The fuel pump seems to 'whirr' for maybe two seconds after the ignition is
turned on, and I can feel the fuel pump relay clicking at the same time. I
then opened the hood in search of the distributor cap, of which there either
is none, or I could not find. The spark plug wires attach to this very
compact 'thing' that runs right up against the firewall and the back of the
valve cover. If that is the distributor cap it looks like a major pain to
open up and tak a look inside.
Lacking any better ideas, after rapping on the fuel pump under the driver's
seat a few times (as suggested), I cleaned all the contacts as best I could
where the spark plug wires connect to the 'thing' crammed into its very
inconvenient location, as well as cleaning the coil terminals.
Heretofore the car just 'turned over' but when I then re-attempted to start
the car for just a second it sounded like the engine was about to take, but
that was all. I might have sprayed something into the 'air intake' but I do
not even know where the intake is located. And as for what to spray into it,
are you suggesting the starter fluid you use to light a barbeque? If I knew
exactly where the air intake was and exactly what to spray in there (aside
from gasoline) I'd have done that as well.
As an aside, this is truly a drag. This is a car for my dau to use. We spent
several weeks trying our best to cherry pick the right car with the right
miles, the right seller, best condition, etc etc etc, and on my nod, we got
this one -- one that I am sure of now is a total piece of s*, and a lemon. We
just drove the damn thing home and the first time out it breaks down, and
just sits across town in an empty lot. I can have it towed and repaired by
a mechanic, but that will cost at least $500 to $600, and I do not want to
spend a penny on a repair only after less than one hour of taken ownership of
the car, but since I can't get the f*ing thing started how am I supposed to
get it back to the seller who lives 50 miles away, even IF I can negotiate a
return and a full refund?
Once I start spending money on this thing I am committed, and I am not sure
that is what I want to do. Being on this site you'd almost thing Volvo's
were the cars of gods, but it seems like just another s&tty car that breaks
down and has all kinds of bugs. I have bought some bad cars in the past,
terrible cars -- but at least they worked for several months before I had to
do anything with them. And the price I paid for them reflected the bad car.
You want to know what a bad car is? A mercury sable station wagon, 1990
vintage, with 116k mile at 8 years old. I needed a car to get the kids about,
and did not want a van, so this was the next best thing. I spent $5,000 on
that dog, transmission to power sterring issues, brakes, water pump,
everything.
The point is here this car is, the Volvo, totally clean, near perfect body,
120K miles, no leaks at all, very good interior, new tires, seller has all
service receipts, been impeccably maintained, and we have it for less than
one *hour* and it sits across town broken down not starting!
Is this a sign that the car is about to have a long string of bad luck? Is
this what Volvos are all about, they suddenly hit the skids and become a
money sewer and a constant headache for as long as you own the car? Is there
no such thing as a reliable car?
James said:
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
Can you hear the fuel pump running? I had one fail that kept buzzing but it
had broken internally so it wasn't pumping. Try spraying some starting fluid
into the air intake pipe and see if it tries to start, if that works then
the problem is fuel, otherwise look at the ignition.
