87 240 DL Wagon intermittent not start - help!

I am a long time SAAB owner, don't hold that against me!

A friend of mine has an 86 Volvo 240 DL Wagon she has owned since new. It
has been well taken care of. It has about 180k miles on it.

Lately, it sometimes doesn't start. It cranks, but does not "kick".

This happens about once every 2-3 weeks. It does not seem to coincide with
warm or cold, wet or dry. Recently it happened after sitting 10 minutes at
the supermarket. Several times it has happened after the car has been
sitting in the parking lot at work after a workday.

She returns 30-45 minutes later and it starts just fine.

Her long time trusted mechanic has moved to somewhere in Georgia. We all
know that intermittent problems are very difficult to diagnose, especially
ones which only show up once every 2-3 weeks.

Any suggestions? Is there a common problem which might be the cause of this?
Maybe a fuel pump relay or??

Is there another news group or mail list where I might post this? Or a FAQ?

The owner is a woman who is not a mechanic by any stretch of imagination. If
it were my car, I would certainly perform some tests or wiggle some wires in
an attempt to find the cause, but she might not be capable of this.

Thanks for listening. I will watch for your answers but feel free to e-mail
me directly.

Charles.

 

Does the problems occur when the tank is near empty?
Then it might be a worn fuel pump or perhaps a clogged fuel filter in the
tank.

Niels

 

my main fuel pump fuse holder got hot and had a weak grip on the fuse ...it
was real hot with the engine running

 

It also happens with both full gas tank and nearly empty.

 

Most likely is the fuel pump relay. It's white with 6 pins attached to
the inside of the firewall above where the passenger's feet rest, above
that felt panel. Look at the fuse for the fuel injection up near the
battery that often gets corroded. Also the fuses in the main panel by
the driver's door also give trouble.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)