Hi All,

My wife planned to take her 88 240 b230f 15kms to town this afternoon but the 240 didn't leave the driveway. The car wouldn't start. There was no warning. It was parked on our steep driveway preventing her from taking my 940. Fortunately my kind neighbour let her get to her doctor's appointment on time in one of his 5 Volvos.

Testing by my neighbour reveals-

an ignition pulse,

power at the coil,

fuel pumps kick in, but,

NO SPARK AT THE PLUGS!

A problem with the ignition control unit/amplifier has been suggested.This unit is black and attached to the windscreen reservoir. It has a blue and white sticker on top and is labelled 1357308 USA.

Questions

Are there other possibilities?

Is there a conclusive test for the control unit?

If it is the ignition control unit - can it be repaired ?

is buying preused desirable?

how much should I pay?

does anyone have one they wish to sell(we have purchased many components in the US so if the price is right that will not be a problem)

Unfortunately the other 88 240 in the neighbourhood has a different serial number on its control unit. The housing for my 10 pin plug is white. Whereas the other unit is red. Interchanging them would have been of assistance.

Thankyou in advance. Your assistance is urgently required and will be gratefully appreciated.

John H from DOWNUNDER ....sold the Toyota to buy a 2nd Volvo.

It could also be the Hall effect pick up in the distributor. There is a test procedure in the 700/900 FAQ for this.

I have never had any requests for them as acute need items and see very few sold on Ebay. This indicates that they do not fail often. In contrast, AMM's and ECU's for 89-90 B230's are duds and always in demand. You should get one from salvage easily. Very high probability it will be cheap and fine.

Thanks for the info.

We have managed to push the car up the driveway and parked it on the street. This at least allows the 940 to be used.

Your thoughts re reliability of the control unit are encouraging.

I guess it furthers the need to test it somehow before we track down another unit. If anyone has thoughts on this matter it would be appreciated. I'll post that question.

Take care,

John Hibbert from DOWNUNDER

It could be the "radio interference relay" if the 200 series has them. My 700 series has two of the same relays. Swapping one for the other eliminates that as a possible fault. For that matter, I am sure you checked all the fuses and relays which may be relevant. Volvo electronics stink. They are made all over Europe.

Thanks to all who responded to my plea for help.

It would seem the ignition control unit 10 pin connector was in need of a clean. I sprayed an aerosol contact cleaner into the male and female components. Car has returned to kicking over first time.

Back to the original baselining agenda.......renew all suspension bushes, replace timing belt and related seals, replace water pump, attach tow bar, flush auto trans and power steering and fix air con.

Once again, thanks fellas.

Take care,

John H from DOWNUNDER (happy to have sold the Toyota for a Volvo)