Intermitent Starting Problems

[dneu]

The car has sound 250 000 miles and still runs great - averaging 29 mpg. But it recently developed a frustrating problem - sometimes it does not start. A starter cranks the engine, but it does not start. Sometimes, after 5 to 10 attempts it comes alive and runs like always. It never stalls. Sometimes it takes a couple of hours before the car decides to start. While starting in vain, I can eventually smell the gas - thus I would relate problem to the ignition. Last week I pulled out a coil cable and checked the spark. It seemed that it did not give any for a few seconds, but then came nice and strong spark. I inserted cable back to the distributor cap and Volvo started right away. I pulled out codes P0102 and P0422 (which I think could a result of unburned fuel in the exhaust), Anyone had a similar experience. Where to look first? The problem usually occurs once in every two weeks.

[antman]

Cam position sensor then the crank position sensor are a good place to start.

[BEJinFBK]

"The car" is a (insert year and model here).

[rgreen4]

I had a similar problem, engine turned over but no start turned out to be the electrical contact portion of the ignition switch. The car has over 200k on the clock.

[Kevin.]

starter, CPS, or some sort of ignition issue it sounds like

tap your starter and have someone crank it, might as well see if that's the issue