Today while driving the 90, 240 Volvo (non turbo), I started losing power. I thought at first it was the fuel pump suddenly failing. There I was cursing suddenly, "Jesus Christ, now what!" (Hehehe) At first I didn't see anything under the hood where the problem was. So I tried starting it again (why the h___ did I do that? I mean it shut off for some reason, so why would it fix itself). It started, and then I saw smoke coming out of the left front hood area. This time it was on fire and the partly melted connector was obvious. Not sure why this happened, as I recently tested just about everything on the car including this part. I had to have it towed home.

Sure enough, the spark amplifier was fried. I can think of three reason why it happened. Hope you guys can enlighten me as to which reason is the most likely cause.

First, I found that the previous owner installed a battery that must have a vent hose on the battery or it leaks sulfuric acid all over the place. It has been leaking for about 18 months now. As soon as I learned about this I put a hose on it, but was it too late for the ignition amplifier. I wonder if any of that acid worked its way into this part?

Second, last night I foolishly left the battery cables attached when I was putting new battery tray bolts in. I was in a hurry to pack for a trip the next morning and did not feel like undoing those battery cables (must have took them off twenty times in the last few weeks for various reasons) As I was tightening a bolt the ratchet slipped and hit the positive battery cable and a small spark jumped out. I figure that is about as close as you can get to reversing the cables or touching them together. The manuals warn that components can be damaged if the connections are reversed.

The last reason is that after I finished tightening the battery tray bolts down, it started raining all over the front of the car. I did not attempt to dry it off or use any electrical contact cleaner. Figured it has to get wet there anyway when it rains.

Which one of these things do you think burnt the amplifier? Volvo says they think it was most likely all a coincidence. They said those electrical parts are sealed up well. The sulfuric acid was what they felt might have contributed to its demise. They said the spark from the ratchet touching positive probably did nothing.

Should I buy a new or used amp? The local junkyard guy says he sells all of them he gets, and feels I should buy a new one - due to a high failure rate. What do you think?

One other thing, the main thing, the connector is melted too. But the wiring all looks okay. I do not need a new $118.00 wiring harness just to get the connector. What to do about this is probably the most troubling thing. The junkyard guy has the connector. Volvo said they use NAPA for situations like this. I am not touching the connector until I hear from you all. If the wires are okay all the way to the end that has the crimped on connector, wouldn't it be best to pull them or cut them out of that plastic connector housing and then just insert them into another plastic connector? Can this be done? In other words, if I cut the wires right behind the connector, then I will have to solder and/or find those little connectors the wires go into, and then look for a plastic housing connector to put them in, as well, so why bother cutting them?

NAPA isn't sure they will have such a generic replacement connector housing, or the

Thank you again.

Bruce