Ok, so last night my wifey got stranded at school by her '91 940 turbo. She got a ride home, but guess who got to ride his bicycle out at 9:30 at night to try to breath the breath of life back into it? Well, long story short I failed and it was towed back to my driveway around midnight, thank you AAA, and yes, my neighbors love me. I guess the guy thought it was funny to be banging chains around after midnight and also refused to turn his blinkey lights off. Trip to the Volvo Stealer and $60 later I plugged a new fuel pump relay in and was back in business. Here is my question: On the same day it died, it did the stalling going around the corner thing twice, followed by a hard start. I had this problem before, and it turned out to be the in tank pump. I had it replaced, along with the main pump about a year ago, but since then I have come to the realization that the guy who did it is a thief and several jobs that I paid for were not done properly, or at all. The car seems to be ok now, but as I was checking it over, I noticed the main pump making an intermittent zzzzzz........zzzzzz............zzzzzz...zzzzzz............zzzzzzzzz sound - not very loud, but still there. The intermittent part is what worries me. Should it be making this noise? Should I pull the in tank pump and replace it? Is the failed relay due to the in tank pulling too much amps, or vice versa? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Dear Felix,

Good p.m. and may this find you well. You should keep on-board the following spare relays: fuel pump relay, fuel injection (radio interference suppression relay), and overdrive. They can be had for short money at salvage yards. Install them, when the car is running properly. If, after the salvage yard part is installed, the car continues to run properly, write on each relay, "OK, xx June 2005". That way, you know you have a "known good" part.

How many miles on this car? How long since the fuel filter was changed? Was it making a zzzz....zzzzz....zzzzz.....zzzzz noise before the incompetent/dishonest tech worked on it? If not, when did you first notice this noise?

Do you hear the in-tank pump "spin-up" for 1-2 seconds, when you turn the ignition key from "off" to "on"? If not, then the in-tank pump likely is gone.

Have you had the fuel pressure checked, after the fuel filter, and at the fuel rail? I believe the pressure should be about 43 psi (pounds/square inch) or 300 kPa (kilo Pascals). This is the same, for turbo and non-turbo cars.

If the in-tank pump has failed, the main pump has to work harder. That will lead to premature wear.

As the in-tank pump is pretty small, I doubt it can pull enough amperage to damage the relay. The relay likely just "wore out" (it is presumably original; there should be date mark on it).

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

spook

p.s. If you've not replaced the RPM/Crank sensor (atop the tranny bell housing, just behind the engine, on the passenger side [USA/Canada models]) do so. If it is original, it does not owe you a nickel. If this sensor fails completely, the cars stops. Dead. This sensor's signal tells the fuel pump to run. When the sensor fails, the fuel pump stops. These sensors often fail in an "intermittent" mode. spook

Spooooook! As always, you are my hero. Thank you for replying to my post. Yes, If the relay didn't do the trick, the crank sensor was my next move. I may replace it just for good measure. I took it out for a drive and all seems to be well. My next challenge is convincing wifey that it is now safe to drive. I will (as always) follow your advice and check the fuel pressure,that is as soon as I figure out how to do it. I guess I need to go to the local conflagration of a-holes known as the auto parts store and secure myself a pressure gauge. The car has 125,000 on it. I will travel to the local u-pull-it and grab the relays you suggested as well. As far as the zzzz.....zzzzz... noise I have just noticed it recently, but then again the car is much quieter at idle since I replaced the relay, so perhaps it has beeen there for some time. I will continue to monitor it as well. Thanks again Spook, I know I can always count on you when the other poseurs are stumped.

May this find YOU well!