My fiancee's son is a student at WVU in Morgantown. He's experiencing starting problems on a 1990 740 GL. Engine cranks, but doesn't start. I've been given the task of long distance diagnosis.....

The car was home over the Christmas break, and the engine was sputtering a bit. I had gone up to Morgantown in November to repair a torn power steering hose, and noticed the gas cap was missing, I replaced it. Over the Christmas break I replaced a gasket at the bottom of the exhaust manifold, put new plugs and wires in, but when he left for school, it was still sputtering at startup, and smoothed out as it got warmer.

The car also has a nasty habit of running for a while, then when shut off and a restart is attempted within an hour or 2, nothing happens. Doesn't crank, nothing. Then, after a bit, it'll start right up.

I told him to try starting fluid to get it going for his trip home. If it doesn't start, I'll probably have to head up there and either tow it back home, or make some attempt to diagnose, repair and limp it back to the DC area.

I have a question. There are two identical relays mounted side by side on a bracket on the coolant reservoir. If I remember correctly, one is an overheat/fan relay. What is the other one? Is it a fuel injection relay? Does anyone have a part number and a source for this relay? I'm hoping I can order one today and get it drop shipped or get it at a local Volvo dealership prior to heading up there Saturday in hopes this may be the culprit.

Thanks in advance for any input anyone may have on this or any of the other topics I've touched on.

Thanks,

Kurt Wolko