Thanks again for your assistance in identifying my Volvo. You're right about the engine; it's a joy to drive, with stump-pulling torque.
Sorry about my confusion about your name. I guess that I'm not the first. Did you ever hear that song by Johnny Cash?
Regards,
Tom
 
Tom, that 1987 manual is just the closest to yours I could find on line, but the ignition system wiring matches yours. Yes it is hard to read, but accurate regarding the wire colors and pin numbers. The interior of the manual is for North American market, but the fold out drawings which I referenced apply to all markets.

The only components in your primary ignition system are the distributor, electronic module (the 139) and the coil. That's it. If your car were mine, I would make sure I now have 12V battery at the coil terminal 15 with the key turned on. I would not expect the coil to be damaged by any "accidental short circuits" but that could have happened to the 139 module for sure. Be sure the module is good before replacing any other parts, especially the distributor Hall-effect sensor. The voltage to "run" that sensor comes from the 139 module.

The black box you see is distribution for battery voltage. Under the cover are wires and terminals bussed together. The silver box is the step relay, or hi-lo relay, which is responsible for switching between high beam and low beam headlamps.

Be sure the power is getting to your coil #15 before moving on.

Thanks, Art, I'll follow your instructions, and I'll let you and the others know how I make out after I have charged my battery and installed the new coil.
I checked out the wiring from the impulse sensor and the rewired coil to the 139 module; it matches exactly the wiring in the manual that you sent to me. Whether the module and the sensor in the distributor work is still a question.
 
Verified coil terminal 15 power

The only components in your primary ignition system are the distributor, electronic module (the 139) and the coil. That's it. If your car were mine, I would make sure I now have 12V battery at the coil terminal 15 with the key turned on. I would not expect the coil to be damaged by any "accidental short circuits" but that could have happened to the 139 module for sure. Be sure the module is good before replacing any other parts, especially the distributor Hall-effect sensor. The voltage to "run" that sensor comes from the 139 module.

Be sure the power is getting to your coil #15 before moving on.

Hi Art,
My new coil is installed, and I have verified that I'm getting 12V at the coil terminal 15 with the key turned on. Weather permitting, I am planning on verifying the impulse sensor in the distributor this weekend, using information in this article.
In this order, I will--
- check for Spark.
- check for Fuel.
- check that the Fuel Injector Computer is pulsing the fuel injectors.
I'll post back after I've made my diagnosis.
Tom
 
Update: As posted previously, I have installed a new coil, and I have 12V at the 15(+) terminal (I also have 12V at the 1(-) terminal; is that normal?).
Thanks to this outstanding website http://cleanflametrap.com/transferPump.htm, I've been able to confirm that the main and auxiliary fuel pumps are operating correctly. I've also tested my fuel pump relay circuits, and they appear to be working normally.
I hooked up a spark tester to the coil wire that goes to the distributor, and I am getting a strong, whitish-purple spark. However, testing at a spark plug wire shows a crooked, red weak spark. This leads me back to my earlier idea that the broken radiator pipe had soaked the distributor, destroying my Hall Effect Sensor.
I first wanted to 'test the switching signal from the ignition module' https://easyautodiagnostics.com/misc-index/no-start-volvo-case-study-2, but the 12V test light that I ordered from Amazon.fr will not arrive for another week or two.
I did receive another tool to add to my rapidly growing collection, a 6-piece injector Noid light kit, so I hooked it up as illustrated in the website that is linked to in the previous paragraph, and the light comes on but it doesn't blink; it comes on for four or five seconds, then it goes off. The next time that I crank the engine, it doesn't come on at all. Same for the third time. It will then come on again and stay on when I crank the engine a fourth time. From what I read on the website where I found this test, it should flash on and off repeatedly.
Am I right in thinking that it's time to shine up my blacksmith skills and replace the Hall Effect Sensor? Or, is it best to wait for my test light, and to test the Ignition Control Module?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
You can also use a light bulb socket like for the tailights. Make up a couple of wires with alligator clips on the ends. You can use that to check the switching at coil terminal 1. No switching move to the ignition module and see if there is an input to it with a voltmeter. A good voltmeter will catch the pulses from the hall sensor. You can also ohm out the hall sensor and see if it is to spec. I don't remember what it measures but that should be in a Haynes or Bentley manual.

Don't know where you put a noid light with kjetronic injection. That is really an efi tool.
 
Somewhere earlier, cleanflametrap (Art) had a good suggestion of running a metal feeler gauge through the distributor sensor gap to trigger the coil. I think all you need to do is pull the disti cap and dust shield, rotate it to a position where there's no metal flag in the gap, and connect the center coil wire to a spare spark plug. Running a feeler gauge through the sensor gap should be similar enough to the metal distributor metal flag to trigger a spark. If not, connect a light or multi-meter to the distributor-to-module signal and see if it changes when you run the feeler gauge through.

edit: sorry, I missed this before:
I hooked up a spark tester to the coil wire that goes to the distributor, and I am getting a strong, whitish-purple spark. However, testing at a spark plug wire shows a crooked, red weak spark.
Are you getting the strong spark on the fat center coil wire when cranking? If so, your distributor, module, and coil are all working correctly. If you get the weak spark on a spark plug wire when cranking, then your distributor may not be aligned/rotated correctly. When at TDC, the tip of the distributor rotor should point to a notch in the edge of the distributor. Have you rotated the distributor while investigating the problem?
 
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You can also use a light bulb socket like for the tailights. Make up a couple of wires with alligator clips on the ends. You can use that to check the switching at coil terminal 1. No switching move to the ignition module and see if there is an input to it with a voltmeter. A good voltmeter will catch the pulses from the hall sensor. You can also ohm out the hall sensor and see if it is to spec. I don't remember what it measures but that should be in a Haynes or Bentley manual.

Don't know where you put a noid light with kjetronic injection. That is really an efi tool.

Thanks for your response and suggestions. As you suggested, I've ordered a light bulb socket and alligator clips to construct a simple test light. The below photo shows where I connected the noid light. As I mentioned previously, I don't know if it is an indication of a defective Hall sensor or my ignition module has a problem. I'll check the sensor's ohm values and the pulses that are operating the module. I'm not sure what you mean by this: "No switching move to the ignition module..."
Should that be "Now switching..."?

image_5_E.jpg
 
Somewhere earlier, cleanflametrap (Art) had a good suggestion of running a metal feeler gauge through the distributor sensor gap to trigger the coil. I think all you need to do is pull the disti cap and dust shield, rotate it to a position where there's no metal flag in the gap, and connect the center coil wire to a spare spark plug. Running a feeler gauge through the sensor gap should be similar enough to the metal distributor metal flag to trigger a spark. If not, connect a light or multi-meter to the distributor-to-module signal and see if it changes when you run the feeler gauge through.

edit: sorry, I missed this before:

Are you getting the strong spark on the fat center coil wire when cranking? If so, your distributor, module, and coil are all working correctly. If you get the weak spark on a spark plug wire when cranking, then your distributor may not be aligned/rotated correctly. When at TDC, the tip of the distributor rotor should point to a notch in the edge of the distributor. Have you rotated the distributor while investigating the problem?

Thanks for your post. I have ordered feeler gauges, and I'll run the test that was first suggested by Art. Thanks for having reminded me of it. I did remove the distributor to examine more closely the Hall sensor. Even though I had marked the distributor location on the plate that it sits on, maybe I did get it out of position. I will try to position it at TDC, as you've suggested.
 
"dizzy's rotor"

The part-swap way to try to avoid drilling rivets or finding another distributor would be to replace the 139 module and maybe the coil. But you could prove the distributor and Hall-effect sensor OK by positioning the dizzy's rotor so the vane's window is exposed at the sensor, then using a feeler gauge attempt to trigger the sensor while monitoring the voltage at the blue/yellow wire, which should follow the feeler gauge placement. The most commonly reported trouble with these is missing insulation on the wires leading to the sensor itself from the connector.

At the risk of sounding stupid, can you please explain what you mean by 'the dizzy's rotor"? I wasn't able to find an explanation on the Internet.
 
Distributor alignment verified(?)

Are you getting the strong spark on the fat center coil wire when cranking? If so, your distributor, module, and coil are all working correctly. If you get the weak spark on a spark plug wire when cranking, then your distributor may not be aligned/rotated correctly. When at TDC, the tip of the distributor rotor should point to a notch in the edge of the distributor. Have you rotated the distributor while investigating the problem?

I checked my distributor alignment, per your instructions, and it appears to be OK. When I manually turned the engine to TDC, the rotor was pointing at the only notch that I could see on the edge of the distributor (see photo). However, in reviewing my Haynes manual, it showed a totally different notch on the distributor. Is that just because of a variation in the different model years?
Also, when I turned the engine so that the timing mark came around 360?, the rotor turned 180?, opposite to this notch on my distributor. I suppose that this is correct.

43880955080_4fe9ced729_n.jpg
[/url]Distributor notch by Tom Fiorina, on Flickr[/IMG]

44784516925_c11d73eab3_n.jpg
[/url]Distributor notch_Haynes by Tom Fiorina, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Edited: See this post for a picture of rotor and alignment notch when at TDC, and pictures showing TDC marks.
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showpost.php?p=5823655&postcount=33http://forums.turbobricks.com/showpost.php?p=5823655&postcount=33

Yes, you need 2 engine revolutions to get one distributor revolution.

Dizzy = distributor

If you're getting a good spark from the center wire of the coil, but not at the plugs, the other thing to check is the inside of the distributor cap. There should be a spring loaded black post in the center. This post contacts the flat gold spot in the center of the rotor and allows the spark to pass to the end of the rotor. If the post is broken, or worn out, you'll get a weak spark at the plugs.
 
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Hy Tom, can't work the way you did.
Remove the rotor and clean carefully the small round edge with fine sand paper or with steel wool. You will find a mark. This mark is never the "slot/notch" to fix the cap in right position.
Your dizzy is now out of 45? if I remember right.
Your dizzy should turn clpckwise. If the beginning of one of a small slot at the side of the silver rotor will be in the middle of the hall senor the ignition will get the signal to fire. I can't explain this better in my not natural language, sorry.

Good luck, Kay
 
Aaaah you didn't try to turn the dizzy. It will be fine, still at this point it isn't at tdc (5? in front of tdc)

Like bobxyz wrote: if you have a strong spark at the lead of the coil and a soft at the spark plugs there is something wrong.
At first the leads, buy the boug.... ones.
The parts at the end of the leads
The cap, use only bosch ones, the other are scrap
The rotor himself.
Sometimes they get a shortcut directly to the shaft they are mounted on. Bosch dito.

If the spark is weak on all 4 spark plugs I would change the cap and the rotor first
 
Hello. Seems like you are getting close. When I was suggesting checking the switching. I mean with the test light on terminal 1 of the coil. With the engine cranking to start. You would see the test light flash on and off as the system switches the ignition coil circuit open and closed. If there isn't any switching on terminal 1. You can move to the amplifier module and see that the hall sensor input signal is working witha meter.

By the way. The BERU ignitioin parts like a distributor cap and rotor are every bit of good quality as Bosch is. They sell it over here reboxed into a Standard ignition parts box cheaper than Bosch. Of course you have to buy the correct one as Standard Parts has a cheap junky part and then the better Beru part. lol.

I've learned a lot about the European model B230E from this thread and I sure wish we would have gotten a motor like that here.
 
Here's an update about the Hall Sensor and Ignition Coil Unit (ICU) tests (and thanks to everyone who posted about the TDC marking on the distributor housing and for having explained the term 'Dizzy' to me).
I used the feeler gauge test to test the Hall Sensor, and there wasn't any pulse detected when I turned the distributor (by rotating the engine manually) until an open Vane 'window' was centered in front of the Hall Switch, and I passed a feeler gauge in-between the window and the sensor. I tried to detect the signal, as Art had explained, using my multimeter attached to the center blue/yellow (actually a green wire on my 3-wire connector plug in the distributor body), and I also had also seen online a test with a spark plug attached to the coil HT wire. No signal on the multimeter, and no spark either.
This other online source also said that I could test the ICU, by inserting (with the key off) a jumper wire to the middle green wire and the black wire in that connector plug. When I turned the engine to the Key ON position and pulled out the jumper wire, there was no spark, but the main fuel pump was activated.
This leads me to believe that my Hall Sensor is dead, and that there is probably a problem as well with the ICU.
If anyone has any other thoughts, I'd love to hear them in the next day or so, but I plan on ordering those two ignition parts this week from Skandix in Germany, my go-to-place for Volvo parts.
Also, thanks for those suggestions about the rotor and rotor cap. I'll also be ordering them, even though they were replaced around two years back.
I'll post an update once I've replaced these parts. Now, I need to try to hone my blacksmith skills over the next day to so to replace that Hall Sensor without destroying my distributor. If anyone is interested, the Hall Sensor is going to set me back around €125. The cost of a new distributor is over €350.
 
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