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engine sputtering and dieing

I was driving down the interstate/freeway today in my 1991 Volvo 240 at about 70 mph when the car started surging and then losing power. I managed to keep it going to the next exit, about 4 miles and pulled into a gas station. Since I had used some cheap gas earlier I thought it might just be moisture in the gas (in fact when I opened the gas cap it whooshed from the built up pressure) so bought some high test and pulled into the shade for a bit. It stuttered a bit and so I turned it off. About 5 minutes later I tried again and it started just like always and seemed to run good except that the check engine light was on. I drove it on to a meeting about 15 minutes away and parked it for a couple of hours. When I went to restart it it ran as well as always and so went back home, about a 50 mile drive. I did make a couple of stops but it continued to run well until I got within a mile of my home when it started sputtering again. I put some more high test gas in it as well as some injector cleaner and drove on home.

This AM I disconnected the battery for a while and reconnected it which turned off the "check engine" light. Then I let the car run until I could feel the engine was warm. At that point the "check engine" light came back on.

Ok, 2 things you should know. After several months of below average temps here in Nashville, teens to low 40's it was in the 70's today. Also my temperature sensor hasn't worked in a couple of months but the engine wasn't overheating and there was plenty of coolant.

Any ideas as to what my problem is and fixes.

Thanks.

Reply to
Denny A
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If the check engine light came on, there will be fault codes you can read, there's a socket under the hood with a test button and LED that blinks codes, google LH 2.4 fuel fault codes. My guess is you'll see something about mixture excessively lean.

I suspect that the vent system for the fuel tank is clogged, and rather than pressure, you are pulling a vacuum in the tank which is preventing fuel flow. Someone else can probably better describe this system, I've never had to mess with it myself, but you could try driving with the gas cap removed, don't try this with the tank more than about half full, and see if that prevents it.

Reply to
James Sweet

Clogged up fuel filter? fuel pump @ fault, spark plugs (since your an american i gues its not a diesel) ignition distributor/rotor @ fault. (or is it electronic..)

Reply to
Marc Amsterdam

I second that, but driving without a fuel cap is way to dangerous and not recomendable...

Reply to
Marc Amsterdam

Put a rag in it or something, I don't mean drive around for months like that, just take off the cap or at least loosen it up and go for a spin to see if it corrects the problem.

Reply to
James Sweet

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