I just bought a 1993 940 and it ran fine for about 300 miles. All the fluids were fine and it started fine. Yesterday the engine just quit when I was going down the highway. It turns over but doesn't try to catch and start. I checked for spark off the coil lead and it was weak. Any ideas on what it could be? I am going to try a new coil but if it is something else I would like your input. Thanks!

-matt

hello. congratulations on your purchase of the volvo! and welcome to the board!

In regards to your problem i have replied to anot6her thread int he 740 forum regarding the same problem.

the link is here. Please have a read of this.

It does apply to the 940 if its a 4cylinder version as these are exactly the same engines. If it is a v6 however, i do not know if this will apply.

Matt

Thanks, Little story you might enjoy.

It died going down the highway about 30-40 minutes from home. I coasted her up into a parking lot by the road and was on my cell talking when I saw another volvo wagon drive by. I thought it was odd because in that area you never see a volvo. A few minutes later the same wagon pulls up next to me and the owner had seen my car and actually only lives a block away from where I was. We checked some things over and towed it to his drive where it is sitting now waiting for me to get it running again. His is a 1990 740 and he has manuals and some spare parts and experiance working on volvos. Good luck that he was there, bad luck that mine died.

It is my first experiance with a Volvo but I don't have any bad feelings towards them yet. I love the car and want to get it back on the road. I m ordering the extended service kit from IPD with cap, rotors, timing belt, plugs, injector seal kit, etc.. It probably could use them all anyways. Im getting a new coil too.

I looked around for an ignition amplifier too but I don't want to drop the cash on one just yet.

After work today Im going to check:

Failure to Start; Flywheel Sensor Bad. [Query:]My 1990 740GL has been having trouble starting for the last few months. I replaced the cap, rotor, plugs and fuel pump relay. The wiring harness looks fine. Today it refused to start at all. Cranks fine, but no spark. I unplugged and re-plugged the flywheel position sensor at the firewall and it started! The contacts looked OK, but I cleaned them and put on some dielectric grease. Now we'll see if that did it. Question: I remember some talk on the list awhile back about a recall or TSB on faulty flywheel position sensors (impulse sensor) on late '80s 740s. I can't find the message on my hard drive. I seem to recall that the model with a yellow band was either the good one or the bad one. Mine is yellow. [Response:] The newer kind has a white band, as opposed to the older style yellow band. Replacement takes about 10 minutes.


Car Won't Start; Ignition Diagnosis. [Problem:] This morning my 86 740 GLE (B230F) started and ran for approx. 30 seconds then died and will not restart. No spark exists at the coil (replaced coil with new one no change). The fuel relay does kick on after taking the ignition switch from start to run. [Response:] Ok let's go thru a general no start fault trace:
1. When you turn the key on does the pump run for about 1 second? From your post I would assume that the answer is yes. This indicates that the fuel pump runs and the relay and ECM are capable of turning it on.
2. When you put the engine to crank does the pump run during the cranking? Again you said yes, as you deduced this indicates that the hall switch is working
3. is there spark at the coil itself? (to test pull the coil wire part way out and have someone else crank the engine) If the answer is yes then the problem is in the distributor secondary (cap, rotor, wires) If the answer is no continue.
4. Is there voltage present at the coil low tension terminals with the key on? ( and are all the wires connected?) If no fix, if yes continue
5. Is the power stage connected? yes? remove the connector and examine the terminals on both the power stage and connector if they are corroded they will need to be cleaned. Still no start continue.
6. IS THERE ANY GAS IN THE TANK?

one thign it doesnt say - when being difficult to start is - is the battery flat? under 12v when running? if so you might want to consider alternator problems for the trouble starting etc...

Matt

Update: Last night I tried to start it and it started and ran for about 4-5 minutes then it just shut off on its own. I will admit that it had my hopes up that I could drive it home. The coil should be in to put on Thursday.

sorry to hear that mate. I know what its like my daily driver failed its MOT today which was a BIG shock. but the MOT tester was just being picky - 3 blown lamps. bloomin stupid if u ask me, the lamps were in the glove box!

Was this problem ever solved I have the same issue.

I replaced the Regina Ignition Control Module and put on a new Coil. Right after bolting it on the car started and ran fine. I read somewhere online that the Ignition Control Module has problems when it gets older due to the bottom of it swelling and cracking with heat.

The alternator died on it a few weeks ago so I put in a salvage one and plan on rebuilding to old one when I can find parts.

Currently the only problems I am having are the temp gauge works fine for awhile but then sometimes it gets jittery and goes to not working at all. Also the air conditioning isn't working but I haven't really looked into any of these problems yet. I will post back when I do.

check the fuel pump.