tca217 Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Hello board, Had a weird thing happen tonight. Was driving to get something to eat and all of a sudden the engine just quit. It was like the key just switched off. No warning no nothing. Rolled over to the curb and tried to start it. It would turn over just fine but wouldn't start. Waited about 5 minutes and tried it again and it started just fine and ran great all the way home, (couple of miles) and parked it. Shut it off and tried to start it and it started just fine like always. Was wondering if anyone else has had this happen and what it was or where should I start to look. I am almost afraid to go anywhere now till I find out what happened. Have had no problems with it and it runs great. I am stumped. Any and all ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help. ........................Tim By the way it is a 1984 855 N/ASorry , meant to say a 1994, not a 1984. By the way it is a 1984 855 N/A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bah Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Fuelll pump relayy sounds like stalling out to me, and my issue with my 93 was always the fuel pump relay, replace that first if its the original...it's the cause of many many many stall outs. The other issue i had was the vac. line to my FPR had been off for years, and i guess at idle and trying to cheese it, if the car didn't have time to adjust it would nearly flood it? It's stopped doing any stall outs for me since i fixed that, but check all the vacuum lines etc.....much much more likely to be the fuel pump relay. generally what you described is exactly the Fuel pump relay, word for word :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Thanks for the quick reply. Would a fuel pump relay act like that though? I mean it runs great, doesn't miss a beat and has never done anything like that before. Like I said, after about 5 mins. it started just like it always does, bump the key and fires right off, and when I got home I tried it again right away a few times and it started just as always. I was thinking maybe a relay got hot or something but the engine was still at normal operating range. ............. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilhuly Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Short answer, yes. Of the other things it could possibly be this is the most likely. Thanks for the quick reply. Would a fuel pump relay act like that though? I mean it runs great, doesn't miss a beat and has never done anything like that before. Like I said, after about 5 mins. it started just like it always does, bump the key and fires right off, and when I got home I tried it again right away a few times and it started just as always. I was thinking maybe a relay got hot or something but the engine was still at normal operating range. ............. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVolvoguy850T5 Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 By the way it is a 1984 855 N/A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 By the way it is a 1984 855 N/A The pump relay is perty hardy. Should be ok. It is most likely your fuel pump on the way out. Not a hard fix either. Consult Haynes Manual. Is there any way to check the fuel pump without taking it out of the car? Like maybe pressure at the schrader valve on the fuel rail? Also wouldn't a fuel pump that is going out start to act up or something first? The car has been running great up till that one time and today I was driving around and it ran great like always without mising a beat. When it stopped running last night it was like the coil wire had come off or something like that, no loss of power or sputtering or anything. After a few minutes it started as normal without any hesitation and excelerated like a new car again. I wouldn't think a pump going out would act like that, but I have been wrong before, LOL. When it warms up a bit I will try to see if there are any codes that pop up and go from there. Like a lot of people I am short on cash this time of year so I don't want to spend any money on stuff till I am sure the car needs it. Thanks again for any and all help, is greatly appreciated. .......................... Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvinL Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I'm +1 on the relay too. After all, it is an electromagnet inside and the contacts will wear out over time. The 850 is not known to have any ignition module type problem where it can just quit without any warning. Reason I doubt the fuel pump is that when it's running, it won't stop until the power is killed to it. It will run 'forever' as long as there's power. A worn fuel pump will have trouble starting up. If it doesn't start up, a kick in the pants (knock the fuel tank from below while someone is cranking it over) will usually get it going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Well I guess I will replace the relay on Monday. Was reading the Haynes manual, doing some talking, and listening to the board here with all the great help, even if the relay isn't bad, I have put 40,000+ miles on it and it now has 206,000+ miles on it so I don't think it would hurt anyhow. Would just like to find out the problem for sure though so I don't have to worry about if there is something else that caused it to shut off in my mind when I take a trip. Like i said, will try and pull codes Monday and replace the relay anyhow just because I don't know when or if it has been replaced. It is OEM Volvo part but not sure if it the original. Thanks again for the isight and help. If it happens again, I'll be back, LOL. ..............Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookforjoe Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Have you ever replaced the cam or crank position sensors? The crank sensor particularly, can have a break in the short harness between the plug & the sensor; if the wire moves, the contact can be lost. Did you go over a bump or anything when it shut off? You could try moving the harness with the car idling, and see if it shuts off, this will confirm the cause. The FP relay would loose the ground contact when the solder connection on the circuit board deteriorates - even the 200/700 series had that issue. Typically, though, the symptom would exhibit itself with greater frequency as time goes by - especially if the car is left running for a length of time, as the poor circuit board ground connection generates heat, which causes greater expansion, which separates the connection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 I had the same problem with the FP Relay.. car would just quit without warning and took a couple of minutes to restart. It then started happening more frequently (couple times a month - sometime even twice a day) I ended up opening the relay. Cap just pops off. Resoldered the capicitors and larger components ( I stayed away from the surface mount stuff) Popped it back in and so far haven't had a stall out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Well I just ran the codes and I got 2 of them, 3-1-4 & 3-2-4, both are codes for the cam position sensor. No other codes came up in the #2 hole or the #6 in the A block of the on board diog. so I guess that would be a good place to start. When it happened I was just roling down the street, no bumps or anything. Was about 100 feet from the corner and it just stopped, no warning. Has been running fine ever since though. Was letting it run for a while after I ran the codes and was checking wires and stuff and it didn't miss a beat. Go figure. By the way, where is the fuel pump relay located? My Haynes doesn't show and it was not by the fuse block as I thought. I am going to replace it also along with the cam sensor just for piece of mind. Thanks again for all the helpful information, that is why I love this site. It has gotten me through alot of problems and saved me alot of money!!................Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 You have to remove the torx screws that hold the fuse panel cover on. The relays are under there. I believe it was the redish pink one. (at least on my car) Sometimes the car wouldnt stall out for weeks and then it would do it just out of the blue. Normal driving. Sometime just in parking lots, other times on the highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 Thanks Mike, I thought they were by the fuse block, I even had those torq screws loose but the panel seemed like it was stuck so I didn't want to force it. But now I know and will try it again when the rain stops. Thanks again, ...........Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2010 Well I stopped by my local indy Volvo mechanic and told him the problem and the codes and he confirmed that the cam position sensor can and will act like what my car was doing. So I guess I will be replacing it tomorrow when the part comes in. Is there any tricks or anything I should look out for when I change it out? The Haynes book makes it look pretty straight forward and easy but you never know on these cars. Any ideas? Thanks again for the help. .......................Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tca217 Posted December 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 Well I replaced the cam sensor today, no more codes show up and the car runs great. Thanks for all the help. ............Tim :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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