an intermittent problem has developed with my 1993 940 wagon, it cranks, but won't start. i've noticed that if i don't hear the fuel pump kick on for a second or two the car just won't start. it has become so frequent that today i have a 50/50 chance of it starting. then i wait and try again a few seconds or minutes later.

two mechanic friends tested the circuit from the relay to the pump recently and it was fine, but when attempting to start - nothing!! then for no particular reason other than removing the number 1 fuse and the fuel pump relay (marked 'J' or 'K' i think) the car started. it was fine for two weeks and today the problem has occurred about four times.

another mechanic who services foreign cars said that he had the same problem with another volvo. he cleaned all battery terminals and both ends of both pos and neg cables and the problem went away.

HELP!!!

John,it's probably the fuel pump relay.A clue is that it started after you removed ands (I assume) reinstalled the relay.There are probably heat-damaged solder joits or pitted contacts that sometimes cause an open circuit.Just replace the relay-these are fairly cheap and are not reliably repairable.Good Luck! Sredwine 163K,'98 V90 103K

Check the Hall sensor. I found a post on the test procedure and found mine to be bad. Had all the symptoms you describe. Good luck. Chris

Check the Hall sensor. I found a post on the test procedure and found mine to be bad.

There is no Hall Sensor on the '93 940. Nor on 240s since 1989.

Basic timing pulses since then come from the Crank Position Sensor, aka RPM sender.
Volvo calls it the "Engine speed (RPM) sensor"
--
Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.