Help (please!)
I have an 1991 Volvo 240 manual transmission. The fuse in line with the fuel pump circuit gets HOT but doesn't blow. When that happens, the car bucks and jerks and then stalls.
Sometimes it starts up with out a problem and sometimes I have to wait 10 minutes or more.
Can anyone shed some light on this annoying problem?
P.S. The relay has been replaced, along with most of the rest of the car.
Assuming you're using a fuse of the correct rating, if it gets hot it's almost certainly down to a bad cintact in the fuse holder. The current flowing through the high resistance will genrate heat - and the current will also be reduced so the fuel pump will be operating at a reduced voltage - which probably accounts for the problems.
Clean up the ends of the fuse and its contacts in the fuse holder with some emery paper. If the contacts have lost their springiness, renew the fuse holder.
Sounds like a bad connection.
Check/clean/tighten every connection in the fuel pump wiring circuit, including the ones on the back of the fuse block itself, if you can get to them. IIRC, your car should have two fuel pumps--one in the tank, one under the car. Verify that both are working.
If it's not a bad connection or a failed pump, try to determine if there's a pattern to the problem occuring--only when lights are on, only when wipers are on, after hard cornering, after going over a bump, anything that always or only happens at the same time as the fuel problem. You may be getting a fuel line pinched, or a piece of debris blocking the intake in the tank.
Gary
If the fuse holder contact is clean and tight then you may have a bad fuel pump, if you connect an amp meter across the fuse contacts with the fuse removed and start the car you should see about 10A. First thing I would check though is the fuse holder, it can be either oxidized or the contact can get bent outward so it's not gripping the fuse well. That fuse panel is one of the less than ideal elements of a 240.
Hi Gordon,
If the problem is due to corrosion on the ceramic fuse contacts,or even if it's not (!) ......... (Why wait for it? It's a well -known fault with the
200 series), disconnect the battery, remove all fuses, clean the brass contact strips 'til they're shiny, bend them if necessary to ensure tighter contact with the fuses, coat them with dielectric grease, replace any fuse which has the grey/silvery type contacts with equal amperage brass/ copper ended type. In my experience Volvo dealers don't stock them (shame!) but VW parts depts. do , and independents who cater to VW needs.It's the two dissimilar metals (Zinc & Copper) together with the moisture which pervades that ill-chosen location of the 200 series fuse box that's largely responsible for the corrosion. ("Galvanic Action")
Good Luck. Andy I.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.