'83 240 Strange no-start

  • Thread starter Thread starter Josh
  • Start date Start date
J

Josh

I drive an 83 240, with B23E engine. I've recently had it converted
to gas, and it has been running perfectly. It was serviced a few days
ago, and the mechanic may have changed the air/fuel mixture, i'm not
sure. But heres the problem;

This morning i started the car, it ran fine, started on the first
crank. I remembered i had to go back inside, and in the time it took
me to do that the volvo decided to quit. Now the engine cranks fine,
but just won't catch. The Gas system is running fine as far as i can
tell, so i suspect it is the spark, but i can't decide what would
cause an electrical system to die in less than 5 minutes of being
off. Is there a SAFE way to check for spark, without buying expensive
tools? I dont like the idea of checking with the spark plug out,
because of the possibility of free LPG.
I've heard that fuses for the electrical system often die suddenly in
this engine, where are they located, and which ones may be the
problem?
Is there a way to test the ECU? The harness has been replaced at some
point, but the actual unit is still the original.
It was quite cold this morning, but it had been starting no problems
on even colder days.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Josh
 
Josh said:
I drive an 83 240, with B23E engine. I've recently had it converted
to gas, and it has been running perfectly. It was serviced a few days
ago, and the mechanic may have changed the air/fuel mixture, i'm not
sure. But heres the problem;

This morning i started the car, it ran fine, started on the first
crank. I remembered i had to go back inside, and in the time it took
me to do that the volvo decided to quit. Now the engine cranks fine,
but just won't catch. The Gas system is running fine as far as i can
tell, so i suspect it is the spark, but i can't decide what would
cause an electrical system to die in less than 5 minutes of being
off. Is there a SAFE way to check for spark, without buying expensive
tools? I dont like the idea of checking with the spark plug out,
because of the possibility of free LPG.
I've heard that fuses for the electrical system often die suddenly in
this engine, where are they located, and which ones may be the
problem?
Is there a way to test the ECU? The harness has been replaced at some
point, but the actual unit is still the original.
It was quite cold this morning, but it had been starting no problems
on even colder days.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Josh
Click to expand...

An inductive timing light will tell you if each wire is firing.
Won't check it all the way down to the boot though. You could stick a
spare spark plug in each socket and spin it.
 
An inductive timing light will tell you if each wire is firing.
Won't check it all the way down to the boot though. You could stick a
spare spark plug in each socket and spin it.
Click to expand...

If one wire had failed i'd have thought the car would still start,
just run really badly. Is it possible to do something similar to
check the coil?
 
If one wire had failed i'd have thought the car would still start,
just run really badly. Is it possible to do something similar to
check the coil?
Click to expand...

Alright....heres some food for thought. The car started on the first
crank when i got home from uni. The weather outside is actually
colder than it was in the morning, and now everything is soaking wet,
including the inside of my fuse box. I really dont want to deal with
this again, and i'm sure there is something wrong. Does anyone know a
reliable way to troubleshoot intermittent electrical faults?
 
Check the 25 amp blade fuse on the left fender just behind the battery.
REmove, clean and reinsert.

Also, spin fuses 4- 6- 11 and 13 in their sockets inside the auto. All 4
have to do with either the fule pumps, fuel relay or ignition system.

Damp conditions and Volvo electiccal fuse boxes do not get along well.

Conductive grease thinly applied to the ends of fuses after a good cleaning
with the battery disconnected makes them last a lot longer.
 
Check the 25 amp blade fuse on the left fender just behind the battery.
REmove, clean and reinsert.
Click to expand...


I havnt been able to find this fuse, not sure this model has it. does
anyone have a picture??
p.s i dont use the fuel pumps anymore because of the lpg conversion
Thanks
Josh
 
Conductive grease thinly applied to the ends of fuses after a good cleaning
with the battery disconnected makes them last a lot longer.
Click to expand...

Use NON-conductive, i.e. di-electric grease for this.
 
Josh said:
I havnt been able to find this fuse, not sure this model has it. does
anyone have a picture??
p.s i dont use the fuel pumps anymore because of the lpg conversion
Thanks
Josh
Click to expand...

Maybe they used the stock fuel pump relay to turn on the gas solenoid?
It's beside the glove box, near the center console (remove glove box to
access.)
With a gasoline car, you can hear the pump run for a second after the
key is turned to starter and released. There's circuitry to prevent the
fuel pump from running if the motor is not running. I would assume the
LPG system is similar.

The solder joints on relays are notorious for fatiguing and failing,
sometimes intermittently.
Easy to replace or, if you have a steady hand and a good soldering iron,
you can carefully touch each joint on the back of the relay and re flow
the joint.
Both my turn signal and overdrive relay were failing intermittently...
sometimes they'd blink (or shift) sometimes not. Touched up the joints
and they work fine now. btw, the failed joints are (usually) not
visible. You just have to touch them all and hope you get it.
 
clay said:
Maybe they used the stock fuel pump relay to turn on the gas solenoid?
It's beside the glove box, near the center console (remove glove box to
access.)
Click to expand...

oops... that's the overdrive relay. The fuel pump relay is behind the
carpet in the passenger side footwell, up against the firewall.
 
This link to the ipd site may answer your questions about the 25amp fuse.
It's a good idea to replace the factory fuse holder with one that is
waterproof. They can usually be found at boating supply shops.

http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-200/Electrical/Watertight-Fuse-Holder/p-69-257-162/

As the others have posted, the fuses in 240 Volvos are more often than not
the cause of no-starts. To fix it right, disconnect the battery, pull the
fuse box, clean any corrosion on the wires and contacts, fix any potential
water leaks and replace all the fuses with new.

Good luck with it, and let us know what it was after you fix it.

Don
 
oops... that's the overdrive relay. The fuel pump relay is behind the
carpet in the passenger side footwell, up against the firewall.
Click to expand...

I could hear the relay clicking closed when i turned the key, sorry i
forgot to mention that. I had actually already re-soldered my fuel
pump relay previously, as usual, it was the cause of a lot of
intermittent problems.
This link to the ipd site may answer your questions about the 25amp fuse.
It's a good idea to replace the factory fuse holder with one that is
waterproof. They can usually be found at boating supply shops.
Click to expand...

I looked for the fuses, the best i could find was a little black box
behind the battery, opened that and there was nothing but some blade
connectors. Is the fuse holder something that is only in a few
models? I have the australian B23E engine, not the more common F
This link shows some pictures of where i'm told the fuse holder
*should* be (remove .nospam)
http://irule.homeftp.nospam.net/volvo
The fuse seems the best fit for the problems, but i just can't find
the thing!

Thanks!
-josh
 
I looked for the fuses, the best i could find was a little black box
behind the battery, opened that and there was nothing but some blade
connectors. Is the fuse holder something that is only in a few
models? I have the australian B23E engine, not the more common F
This link shows some pictures of where i'm told the fuse holder
*should* be (remove .nospam)
http://irule.homeftp.nospam.net/volvo
The fuse seems the best fit for the problems, but i just can't find
the thing!
Click to expand...


Your B23E will have K-jet mechanical injection so there's no fuse under the
hood, that only applies to LH-Jet EFI cars which at that time were sold
mostly in the US. Do you have fuel pressure? I had K-jet originally in my
240 Turbo and at one point the fuel pump failed in a way in which I could
hear the pump motor running but it wasn't actually pumping any fuel. If you
have fuel pressure and it still won't start, check to make sure you have
spark.
 
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