still having problems with my 240

Could still be an ignition problem, despite all you've changed. Sudden onset and all. I'd also check your EGR is not stuck open.

I think I may have stumbled upon something- more background. The seller was not totally honest about the car (no surprise there) but the shop who serviced it was also less than forthwith as to the car's condition. Based on what I have seen, I think this car sat unused for a while. I don't think it was too long, but for a car that has just short of 190,000 on it, long enough to create some difficulties.

I got a Mityvac unit today and hooked it up to a few things- among them the fuel line pressure regulator, which I worked a few times with the vac pump. I think it might have been just a bit sticky, and I think it is now working better. Additionally, the other problems (old distributor cap, rotor, plugs, and wires) which needed changing were also a small part of the problem. Add to that I found a few slightly loose vac lines- just a bit, mind you, as well as a dirty vac port on the flame trap... getting the picture? There wasn't any one thing terribly wrong, but a lot of little things which cumulatively added up to a rough running motor.

So.... With those other problems going on, when I adjusted the throttle plate's stop screw, the throttle position switch, and the throttle linkage, I got it wrong. Seemed OK at the time, but with the other problems it made it difficult to tell what was going on, and I had adjusted it with the throttle too open. Remember that these engines have the idle controlled by the computer by varying the mixture (this one has the two-wire idle air control which is either open or closed, I think. In any case it doesn't vibrate like the one on my 960, but seems to be binary...?). When the throttle is too open it throws off the idle mixture because the computer is dealing with air through the calibrated Idle Air Control valve as well as the air getting past the throttle plate in the throttle body. So off idle performance suffers in the transition between idle and just off idle.

So, it goes to show that 1, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and 2, these cars are quite complicated and the systems are so interrelated that it can be difficult to find small problems.

Now, if I can just figure out why it keeps posting a 1-2-1 code for a "Bad/missing signal to/from AMM." Yup- did it again while I was adjusting the idle and throttle... :-/

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

Have you moved the coil wire away from the MAF sensor cable this will also set 121 a wire tie will do attach to a brake line @ the master Cyl

I wouldn't have thought of that! I don't think that it is an issue with my car....

On the '90 245, the coil is mounted in a bracket on the front of the driver's side strut tower along with the power steering reservoir, and the distributor is on the left front side of the motor, so the coil wire runs in a long, straight line from one to the other.

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

...and in the case of my '83 245, the coil wire ran right behind the power steering reservoir. While underway, the wire rubbed up against the tank enough to wear the insulation off the wire and short to ground.

Hmmm:

1. bad connection at the plug into the AMM or bad wires to AMM?

1. bad AMM?

Those were my first two guesses. I pulled back the boot and the wires look and feel good. The AMM is more difficult to test. If I had a spare it would be a lot easier, but they don't come cheap. If it keeps posting the code I think I will shop for a used one.

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

If I understand correctly, the AMM can be tested with an ohmmeter. There have been several references to this on the newsgroup. I think.

There are some basic tests that can be done, but my problem seems intermittant and so I am not sure how effective they might be in finding my problem. I have other things to deal with as well to eliminate any other possible source of the casue, but at least for now it's running decently.

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

Randy I had almost exactly the same symptoms as you describe on my wife's 1989 240 and checked a bunch of the same ignition and fuel system parts. What the problem turned out to be was a backfire or something had popped out part of the intake manifold gasket and caused a vac leak in cylinders 1 and 2. Wouldn't have found it but a sharp eyed friend looking at it with me said "what's that" and pointed to the piece of paper gasket hanging below the manifold. I got a new gasket and installed and torque the manifold properly and the problem has not reappeared.

Now my off topic question on a 1989 240L The odometer stopped working this weekend. Would a change of what the Haynes manual calls the "speedometer sensor" in the rear axel housing be the fix?

Also we have problems with the Overdrive switch on occasion locking out the OD when it wishes to, and no ammount of pushing the button will turn it off. Would the OD relay be the culprit?

Some on let me know.

Big Al in Birmingham AL

The sensor controls both the speedo and odometer so if either is working then the problem is in the guage itself. The two most common problems are bad solder joints on the circuit board in the speedometer, and the gear that drives the odometer can sometimes break but the latter is more common on the pre-'86 cable driven speedos.

Yes, that's almost certainly the problem, at least if the arrow light is coming on but it can be either way. Again solder joints are the usual culprit, or you can just replace the relay.

My speedo in my 90 every once in a while will just drop to zero, a good smack or a few on top of the dash will get it reading again.

I read your reply to mr brown:

Where are these bad joints? I had my speedo out but could not fnd anything that even under magnification looked faulty.

Thanks in advance.

Duane

On the circuit board inside the speedo, in my experience nearly all the joints are poorly done right from the start and look cloudy, I suspect they may have used lead free solder or poor quality flux, it can be tricky to resolder them nicely too, I had to use a desoldering iron to suck off all the old stuff one joint at a time, tedious but it worked.

Thanks, I'll look for the more cloudy solder caps.

Duane

Look (with the magnifying glass) for teeny hairline cracks running around the joint. They are normally at the base of the cone, but they can be at the top where the lead protrudes. Depending on your age, you may need direct sunlight or equivalent to see them. That's how it is with me since I turned

50, but when I was young I could see them without magnification in room light. Sigh.

Mike (the elder)

Thank you James and others for the replies. My Speedometer seems to have a mechanical cable from the manual, but I haven't opened it up yet to be sure. Only the Odometer is out, the Speedo works fine, along with the rest of the gauge cluster. If it is solder joints where should they be? My manual does have wiring diagrams, and the sensor does go strait to the ODO in the diagrams. Thanks again for the swift replies. Al Brown

If the car is an '89 the speed is not mechanical, the last year that was used was '85 in a 240, every Volvo since then has been electronic.

For the end of teh story, see the thread: It's RUNNING!

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