Please help. I am at my wits end and am faced with getting rid of a car that I think could be fixed but can't seem to figure out what is wrong. I don't want to take it to a shop and have them simply charge me up as they try to figure out what is wrong. I have a very good mechanic who has looked at it but he has been unable to figure out what is wrong, in part because it never has happened when he has had the car. Okay, here goes. Periodically, with seeming no rhyme or reason for it, my 240 volvo will simply not start. It will turn over but not actually start. This will happen just out of the blue. For instance, this morning I went out to start to make sure it would start so I could take my daughter to school. It started fine. Then I went back a half hour later and it wouldn't start. Usually if I let it sit for awhile and I try it again, it starts. So far it has not. I wore the battery down trying to start it. I have changed the starter and the relay switch, so it is not those. It does not appear to be the oil pump either. Has this happened to anyone else out there? Thanks in advance
Curt

I was experienceing similar troubles. mine turned out to be the coolant temperature sensor. my car started fine when cold but once warmed up flooded itself. the test is easy. access the ECU in the passenger's side kick pannel in the car. remove the harness plug and the screw that holds in the "plug board" to the "plug clip" then connect an ohm metter between terminal #2 and ground. If i recall the reading at 85 degrees F should be about 1400ohms. resistance should increase as temp drops and decrease as temp increases (it is a termo-resistor) If yours is like mine (aka screwed up) you will get a differing result. if you get a reading that is incorrect next perform the same test at the sensor itself (it is in the head and a pain to get at...I had to remove my intake manifold) if this reading is correct now you know the sesor is good and that their is a wiring problem. If the reading is incorrect your sensor is toast...$15-$20 to replace. Mine was simply not plugged in all the way. if the wiring is the suspected culpret you can test the harness. if you pull back the rubber seal on the plug for the sensor you will see that the 2 wires are colored and numbered. I remember the wire that goes to the ECU is blue and the other goes to ground (i think its black). an easy test for good ground is to connect a test light to the pos terminal of the patery and the other end of it to the ground terminal on the sensor plug...if it is properly grounded the test light should light up...if not their is the prob. If that is ok next test resistance of the blue wire which leads to the ecu. Again use an ohm meter to measure at terminal 2 on the ecu plug and the other end at the blue wire on the sensor plug...the reading should be 0 + or - a tiny bit depending on how sensitive you meter is (wires themselves have a bit of resistance).....if there is greater resistance then chase down the source and correct. hope this helps.

What model year is your car? K-Jet or LH?

I'm sure it is trivial and cheap to fix but you have to find it. And the starter and relay switch, whatever that is, are not on the list of usual suspects. Unless you mean fuel pump relay. Oil pump? Do you mean you did a fuel pump? That is where mechanics like to start, just the opposite of where one should start for a good fix. You might need help finding or checking these but here is a list.


240 no-start:
check for timing belt breakage (not in this case, since intermittent)
fuel pump relay give it a whack to see if that corrects it
25 amp fuse (83-88)-not just blown, often a corroded contact
impulse sender (89-on)-easy to replace
wire at battery or fuel pump
fuel pump-replaced?
power stage-esoteric, usually a heat conductance issue with easy fix
89-on, suspect ECU loss of ground sydrome

This is my first Volvo (86 740GLE, love it), but I have some experience from some of my other vehicles that all had their own certian "charm".

-listen for the fuel pump turning on when you put the ignition to "run"... it is a humming... this could be the fuel pump relay or the fuel pump.

-check for spark (you simply by a little device at your local parts place that goes between the plug and wire, then you turn the car over, if it sparks, you can take that off your list)

-not sure if the car is fuel injected or carb... if it is injected, there should be a pressure valve (like the valve stem on a tire) on the fuel rail, turn the ignition to run, press the valve (put a rag over it or you will have some gas in your face and possibly blind yourself), if there is fuel pressure, it isn't a fuel issue. For carb, take off the air filter, have someone turn over the car, and watch to see if you see gas going in, or smell it.

-you have a short in a wire for the fuel pump

-ignition coils, distributor???


That's my advice... hope it helps... if anything, try some Yoga technics to save your sanity.

I have had this problem in the past, and know how insoluble it seems.
My advice is, don't be panicked into buying new bits just because someone says,"this happened on mine, it was XYZ, I fitted a new one, and now it's fine".
There are a lot different potential causes, as Rhair says, but remember most non-starting problems are caused by something very simple, not a component failure.
Post what year and ignition/fuel type you have.
You need to approach this systematically.
Carefully search for all the connectors and fuses you can find, remove each one, clean with the approved fluid, waggle them back together again.
Procedure then varies depending on system - I assume it is fuel injection not carburettor?

Thank you for all of the replies. Several posters asked me to provide more info. The car is a 1989 240 DL, with carburator, non-diesel, automatic. Not sure what is meant by ignition type. Sorry, I am very clueless about these things. In fact, when you mention finding wires and cleaning them and all that, I am feel a big empty pit in my stomach because I don't know where even to begin. Also, I mentioned the relay switch was replaced. That is a feul relay switch. Starter has been replaced. I don't think it is the fuel pump because I was told to bang on it when this happened and if that made it start then the fuel pump was having trouble, but that has not happened. Please continue with the replies. I am panicked but trying to be calm.

Curt
ps That is my real name. I just couldn't remember my log in.

"The car is a 1989 240 DL, with carburator, "
If you're in the U.S. then 240s didn't have carbs. If you're in Canda, then '84 was the last year for carbs. I think Europe and Australia ended before '89. So are you sure you have a carb?
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans

"The car is a 1989 240 DL, with carburator, "
If you're in the U.S. then 240s didn't have carbs. If you're in Canda, then '84 was the last year for carbs. I think Europe and Australia ended before '89. So are you sure you have a carb?
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans

Well, Okay, then I do not have a carb. I guess it is fuel injected, but I had no idea it was if it is. It is a 1989 240 DL. That I do know.