I've got a '94 Volvo 850 Wagon (non-turbo).

About a month ago, after starting the Volvo and pulling out into the street the car died about a hundred feet from our driveway. I had to crank it for about thirty seconds to get it to start again. It seemed like it was flooded considering that giving it any gas at all would just cause it to die again. Eventually I got it to catch again and just let it rough idle until it seemed to burn off the gas, at this point I just drove away. Two days ago the same behavior seemed to occur when attempting to start the car. I never 'pump' the gas when starting the Volvo. Eventually the car started, but only after rough idling through what seemed like it was running excessively rich, to the point of seeming like it was flooded. Which just seems strange for a fuel-injected throttle body car.

Yesterday I couldn't get the car started. It was only 7 degrees, so I didn't think much of it. I just figured the battery wasn't that strong due to the temperature. The battery went totally dead while I was trying to start the car.

I could hear the electric fan going even while the keys were removed. When its 7 degrees out and the car hasn't even been started yet, I'm thinking the fan probably doesn't need to be draining the battery to the point that the car wouldn't even turn over anymore.

Looking above the radiator it looks like there is a relay. Could this possibly be causing the electric fan to trip on for an unstarted car at seven degrees fareinheit?

I checked with a mega-mart which had an off-brand battery I wasn't interested in, and it listed the Volvo as having a "size 12" but with only 5xx Cold Cranking Amps. Mind you this is in Wisconsin. Most places (even Mega-Marts) have special "Northern Edition" batteries with higher CCA ratings.

I checked the Volvo and it had a small Interstate Battery in it with the same low 5xx CCA rating. The battery in the car seemed to be very small compared to the footprint of the battery tray.

What brand and size/model of battery are most people using in their 850s? What battery delivers the best CCA rating for Nothern (read freezing cold) climates? Has anyone dropped an Optima in their Volvo? Were there fitment problems?

Has anyone seen the problem of the electrical fan remaining on for a car that hadn't even been started in weather twenty-five degrees below freezing? What was the fix? If you replaced a relay which one, as it looks like there might be two above the radiator, but the Haynes manual only shows one.

I'd really like to get the Volvo going, and very soon. Expecting our first child next week.

thanks,

850 Waggy