Hello Volvo Enthusiasts,
Recently I have gone on two long trips, one roundtrip from NYC to Buffalo and the other roundtrip from NYC to Kentucky. After both journeys, my 1994 Volvo 960 continued to start and drive well for about three days. But on the third day the car won't turn over. It sounds like it is on the absolute verge of starting properly and in fact we got it started and running for about 4 seconds yesterday after I pushed up and down on the rear fender and my girlfriend pounded down by the relay box.

The first time the engine failed to turn over we took the car to an unknown local mechanic who told us the timing belt and water pump needed to be replaced. We had the work done and the car worked alright. Even before our car began giving us trouble this time, we knew he had scammed us since our mechanic who is too far for towing eventually inspected the old parts and was 95% sure the timing belt and pump were fine.

This time we decided to look online for diagnosis tips etc. and we found the brickboard. Many posts have mentioned the Fuel Pump relay and the Radio Suppression relay. Does this seem like a possible cause? How could the two long trips relate to the problem? Does the fact that we started the car for about 4 seconds eliminate any possibilities?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. So far this site has been terrific in leading us towards fixing this problem ourselves. Thanks in advance.

Best,

Jesse Dillon
1994 Volvo 960