Ramrodfunk
Hi there ,
My 1993 240 starts ,runs then dies after about half an hour .
My car cranks about 3 times before kicking over.I have replaced the injector O-rings and this made a difference to how it runs ,it did not make it easier to start.
Now my car runs for about 30-40 mins then sputters, then dies. After waiting about 40mins to an hour I am able to start it again but with a lot of cranking.
Battery is strong and I seem to be getting spark.
It has happened on three occasions now .
I changed out the fuel pressure regulator out of my other 240 but it did not make any difference.
Could it be fuel pump,in tank or out of tank, fuel check valve ( i've ordered a new one) ,fuel filter ( will change today ) ?
I've reached the limit of my newb knowledge please send help.
I love my wagon and just want to see her happy and strong like I know she can be.
Thank-you in advance.
Rod
Philia_Bear
Fuel relay
Behind the glove box
Is the big white one
Otherwise
Fuel pump
Or
Crank position sensor
Or
Any of a number of things
Have you pulled codes from it yet using the little blinking led in the engine bay?
Ramrodfunk
Wow ,thanks for the quick response.
OK , will change relay tonight. I pull relays from wreckers and have them tested by electrical engineer at work, so have spares at home.
I have never checked the codes on my cars, I have been a little intimidated by the process .
I suppose it will be less daunting the more you do it..Will do tonight.
cheers
Philia_Bear
The relay is a volvo specific timed 6 pin doubble pole interdependent relay
Generally all that needs to be done to them is to reflow all the solder joints
Angus242164
The time period is the key piece of information here. Something is gradually heating up and reaching a point where the heat is putting a component out action.
My main suspicion is the fuel pump relay, it probably has cracks in the solder which increase is resistance as the relay heats up. You can pop the cover off and reflow the solder joints.
It could also be a dirty fuel pump fuse.
I would try these things next, as they are very common. If it keeps happening, the next step is to verify that you still have spark when cranking, next time it happens.
Ramrodfunk
Thanks Angus, next time it happens ooooohhhh, LOL
I had a relay sitting around that I installed (tested by our elect. engineer at work) and the only difference I could tell was that it is ever so slightly easier to start and when it did start the revs surged ( abnormally ) and then it settled down to norm idle revs.
I don't want to take it for a test drive for fear of it stopping and having to sit around for an hour before of driving home,or attempting to.
I'll take the old relay to work to get it tested. The old relay did have slight scorch marks on the inside when I took it apart.
I'm pretty sure I can hear a pump starting up at the back of the car when I turn the ignition to start position.
I'll also going to take Philia bear's advice and check for any codes,that will have to wait till tomorrow.
Cheers Rod
Philia_Bear
Flow the solder with new silver solder
Makes even a stock one better
The lead free solder volvo used was not the best
Angus242164
The relay just switches power to the engine ECU, injectors and oxygen sensor heater when you turn the ignition on, and then to the fuel pumps when it receives a signal that the engine is rotating, so changes to idle and surging etc. are unlikely to be caused by the relay. Relay issues generally only cause a complete shutdown.
robv
IF THE FUEL PUMP ETC CHECKS OUT TRY A COIL.
Angus242164
I would probably first verify that you have fuel pressure and injector pulse but no spark when the fault occurs, before randomly replacing parts of the high tension side of the ignition system.
peterwgpa
Dont rule out impulse coil in distributor. Had same thing happen engine heats up and fire goes out. Engine cools down to certain temp and fires straight up. Only difference here is that ours fired up straight away once temperature in right range and no amount of cranking made any difference until temp had dropped far enough. We narrowed it down to distributor by changing out coil and ignition module with spares and no difference until temp dropped. Changed back to original coil and ignition module and changed distributor out and all good. Food for thought
Philia_Bear
peterwgpa;80098 wroteDont rule out impulse coil in distributor. Had same thing happen engine heats up and fire goes out. Engine cools down to certain temp and fires straight up. Only difference here is that ours fired up straight away once temperature in right range and no amount of cranking made any difference until temp had dropped far enough. We narrowed it down to distributor by changing out coil and ignition module with spares and no difference until temp dropped. Changed back to original coil and ignition module and changed distributor out and all good. Food for thought
There is no impulse coil in the distributor in a LH2.4 (89+) 240
The Distributor has a rotor and a cap and nothing else
Ramrodfunk
Just as you said, Philia bear, the solder joints where crap on the relay .Got them re-soldered and tested.
So ...do I go for a test drive and risk the car stopping again?
Opinions please.
Philia_Bear
Ramrodfunk;80116 wroteJust as you said, Philia bear, the solder joints where crap on the relay .Got them re-soldered and tested.
So ...do I go for a test drive and risk the car stopping again?
Opinions please.
Can you just let it sit and idle for an hour while you watch a movie on an ipad or something in it?
Driving wont make much of a difference if its a heat build up issues
Klaptrap24
I have had literally the same problem for a while as well. Injectors sometimes just don't pulse. If i leave it for a while then my car will start up like nothing happened. weird
Angus242164
I would let it idle for a period of time like Mike suggests, it'll take a bit longer for the engine bay to heat up, but will reach the same temp at some point and the fault should occur, if the relay isn't the issue.
The point about the pickup in the distributor isn't totally invalid, the crank position sensor on the flywheel is also a device based around a coil of wire, and they can occasionally develop an intermittent short internally where the coating on the wire starts to fail, and the short may only occur when things are hot, and return to normal when things cool down.
If this sensor's signal is lost, it will cause a loss of spark, injector pulse, and fuel pressure, which helps to verify it as the cause, as very few other things will cause that symptom set.
peterwgpa
Ours is a 1979. None of this fancy modern stuff. Never stop learning
Ramrodfunk
Success !!! I'm with Peter, never stop learning.
Thanks to everyone that chipped in.So just a crappy relay.
Just took her for a run after she idled in the driveway for close to 2 hrs and she went great.
Just a side note I stuck my head under to listen to the fuel pump and I could hear a slight "sipping" like noise.
I hope this is normal.
I have a fuel filter that will be going on over the weekend and a new fuel pressure regulator.
Cheers again
Angus242164
If the main pump makes a whining noise, especially in hot weather or when the fuel is low, the in-tank pump isn't supplying enough fuel volume to it.
There are a few common causes of this.
user48736353002
If the problem persists, add the ignition amplifier to your list of things to check out. I've worked on a car that would intermittently conk out and not start again, but then start and drive fine again after cooling down. This is for LH2.4 (89+) cars only - remove the ignition amplifier from the heatshink (mounted front passenger side in engine bay) and clean off and re-apply new heat sink paste and reinstall. The ignition amplifier and heatsink are often missing on cars in the junkyard suggesting it's a common problem. After overheating it enough times it fails and then becomes a lot easier to diagnose.