Ok guys, I thought I had my problem fixed with a new battery. I don't!

This is what is happening. After short trips seems like car gets hot wont start wont crank.

I can do one of two things. I let it cool. It starts. I jump it and it starts right up.

The car never dies while I am driving or after sitting overnight. I sitting for a week.

I think I can rule out a parasitic draw. And I have checked for draw it is at 50 miliamps.

Cables appear good. But Could this be an issue where the cable is getting hot and I am loosing my connection? But if so why would a jump start work?

Car has a new starter battery and I am getting good voltage. 12.5

I am tempted to do cables next since that is affordable.

What do you think? Help!

My neutral safety switch would act up when hot causing intermittent no crank. Replaced it and no more problems.

It's hard to check because it was marginal. Increase heat equals increased resistance. Even for where it was located.
--
Paul NW Indiana '89 744 Turbo 180K/ '90 745 turbo 145K

Hi Paul,

Long time no talk since I went to FWD/850.

That interlock switch could be the rat in the woodpile I never found.
I could always start it with a screwdriver across the solenoid lugs,
which ruled out the heavy starter cables and the starter. It's really
odd that once it started like that then the car would work OK for a long time.
I don't understand how the switch would fail like that and then work as normal?
Can you explain it? I wonder if the solenoid might draw a greater amount of current if there's some problem with engaging at a certain point on the flywheel.
If so maybe you'll need the screwdriver? How long ago did you replace the switch?
Mine pretended it was fixed for maybe six months, then zing...dead again.

Bill

Hi Chris,

You didn't post that you fixed the problem.
There's two ground wires from the battery make sure they're on tight
and look at all terminal ends, sometimes the crimps rot out and then they
get flaky.

You can try shorting a big screwdriver across the starter solenoid lugs and see if it starts. That always worked when my 740 did that. The problem did not seem
to be the starter since it acted weird with two different starters sometimes
pretending to be fixed for months. Then it would die suddenly and start with the screwdriver on the solenoid lugs, lickedy split.

Bill

Did you ever figure out what your problem was when it was starting with the screw driver like that? It sounds like I am having the same problem you were having.

NEw parts so far : battery, starter, neutral safety switch, and about 6 months ago ignition switch. Cables and connections seemn good I have checked and cleaned everyone I can find.

Fixed. It was the alarm system that was tied into the wire that brings power to the solenoid.

No I still haven't fixed the problem. I put in a starter because I was running a garden hose or gallons of water and the car would start.

After putting in that new starter the other day I was out on trips and the car would not start like before but now it is not responding to letting it cool down.

I replaced the neutral safety switch because IPD had it on sale.

Still will not start.

But I can get it to start by using a screw driver and toucing the hot on the starter to the silinoid.

You did not give a year or engine type...might help narrow things down a lot.

I've experienced a similar problem on my '90 760 GLT a few years ago. I won't repeat describing the symptoms or behavior since you have. I isolated the problem to the starter (solenoid I think). As a test, after driving a big loop around town, I would park it in the driveway at home. I would attempt a start after waiting roughly 15 minutes. Of course it wouldn't start. I then directed a stream of cold water from the nozzle of a garden hose onto the solenoid. Another attempt at starting the car and presto!. I used remote thermometer (purchased from HF) to determine temperatures in engine bay and starter before the spray and would bring the temp of the solenoid down to outdoor ambient or lower. Typically, the temperatures were in excess of 120 F and could bring the temp down to mid 90's. Good Luck!

For the fun of Volvos,
Mike
--
'92 245DL, '90 760 GLT

That does seem plausible that the starter could be acting like that. But I don't get why it would start with a jump if that were the problem. I went out and bought cables because they weren't much. I am going to replace them and see if the problem is still there. If so I will look at that starter again.

Hi Chris,

The reason it could start with a jump could be due to poor main ground cable connection from engine to battery.

I suspect you connected the negative jumper to your engine block during a jump. So the starter motor basically gets its power off the jumper car. In this case your main ground cable above is not fully used during jumping.

Check your main ground connection, from bolts, mating surfaces, cleanliness of the connector terminals and so forth.

As a quick test, try connecting one of your jumper cable from negative battery terminal straight to your engine block next time during no starting. It could improve the grounding.

Regards,
Amarin.

I jump the car from the negative cable at the battery connection.

This is so mysterious.

Have you tried hitting the solenoid with a piece of 2 x 2 wood or something, it may be sticking.

Dan

I will try to do that next time around. thanks

So, judging from your responses, you have yet to try my suggested test. I, too, had a rebuilt starter. The test requires only water and a few minutes of your time. Sounds simple.

For the fun of Volvos.
Mike
--
'92 245DL, '90 760 GLT

Thanks for the reminder. I will actually do that before installing a new starter. I have been looking at those temp gauges from HF too. :)

So where are you at with this issue? Have you replaced the starter/solenoid? Did you run the car around a town a while to heat up the engine bay, then parked the car in the driveway for about 15 minutes and attempted to restart the car? Did the car fail to start/turnover? If so, then shot a stream of cold water from a garden hose onto the starter/solenoid?. If the starter is the issue, the car would have restarted/turned over.

Such an easy, pain free, zero cost test.

For the fun of Volvos.
Mike
--
'92 245DL, '90 760 GLT

Hi Chris,

Noted. So it might not be the cables at all?

Another test to do is to connect both jumpers to the starter. Positive jumper cable from battery to positive terminal of starter. Just be careful of shorting this cable to any metal engine parts. Likewise for the negative jumper.

When jump starting usually the donor car is started first after connecting all the cables. So the system voltage becomes higher than 12 volts (thanks to donor car). If the starter could only start with higher voltage during hot then it could mean your starter is on its way out.

But before that, try to start by having another wire from the positive battery terminal straight to starter solenoid terminal. This is to rule out issues in your starting circuit, namely the ignition switch and neutral gear switch (if yours is automatic car).

I'm not that particular with voltage measurements here as the starting circuit deals more with amperage rather than voltage. Its a bit difficult to measure amperage with our tiny voltmeter. The Ohms's Law V=IR is for small ideal circuit. In real world heat and magnetism are also involved in the circuit so there are bound to be losses in measurement. Plus there's a possibility when all voltages are good still no start condition due to faulty motor.

Regards,
Amarin.

I see what you mean about the cables, both how to test and why they might not be the problem.

I work on my volvos but a lot of times I stumble into the solution. For some reason I was thinking that a cable could be deteriorated and when the donor battery gives me a jump it is pushing the volts through the narrowed wire.

Now I am thinking it is more likely the starter. Frustrated though because it is a new (remade) starter. I ended up buying the cables the other day on an impulse and they weren't that costly.

The only other thing I was thinking. The motor had a blown head about 50k ago. It was bad I had coolant in cylinders. If anyone has had experience with this. Could it be that when it gets hot the pistons are expanding and the starter will not turn over motor?

I kinda don't think that is it because I get nothing when it won't turn. I am trying to think of what to do next. Maybe just replace cables and if that doesn't work which I am now thinking it wont I should get a starter from a junk yard.