I have searched the FAQ and have come up with no solution so here I am!

(If you turn the key you get nothing, no click, no hmmm, but all the interior lights work so the battery is ok.)

So my girlfriends '88 244 with 157K has been doing this quirky thing. It wouldn't start last saturday so I went over there and turned the key, it started. 2 days later same thing, so I adjusted the NSS and cleaned the 25amp fuse, started right up. Yesterday it wouldn't start, so I checked the fuse again, popped off the ignition coil wire (put it back on) and it started right up. NOW it won't start at all again. Last night I replaced the plug wires in hopes it was that, but no avail. And yes there is gas in the tank!

It seems if it sits for a few hours it is more likely to start right up again. It is intermittently not wanting to start. It has been around 0 degrees F for the last week, but my b23 starts right up. Once it gets started it runs great!

What are they other possibilities??? Is there a defect with the '88 model??? Thanks to all in advance.

One confused person from Minneapolis,
Chuck

Chuck --

Sorry for such a late response -- didn't see your prompt. And I think you've received many good thoughts from folks who've already won similar battles.

If the engine won't crank when you turn the key, then you have a narrow set of possibilities within which to focus your troubleshooting. It has NOTHING to do with spark or FI or the 25-amp fuse.

You need to do some diagnostic work with a meter, a test light, and perhaps a remote starter switch.

Possibilities include:

• Bad battery connections
  
• Bad ground connections
  
• Bad connections at the solenoid (both the high current and the low current wires)
  
• A defective solenoid
  
• A defective ignition switch (it *does* happen sometimes)
  
• A misadjusted or defective neutral safety switch
  
• And, unfortunately, the generic "bad connection somewhere in the harness."
  

I know I'm coming in late on this and may have misinterpreted the problem. You turn the key and get nothing. Engine doesn't even turn over. But accessories work. Well working from that, the problem is either the starter or wiring to the starter or the ignition switch. Perhaps its the ignition switch not engaging (when you turn past the accessory mark). Any former auto theives like to make a suggestion on how to bypass the ignition switch?

I drive a standard so this didn't occur to me until later.automatics have an additional switch in the circuit found at the gearshift to prevent starting while in gear. perhaps the shifter isn't seating properly and engaging that switch. wiggle the lever while in P. Try starting. Move the lever to N. try starting

I checked back and noted that my "Oops" message that I wrote after I realized that I had misread your original message failed to post. Just the header posted for some reason.

Your problem sounds like a starter, solenoid, or neutral safety switch problem. I wrote some diagnostic procedures that failed to post.

If you are still having problems, I'll type them again.

Manolo

No I haven't. Thanks for your consideration Manolo, it is appreciated.

It appears it simply doesn't like to start if it is still warm, it needs to be completly cold...well that is just another sort of observation. The NSS has been checked and re-aligned, the starter solenoid, i am unsure about...Is 157K pretty old for one, bout time for it to go? The starter looks clean on the outside, and the wires are in great shape...but yea, doesn't mean its not kaput!

I am going to take it to a garage today, one that specializes in Volvo...and indy garage. I talked to someone else who had the same problem with their '87 and they couldn't get it fixed...the dealer tried 6 times..course they shouldn't have gone to a dealer.
I'll post and let everyone know how it turns out. My suspicion is that it is something small and easy/minor...just very hard to find.

I did notice last night however that the TB switch did not click when I moved the butterfly...do you think this is associated or is it another problem?

Thanks,
Chuck

The TB switch is, I believe, an unrelated problem.

The fact that the problem seems to be temperature-related directs suspicion away from the neutral safety switch and toward the heavy electrical parts.

Have you tried the "hit the starter with a heavy object" treatment that will sometimes get a few more starts out of a dying starter?

When it fails to start, reach down there with an old screwdriver that you don't mind burning a little and short across from the heavy battery terminal to the trigger wire terminal. If the starter cranks, then the problem is in the trigger (key, neutral safety switch) but that doesn't sound likely.

When you say the wires look good, that includes the heavy ground connections, right?

yes it does include the heavy wires, all the grounds I see look ok too, a bit dusty on the top, but not corroded at all. I called my indy mechanic and he said it may be the starter, the ignition switch, or somthing else. He is going to diagnose it and then tell me so if I choose i can DIY it, but it's so cold out and I have no garage, I may just pay for it! I will do a post to see what he turns up and let everyone know, I know your just dying of curiosity aren't you? hehe! ;)

It sounds as though you have determined that when it does not start, it is not getting any spark, right?

If it is not getting spark. You may need to get a voltmeter and start working your way through the ignition system until you find the problem. I'm not familiar with your particular system, but somewhere you have to have a magnetic sensor that initates a low voltage pulse as the engine turns. That pulse goes to an electronic controller that tweeks the timing and turns the weak pulse to a strong on/off DC current that goes to the primary side of the coil. Every time the DC current shuts off, the coil fires a spark that goes to the distributor cap, through the rotor and down a spark plug wire.

You'd better get a manual while you are buying that voltmeter rather than trying to work from my vague description.

Most likely scenaro from my VERY limited experience: The electronics that (I think) in your model are in the distributor. Junk yard distributors are not expensive and can be replaced in minutes.

My fix for this was to clean the connections to the solinoid and the major grounds to the body and engine. Believe it or not it can be this simple.

Ron Lynes
87 745 GLE 225000 km
near Brantford, ON, Can

is this the hall sensor??

The quick answer is "yes"

There are several kinds of pulse generators used to sense engine position and generate the low voltage pulse that gets processed and amplified into a spark. Up until the 1990s, most of these were located within the distributor, and could be broadly categorized as either induction-type or Hall-effect. Of the two basic designs, the Hall-effect generators were the most precise and (from my limited experience) the least troublesome. I am not familar with the designs that Bosch used, but yours may well be a Hall-effect design.

As noted in my other post, however, after reading your original post more carefully, it sounds like your problem is elsewhere.

Chuck,
Did you clean the battery posts and clamps real good? How is the ground connection from the - terminal to the body? How old is your battery,do you have a battery with a lot of C.C.A.?
I had the same problem here in frigid Maine.I bought battery brush,new post clamps and cleaned the ground down to bare metal.Started right up after 8 arctic nights while I was in Disney.
--
philvo

yes, i will try this. it sounds like a good idea! Thank philvo!

The interior lights draw ~1/2 amp this is no indication of battery strength, the 25 amp fuse has nothing to do with the car not cranking, neither do the plug wires.

I'd try cleaning the battery terminals, if that doesn't help take the battery down to one of the auto parts stores that offer free testing. It may be old and not up to cranking when it's cold out or a cell may be going bad, this can often cause wierd intermittant no starts.

The '88 is widely reguarded as one of the best years for the 200 series and my experience with mine has given me no reason to disagree, it has been the best car I've ever had, and at 48 I've had a few.
Dave
4 Bricks
www.volvo2.homestead.com

Thanks dave,
BTW Great site at homestead! I have used some of the info, and the turbo for sale looks pretty cool...I just don't have an extra $2500 laying around!

Chuck