Proper starting technique - 240?

You should never have to touch the gas pedal when starting. The fuel injection takes care of everything. Check for voltage at the coil when the ignition is on, then again when cranking. I don't know about the

240, but I have had other cars where the ignition switch failed and turned off the voltage to the coil when cranking.

snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com wrote:

__ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvos '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate "Shelby" & "Kate"

My '83 245 starts the same way... if I grind it, it takes 4-5 seconds or more to lite. What I figured out (and learned the reason why from this ng) is if I bump the key once, then bump it again, it lites immediately. On rare occasions, it takes a third bump. In any event, the motor never makes a full revolution on the starter before it's running. Moving the gas pedal does nothing as there is no accelerator pump. (some cars will even backfire and blow up the airbox if you squeeze the gas while starting.) The reason is a leaky fuel pump. Apparently, the fuel pressure bleeds down as the car sets. First bump gets the system up, second bump and it goes. Not an indication if imminent failure... mine has been this way for 9 years. Just one of those quirks we learn to live with, driving 'older' cars.

It's fuel injected, in proper running order you hop in, turn the key, and it should start in a second or less. If it's having starting problems you should get that looked at.

It could be a leaking check valve (the fuel system should hold pressure while it's off) or a sticky fuel pump relay. My money is on the relay. Stepping on the pedal while it's off doesn't do anything... it's not connected to the fuel injection at all. No accelerator pump on EFI.

Bill

Also a weak pump (they lose capacity as they wear) will take longer to repressurize the system, and this is where the capacity loss shows up first.

Thanks for all the thoughts folks! I'll investigate the fuel pump and such. I have a new fuel pump relay that I had ordered as a spare, and will try that to see if it solves the problem. If not, maybe I'll order a new fuel pump just to be safe, in case it's weakening and acting up. I assume the check valve someone was mentioning is part of the pump? Cheers.

Yes ans also available as a separate part.

Bob

BTW any drippage from the injectors will also allow the sytem pressure to drop. Sometimes a hot soak will force fuel from the injectors and after an extended cool down leave an air pocket in the fuel rail. By bumping the starter the injectors don't stay open and the pump overruns for a few seconds and quickly recharges the system.

The injector tips live in an extremely hostile environment and are the victims of deposits than can form on the sealing surface of the pintle. Using an injector cleaner, such as Chevron Techron, or BG44K, can effectively remove deposits when used with a tankful of gas during normal everyday driving. IOW don't use it when you're going on a trip because iy acts slowly and depends on the regular heat up cool down cycles to properly do its job.

Bob

In reading the Volvo books I have (Haynes, Bentley, Green) I saw somewhere that when the ignition is turned on, the fuel pump runs for a couple of seconds. I've tried it and I can hear it, it runs for a couple of seconds then shuts down. I can also hear the fuel pump relay click when that happens. Maybe that's designed to re-pressure the line before starting the engine? Anyway, I've now adopted the practice of giving it that 2 seconds with the ignition on, before engaging the starter, and so far it's started every time. I'll investigate further if the problem reappears.

i dont touch the gas pedal when i start my 240, it goes into fast idle a few moments after i start it from cold. what i did notice was that if i pushed the gas pedal down on starting it would backfire sometimes . . so no pedal now and all is well :)

I've been using the technique I indicated above: leave the ignition on for a couple of seconds (until I hear the fuel pump relay click off) before engaging the starter and it starts consistently. However, I've had an instance of it not starting, and that time, I didnt hear the fuel pump relay click, which probably means that the fuel pump didn't run for a couple of seconds with ignition on as it's supposed to do (repressurizing the line). I have a new relay that I'll put on and see if that improves things.