I had an unusual no-start problem this weekend (’92 940, N/A, Rex-Regina). Car had been running and starting fine. However, it would not start up yesterday morning (mornings have been cold for past few weeks 25 – 40F). I had my other 940 (’94 N/A, Rex-Regina) to help the troubleshooting.

I verified spark, compression, timing and fuel pressure. During the troubleshooting I had swapped the CPS, coil, ignition wires and distributor from the ’94 to the ’92.

Removed plugs from the ‘92 – they were wet with gas. Plugs are 1 yr old Volvo OEM. I dried them and re-gapped to 0.030”. Squirted cylinders with oil cranked a few times (with RSR disconnected to prevent gas getting into cylinder). Sprayed starting fluid in the cylinders and the air intake. Put everything back together, but car would not fire off (the ether did ignite, but quickly was consumed). Nuts!!

I then swapped the plugs from the ‘94 (plugs were 2 yr old, but they were hot). The ‘92 fired up immediately (the ‘94 with the cold plugs fired up too). This really surprised me.

I guess the plugs were still a little damp (?), the block was cold and maybe the spark quality was not as good(?). Maybe I need to use more starting fluid. Any thoughts, advice or similar experiences??

Thanks.
Phil Smith
New Bern, NC