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97 850 Strange start situation. Runs fine, takes 12 cranks to get running.

vxracer

vxracer

New member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Location
Topsail Island, N.C.
Glad to be back, Fellow Brickers! After 7 years in Asia, and missing a brick. I just bought a 97 850 wagon.N/A. A wagon this time, yay! Strange start issue. After many cranks where It starts every time, then stutters and stalls. Troubleshooting a new buy. Once up to a dozen attempts, starts and purrs like a kitten. Runs like a dream. Anyone ever have a similar situation?

P.S. I bought it for 850 USD. Two fuses later, Everything works! Another neighborN has a white 945 wagon that may sell. I can only handle so much brick pr0no at one time! Wow
 
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How’s stage 0 on it ?
vacuum leaks
Pcv
Tune up
Positive battery connection- right after the terminal goes bad and makes them do weird stuff
Fuel pump relay
Clean MAF

Therese are pretty sensitive cars sometimes if you don’t keep up on them


What happens after if dies? Does it do it while in idle, hot or cold engine, driving etc etc

How do you get it to start up

And as usual any MIL?
 
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That sounds a lot like a cam sensor. The cam sensor is used only during startup, to sequence the injectors, can cause hard or no start if it's failing.
 
Ok thanks, working on stage 0.Hard to do with a dead battery constantly. Only two days with the car so far. Yes, once It runs, runs great. Restarts fine. The next day, the symptoms repeat. I wiill check these relay issues I read about first. Then proceed with more later..

Suspicious about no fuel pressure, and constant cranking generates fuel pressure.

2 Potential relays, I forgot the names. One behind the radiator, the other behind the fuse box.


Starting with those two.
 
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How is the oil level? These engine use hydraulic lifters and they shouldn't leak down overnight. But it's possible. These engines are known to need cranking if the lifters leak down their oil. Maybe an oil pressure check would be helpful?
 
vxracer said:
Ok thanks, working on stage 0.Hard to do with a dead battery constantly. Only two days with the car so far. Yes, once It runs, runs great. Restarts fine. The next day, the symptoms repeat. I wiill check these relay issues I read about first. Then proceed with more later..

Suspicious about no fuel pressure, and constant cranking generates fuel pressure.

2 Potential relays, I forgot the names. One behind the radiator, the other behind the fuse box.


Starting with those two.
Click to expand...

Red behind battery is fuel pump - always go with new volvo one - lifetime from fcp
I had to replace many used ones and just finally got a new one - even when I would resolder them they would eventually go bad

Dead battery is likely the cable i mentioned - I had that issue for a long time and after an alternator and few batteries I noticed the cable was getting hot;
Looked fine and i never suspected it since I use optima batteries. Pulled the shield off and it was corroded inside
 
Check engine light on? If so, read the codes and quit guessing. The OBD 2 cars do a good job of pointing you straight to the problem. It won’t detect bad relays or pumps. That’s what your fuel pressure tester is for.
 
Thanks for the input. Oil level is fine. Not sure about pressure. No equipment where I am at the moment.The car was always serviced.But, aged relays, sensors, battery wire, etc. are likely culprits. The fact that It can Start and run Fine rules out many no start issues. That helps.
 
Sitting overnight causing a hard start could also be an injector leaking down, washing cylinders. A friend just chased a hard start on his for a while, found that to be the cause.
 
Always confirm the circuit is good before firing a part at the problem. I imagine it's is a 3 wire sensor with a 5V reference, ground, and signal.


Confirm voltage, confirm good continuity on the ground circuit (less than a couple ohms), and then measure the signal out of the sensor with your tool of choice. A LED test lamp would work (aka "scope on a rope")
 
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Quick update. Apparently, this car was used for movies or t.v. shows. Crazy!I don't now which, yet. I used a battery tender to eventually start and stay running. Always consistent. 12 or more smooth starts and shuts of smoothly after 2 seconds at idle. Almost seems like an instant fuel cut or sensor reverting from start up, to normal operation. Eventually, maybe with warmth, it starts and purrs like a kitten and drives fine. Also, starts so smoothly when the engine is warm, for several hours.

That being said, I discovered three stage 0 issues after running:

1. flame trap is clogged. Go figure, typical. Hahahaha :-P

2. The air filter box heater thermostat is stuck open and hot air 100% of the time.:-P

3. There was a vacuum leak on the tall, silver canister on the rubber vaccuum line elbow.

Typical Volvo issues. Now, I can dig in more. Maybe get somewhere for OBD2 codes now.
 
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You can get a cheap OBD2 interface that will connect to a smartphone via bluetooth. You can also monitor data. Your success on early VOLVO OBD2 may be limited. But you might see something like the ECT sensor thinks it is freezing temps, when it's not.

Is the check engine light on?
 
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