1990 760 Turbo wagon dies at random!

Discussion in 'Volvo 760' started by Stroller, Apr 12, 2005.

  1. Stroller

    Stroller Guest

    This is going to sound like a repeat of an earlier situation with
    another car.

    We have a 1990 760 Turbo (intercooler) wagon with 147k miles. The
    vehicle will die at random, stop lights, freeway, city streets, etc.
    It will usually start up once I coast to a stop, or it will take a
    minute or so before it starts. It can go months before it dies, and
    then it may die every day for a week or so.

    I’ve had 3 different mechanics try to solve the mystery. So far, we
    have replaced:

    System relay
    Air Mass Meter
    Spark Plugs
    Cap & Rotor
    Plug Wires
    Speed sensor
    Power Amp Ignition
    TB Gasket (during cleaning I’m assuming)

    No luck with fixing the problem so far. Want to take a crack at it?

    I just checked the fault codes and they read 2-3-2 & 3-1-1.

    Thanks for the help!
     
    Stroller, Apr 12, 2005
    #1
  2. 2-3-2 suggests fuel supply anomaly and 3-1-1 suggests Speedometer signal
    absent. It is possibly curable by thoroughly cleaning the inlet tract (from
    filter to manifold including Idle Air Control Valve). This is a two yearly
    maintenance job. Also check all connections to and from ECU and ICU plus all
    sensors that feed to the ECU/ICU.

    Cheers, Peter.
     
    Peter K L Milnes, Apr 12, 2005
    #2
  3. My volvo had a faulty car alarm that caused the car to cut ou when you were
    driving it.
     
    Brendan Griffin, Apr 13, 2005
    #3
  4. Wild guess, based on the lack of pattern and the random amount of time
    before it restarts - crank angle sensor (or whatever the Hall effect device
    is called in the 1990 765T). It is infamous for doing that and being the
    very devil to catch in the act. One clue - if the tach kicks when you try to
    restart but the engine doesn't fire, it isn't the Hall effect dealie or
    anything in the ignition. Has the fuel pump relay been resoldered or
    replaced yet?

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Apr 13, 2005
    #4
  5. Stroller

    Dale James Guest

    I had a hot-start/run problem in my 1989 760 turbo that proved to be the
    "charge air overpressure switch". Basically, it's a vacuum switch that cuts
    power to the fuel pumps if your turbo is blowing too much boost.

    It's the first powered link in the fuel system after the ignition switch,
    and if it's faulty it's a real bugger to diagnose. I just bypassed it with
    two alligator clips and a scrap of wire, and the car starts and runs fine
    now. IPD doesn't sell it, and my local Volvo dealer was no help in trying
    to order one.

    The Haynes manual (which only covers up through '88, I believe) had the part
    living up under the dash around the brake pedal cluster, but by my 1989, the
    Volvo engineers had moved it to a strap on the coolant overflow tank under
    the hood. I suspect it was the dramatic heat cycles that killed it.

    Best of luck!
    --Dale
     
    Dale James, Apr 13, 2005
    #5
  6. Stroller

    Stroller Guest

    Thanks for the input! No alarm system is the Volvo, so I can rule
    that out.
     
    Stroller, Apr 13, 2005
    #6
  7. Stroller

    Stroller Guest

    I’ll try cleaning the inlet tract this weekend!

    As for the fuel pump relay, I don’t think that has ever been changed.
    Where is this located?

    The Volvo just quit on me this morning at a stop light. Just died.
    It did start on the second try. Total time that elapsed was about 20
    seconds. No check engine fault this time. I had been on the road for
    about 35 minutes when it happened.
     
    Stroller, Apr 13, 2005
    #7
  8. The fuel pump relay on your 760 is behind the passenger side kick panel on
    the side of the Centre Console. It sits on the relay panel which is mounted
    vertically. The Fuel pump relay is The one on the top row between the top of
    the double relay (headlights) and the foremost relay (Central Locking
    system).

    Cheers, Peter.
     
    Peter K L Milnes, Apr 14, 2005
    #8
  9. If it is the same location as my '85, it is in the center console. Remove
    the ash tray and ash tray mount, exposing the fuses. The relay is on the far
    left side (as you sit in the car); a rectangular white plug-in module in the
    second row back (toward the nose of the car). They are notorious for
    intermittent solder connections in the circuit board inside.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Apr 14, 2005
    #9
  10. Sorry Mike but this is a 1990 (post facelift) model. The fuses are in the
    end of the dashboard and cannot be accessed if the driver's door is closed
    and the relays have their own special place as I have already described to
    the gentleman.

    Cheers, Peter.
     
    Peter K L Milnes, Apr 14, 2005
    #10
  11. Thanks for the info, Peter! Next time I'll know (if I don't forget between
    now and then.)

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Apr 15, 2005
    #11
  12. Stroller

    Stroller Guest

    Thanks for the help!

    I replaced the Fuel Pump Relay this evening. When I pulled the
    plastic covering off the old one, I did notice a small crack in one
    solder joint. We shall see if that fixes the problem.

    Stroller (aka Brian)
     
    Stroller, Apr 15, 2005
    #12
  13. Stroller

    Boris Mohar Guest

    Something like this?

    http://www.viatrack.ca/Misc/badcon2.jpg



    Regards,

    Boris Mohar

    Got Knock? - see:
    Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs (among other things) http://www.viatrack.ca
     
    Boris Mohar, Apr 15, 2005
    #13
  14. DOES SILVER SOLDER HELP ?
     
    John Robertson, Apr 15, 2005
    #14
  15. Sorry John but it doesn't as it is harder than electricians solder and is
    more affected by vibration.

    Cheers, Peter.
     
    Peter K L Milnes, Apr 16, 2005
    #15
  16. Stroller

    jdoconnell Guest

    I also have a 1990 760 Turbo wagon with the exact same problem. Mine
    has 99.6K miles on it. It was serviced by a dealer until two years
    ago when I bought the car.

    This morning, running at 30 mph, the engine died. I put it into
    neutral and tried to restart as I was rolling but it just kept
    cranking. I was able to pull to the side of the road and stop. After
    10 seconds, I cranked it and it started.

    Another problem, which I thought might be related, is that you have to
    crank the engine for about five seconds before it starts. However, it
    you crank it for two seconds, then wait two seconds, it will start
    immediately.

    I am going to pull the diagnostic codes now and I’ll let you know if
    they are the same ones you got.

    Regards,
    Jim O’Connell
     
    jdoconnell, Jun 6, 2005
    #16
  17. Stroller

    Al Dente Guest

    bad fuel pump relay???
     
    Al Dente, Jun 6, 2005
    #17
  18. 1-4-4 states " Load signal from fuel injection system absent. Did you check
    all codes available on 2 (fuel) and 6 (ignition)? Port 4 is not normally
    used in fault diagnosis of ECU/ICU problems.

    The Volvo ignition power amplifier suffers similar problems to the late 80s
    Fords. It is mounted usually at left front of inner fender and suffers
    corrosion of the connector's connections and poor grounding (of both heat
    sink and wire connection.

    All the best, Peter.

    700/900/90 Register Keeper,
    Volvo Owners Club (UK).
     
    Peter K L Milnes, Jun 6, 2005
    #18
  19. Stroller

    jdoconnell Guest

    Peter is correct, I checked on Port 2, not 4,---but got a 1-1-1. I
    got the 1-4-4 on Port 6.

    Does anybody else have any experience with the Volvo ignition power
    amplifier? What does it look like?
     
    jdoconnell, Jun 7, 2005
    #19
  20. Stroller

    datakix Guest

    I recently had the same issue with random stalling in my 1999 Volvo
    S70 Turbo w/55,000 mi. I went to the Volvo dealership parts dept. and
    bought a new fuel filter [$45], fuel pump relay[$85], and fuel
    injection relay[$36]. I took the parts to Midas for installation and
    also had a throttle body cleaning[$79] done.

    Not only did it solve the problem, but I’m getting much better gas
    mileage and the car accelerates much much better.

    -Datakix
     
    datakix, Jun 26, 2005
    #20
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