86 245 with 360K on the clock. Runs very good ;when it runs? Driving to the office last week and she stalled out as I was traveling,(dash lights did not come on) coasted then fired back up, ran it hard to get to the office, less than 1/4 mile away, ran for alittle longer and died again, coasted into the parking lot. Tried to restart, turns over at normal rate, no dragging, but no start. Check for spark to plugs and injectors, got fire. Listen to feul relay click in, ok, check voltage to fuel pump, fine. Concluded bad pump. Replaced it at work, what a pain in the ass!! Still no start, got really pissed and had it towed to my Volvo mechanic. He kept it from Tuesday to Sat. He was backed up with other customers but would occasionally try to start it. ON Friday, it started,he checked all the same things and a few others and couldn't find anything either, he had done nothing to the car. So far the car is running great. Any ideas out there? Wiring harness is in good shape. Otherwise I have a really great looking wagon, no rust at all, for sale!!!!

Had this exact problem with a 85 740.

I checked EVERYTHING. I replaced the fuse/relay holder, (it had molten-relay syndrom. Common on 740's), resoldered relays, plugs and various connectors nothing worked.

Turned out to be the CPU.

The give away was the numbers on this particular one. When I went to the other cars in back, none of them had the same numbers as the one I had but, when I went to check on prices & availablity on a new one, I noticed the computer I had was superceeded by another type as a replacement. (This sometimes means the old model had problems.)

I had a 240 with the same computer numbers as the replacement one would be and viola! No more strange stalling problems and has ran great ever since.

You may want to check and see if there is a different part # as a replacement than the one you have in it now.

If you could find one cheap at the yard or borrow one someplace, could be worth a try.

If the advice those guys gave you still doesn't help, check this out. I have had several cars do this to me. Not Volvos...but European cars none the less. My 76 Scirocco was terrible...it would just stop going. Everything checked out fine...I replaced EVERYTHING! It would work for awhile then cut out...I would wait an hour, and whatya know?! It would start! I had to start bringing a blanket with me to work so that if it stopped I could sleep a bit on the side of the road till she started again. Well...to make a long story endless, it was my FUEL CAP! Thats it! Seems that when I put my new rims on, they had bent the fuel hose so slightly that coupled with an old cap, air was getting into the fuel tank. Creating a little headache called vapor lock. My 78 BMW 535 did the same thing, but for much longer than an hour! Replaced the fuel cap and never had a problem again. This problem is pretty popular amongst older cars in hot climates...but hey..its worth a check.

Don has got it nailed I'll just add my two cents. When you check the fuses don't just check that they're not blown, you have to take them out and see how much corrosion there is on the fuse contact points and the box contact points. Clean everything with steel wool till it's shiny. My 240 was getting pretty strange until I started re-dressing the fuse connections. It's wierd really, my 120 has never had any corrosion problems in the fuse box and it's way more exposed then the 240's. I guess volvo went cheap on the alloys.

P>S> I squeeze the tangs a little so that they hold the fuse tighter. Good Luck,

Check that cranky 25-amp fuse. Also check the wire from the fuse socket to the battery, particularly where it attaches to the battery clamp.

I would check the battery cable end, espically the small wire bolted to the + side of the terminal. My second thought would be the electrical part of the ign. switch behind where the key goes in???? Good luck Brian