99' V70 Wagon Power loss & stalling

pumpkin3198

Hey guys! New to the forum...

I have a 1999 V70, just recently, (about a week ago) I was driving along as usual, car lost all its power and stalled, to get it up and running I had to pull it over with no power steering and do a reset. In the last few days, this issue has become more and more frequent. Just today, the old girl has died on the side of the road (quiet street thankfully). I left it for about an hour, came back to see if I could turn it over and get it home which was about a 700m drive up the street, I got it about 100m down the road and it's died again, this time, the engine is completely starved, it's refusing to turn over at all, it's trying but it just won't do it.

All the other times it's happened, I've turned it on and off and she'll run happily for another 20 or so km.

Also to note, an orange up arrow light appears on my dash when this happened (see picture link below). Also my check engine light goes on and off from time to time, my mechanic has checked it out and just says it's an electrical fault and that Volvo needs to clear it, so apparently my engine is fine.

I've read up on other Forums about this issue and many people seem to also be experiencing this but not to the extent of my issue.

I was beginning to think it was a gearbox problem seeing I thought it happens when going up or down through the gears, but I have ruled that out since it stalled last night in top gear doing 80km on a motorway.

I'm starting to think it could be the fuel pump or fuel pump relay, but before this happened, it worked fine after resetting the vehicle.

Any help would be much appreciated!! :)

Image: https://s9.postimg.org/wt1686s4v/v70.jpg - This is the up arrow I'm getting when this happens, I took that photo before starting the vehicle to demonstrate what I am getting.

nickm

Sounds more like a relay issue.
But pull your codes pretty sure a generic bluetooth obd2 reader will work

pumpkin3198

Would one of those things work to clear the fault codes too? Like the check engine light etc?

Also, would anybody know of a dodgy temporary fix to get it moved off the road? It's kind of in a bad spot, like a metre out from the kerb LOL

Ex850R

Pull the plug off the MAF/Map sensor just on the air box and try.
Could the the ETM too

nickm

Yes they will clear codes.
You could pop open the fuel relay and jamb the contatacts closed.

pumpkin3198

Thanks guys, I'll give those a go, as long as I can get it off the road to my place for now it should be fine, I would like to take it to Volvo themselves, but hearing what other people have said (being overcharged for little to no work, wrong parts being replaced, not actually fixing issues etc etc) I might just take it to my mechanic.

Hopefully somebody here has experienced this before and knows a fix though!

I'll let you know how I go :)

pumpkin3198

Still no luck, tried all your suggestions and it idled for a few minutes then died again. :/

nickm

Simple diagnosis trick.
You need to find if the problem is fuel or spark.
A can of ether will tell you if it is running out of fuel. Spray it in the intake if if starts then you are running out of fuel if it doesn't then you have no spark.

Another part to check would be the cam position sensor

egads (she/her)

If you have gone through that, fair chance it could be the ETM or at least a sticky throttle butterfly. Disconnect the battery and clean the throttle and MAF with MAF cleaner.

Ex850R

Your mechanic needs to assess those things if you can't. The ETM can be tested and a bloke here in Melbourne repairs them.
Yes, don't bother with Volvo, you may as well leave it there as written off....
Where are you?

pumpkin3198

I'm Sydney based.

She'll be on the tow truck to the mechanics tomorrow morning, hopefully a diagnosis will be found, I really do think it is a fuel pump problem though, but I'm not a mechanic nor do I know much about Volvo engines (hence the post here lol)

I've only had her for about 6 months and it's been great... Up until now lol.

But thanks heaps everyone for the help and I shall keep you posted!

As for now it's still where it died, I've booked the tow for tomorrow, it's in a safe place and is parked fully legally.

Ex850R

The Melbourne chap is known all over Oz, unless you get on from USA.
Berry's in Melbz should have a recoed one.

pumpkin3198

Quick update!

So we've narrowed it down to the fuel pump or the fuel relay.

When you turn the car on, it will idle for a bit before dying, when you turn all power off, unplug the relay and plug it back in, it resets something and it will turn over and repeat, but when you don't reset the relay it will not turn over.

Mechanic is off to supercheap to by a new relay and is going to put it in and see what happens from there.

If that fails he has his money on the pump.

pumpkin3198

Update again!

Problem solved! (touch wood)

Ran a few tests and it did indeed turn out to be the fuel relay.

We've put in a dodgy one for now as we wait the arrival of a genuine Volvo relay.

Thank you very much to everyone here that put in their time and effort to help one out! Much appreciated!

Ex850R

Good news , dont be a stranger!

pumpkin3198

Another update - Sadly, the vehicle is failing again.

After putting the new relay in, I drove the car around locally & she has died, this time, the new relay actually burnt out, melted the under side.

Went out and purchased a new relay, put it in, car went fine for a couple of days then died on me this morning in the Maccas drive thru, managed to restart it and get it home. Upon checking, the relay was extremely hot and could barely hold it.

I have gotten in contact with an auto electrician and awaiting a response, another friend of mine thinks it could be the fuel pump drawing more amps than what the relay can handle.

Any ideas/suggestions would be absolutely fantastic.

Also apologies for cracking open this topic again!

egads (she/her)

Yup, that is classic dieing fuel pump

Ex850R

Was going to ask if the pump had been replaced?
Simple job, just font have over 1/4 tank of fuel.....