Car is a 1992 960 with a 'new' 93 motor w/200k. Car is in great shape although it has been sitting for almost two years in our garage and the new motor had not been run since may of 2004.


First off-I don't know much about these cars.
Just posted earlier concerning an ignition problem: I was missing a powerstage module.

Motor was running smooth as butter then I drove it across the street into the church parking lot to see what it would do and to try to brush off some of the rust off the rotors. Pretty crusty; it sounded like I was driving a self propelled maraka(you know, the instrument).

I brought the car back into the garage to put a good set of wheels on it and when I got back in it to start it up nothing happened. Motor cranks over like usual but no fire.

Here are two leads.

First
I thought the engine took a long time to start when it was running fine, meaning, from the time I hit the key until the time the motor started running on its own was longer than I thought it should be (like a normal car). 1.5 to 2 seconds of cranking maybe?

Second
I don't know if I'm doing something completely idiotic but I can't seem to be able to check the spark correctly. I think I see those bizarre coil packs and scratch my head. I pulled a plug and laid it on the head and turned the motor over but there is no spark. Notta.

Two and a half.

The motor seems to turn over almost too easily (maybe I'm hallucinating). I thought it might be the stuck valves I read about in the FAG's and the archives but the car was running for 15-20 minutes before I shut it off although I did do a lot of short stopping and starting the night before; it was around 20*F or -5*C.

Maybe a ground? I'm dead in the water and would appreciate your expertise.

JS

First - the slow start is no error sign, or at least not if you ask Volvo. The ECU simply is programmed not to fire before a certain amount of revolutions are completed (eight, if I counted right). Extremely annoying, especially with a hot engine when you k-n-o-w it could fire up on the first rev.

No spark a-n-d no fuel points to a main ECU power problem or the crankshaft sensor.

The check engine lamp will tell if the sensor is working - it should go out after one or two starter revs, well before the engine starts, as a sign of correct readings. If the lamp stays on or flickers while the engine refuses to start, there is a connection/sensor problem.

I've had intermittent no-start problems, finally diagnosed to be the sensor connector (two pole at the left rear of the cylinder head. Try plugging/unplugging this connector a couple of times and check for oxidation.

Grounds are always easy to forget. The stupid ground point at the rear of the head, below the mentioned crankshaft/camshaft sensor connectors, is worth checking.

Martin

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'65 121, '73 165

I went back and checked all of the grounds (fine) and replugged all of the sensors. I then tried my hand with the OBD box under the hood and I got a 1-3-1. I swapped the rpm(?) sensor in the back of the head ans still nothing. no spark. no injectors. Fuel is available at the rail just no impulse. Would the ECU just crap out like that? Seems unlikely.

Need help


JS

Check the ground tang that passes over the driverside engine mount bracket. The bolt that holds the plastic wire cover is longer than needed to allow a nut on the end to hold the ground tang for the power stages. If there is no spark then the computer will shut off fuel flow, so find the spark and the fuel will may come.

I discovered the errors of my way, when I did a head on the old engine, had the exact same thing happen. Ran it for about 20 minutes at idle, turned it off to wash up and change clothes for a test drive, would not start. The ground wire had made temporary contact somewhere and shook loose on the next start.

DanR 94 964 271,000 miles (37,000 on the new engine)
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DanR

Update.

There is no spark AND the injectors are not firing. It was running fine two minutes before I shut it off. What would cause both the injection and ignition systems to give out like that?

JS

Our 95 and 98 both take a couple of seconds to start. Always have. I must assume this is normal. They never fire up immediately when I hit the key like most cars do.

To check the spark, pull the coil and either stick in a spark tester (looks like a spark plug that you clip to ground and flashes when it sparks, or stick a screwdriver into the coil such that the screwdriver is making contact with the metal coil spring in there, hold the plastic handle of the screwdriver such that the metal part of the driver is about 1/4 inch away from a good engine ground and have someone crank the engine. You should see a nice blue/white spark.

If you think you have lawnmower syndrome, you could check your compression (this would confirm or eliminate this as a cause), or... you could try to start it with your foot firmly planting the accelerator to the floor and cranking the engine for a long time (30 seconds or longer). I've never done this so I'm no expert. Do a search on "lawnmower" and you'll find what others have done.

DEWFPO
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1998 S90 071,245 and 1995 964 154,100