1986 Volvo 240 GLE B230A running on very low rpm (idle), jumps like a kangaroo and stalls.

Hello,



I have a problem with my car (1986 Volvo 240 GLE B230A). When I start the
engine the car is running very poor on idle, but some times it runs fairly
good until I use to accelerator pedal, and then it starts to run poor. It
will eventually stall because of that.



However, when I start driving, the car runs pretty good (but not perfect),
until it suddenly stalls without any obvious reason. Sometimes it just loses
all power, and when I push the clutch pedal, it feels like the engine runs
on something like 60 rpm backwards or something, until it eventually stalls.
I have replaced ignition module, coil, ignition wires and plugs, vacuum
hoses, distributor rotor and cover/cap (the red thing with wires from the
coil and sparkplugs).



I have also replaced the EGR valve and EGR tubes which solved parts of the
problem. Before I did that, the car jumped like a kangaroo even when driving
(both when accelerating and driving in constant speed), and wouldn't let me
drive faster than 40-mph, or more correctly, I didn't want to crunch the
engine, so I turn around and drove home in low speed.



If anyone have comments or good advise, please help me. I'm now suspicious
to the impulse sender in the distributor. Does anyone share that suspicion,
or could it be something much more serious?



Thanks in advance.



- Leiv Magne Faane.

 

If you have a Hall effect sensor in the distributor, I would suspect the
wiring is coming loose where it is soldered to the 3 pin socket at the
bottom of the distributor, happened to me twice. I soldered up the joints
and they've been fine.

Stuart.

 

If you have a Hall effect sensor in the distributor, I would suspect the

Is the Hall effect sensor the same as the impulse sender? It sounds familiar
with the 3 pin socket, with a wire from the distributor, to the ignition
control module. I have been cleaning the joints, but not actually bent on
them to make the contact better. I'll try that this weekend. But what if
that doesn't solve the problem. Is there, by any chance, possible to replace
the impulse sender without removing the distributor from the engine? I'm
afraid I'm not brave enough to do so alone. The vacuum clock mounted on the
side of the distributor, with some pins/bolts, and one of them is more or
less unavailable for a screwdriver.




Anyway, I think I'm one the right path now. Or is threr other things that
can cause the problems I described in the original post?



Any advice will be appreciated.



- Leiv Magne Faane