Greetings Brickboard
My trusty 98 s70 glt is stalling on me for no apparent reason...well, a reason that isn't apparent to me.
I am getting code 0243 turbo waste gate solenoid. My searches have given me more confusion than solutions unfortunately.
Whilst driving along at 50mph the car "bogs" down and behaves as though I downshifted. If I stomp the accelerator I am able to get it to recover and run normally. If it occurs at slow speeds I am not able to "stomp" as I don't want to bash another car. I am also noticing a rich smelling exhaust.
This has happened with some regularity (once a month or so... or whenever my better half drives the car), but now it is occurring every trip I make. (maybe significant to note that it has been raining meow meows and woof woofs here for about 2 weeks)
So, my searches have lead me to the MAF (either dirty or shot), the throttle position sensor or stuck butterfly valve?, vacuum leak (can't find one) a soggy air pump, or a shoddy fuel pump relay.
Hopefully I can answer any follow up questions the collective wisdom has to assist in clarifying this mystery. The only thing I fear is expensive repair bills. I am not afraid (with some encouragement from Klaus) to get my hands dirty (dang camshaft position sensor took some of my skin off)

I leave you with a picture of a soggy weekend on the upper Colorado river.

Thanks
Rich
(hopefully it will stop raining!)

Hi. I had the same problem last week with our 98 S70. The car stuttered and stalled on when my wife was driving it and we had to tow it to the service centre. When started it was blowing a lot of black smoke. My OBDII meter said it was a PO243 error code, turbocharger wastegate selenoid A. After some searching the service manager concluded it was most likely the Mass Air Flow meter. He got one in from the Volvo parts department for about $400 (not counting installation).
When the tech installed it the car still stalled frequently but the manager told him to continue running it for a while so the computer could readjust to the new MAF. After test driving it for about 1/2 hour it started to work OK.
So the new MAG seems to have fixed the problem.
Thanks for all of the advice about checking vacuum hoses etc.
Good luck on resolving your problem.

You don't mention the mileage on your car, but I'd start with the basic maintenance stuff first and go from there.

It's true that some people have reported a correlation between wastegate codes and the MAF, but it's a very expensive part to try the 'switch-and-see' routine.

I was having similar problems with my 1998 V70 last fall, mostly when coming to a stop like at a stop sign, and the car eventually started stalling outright... sometimes right in traffic! It's not so bad if you stall when you're stopped, but if you're moving along in three lane traffic at 60 km/hr you're looking for trouble with no power steering/brakes.

I found things improved a lot for me when I took the advice of other brickboarders and A) flushed my tranny fluid (it was black and disgusting and NEEDED to be changed!!! I was glad I did that as soon as I started!) and B) changed my vacuum lines, of which many were cracked/soft, and I couldn't tell from 'above' without removing everything to get a grip on them and move them around.

I ended up doing the vacuum lines when I was changing the PCV system, and you might look into the telltale signs for that as well, as cracked/broken/leaking PCV lines are just as bad as when it happens in vacuum lines.

I would think you've got a vacuum system breach somewhere, esp with the exhaust smell.

How's your fuel mileage been since this started - I'll bet it's getting worse.

Do yourself a favour and buy about 10 feet of each of the various sizes of vacuum line and some hose clamps and zip ties, pull the battery and air box, and start replacing line. Also check out the PCV symptoms, and replace that if you've got any indication that it's clogging - you're in for big trouble if it gets blocked up so it's better to do it when you first start to see problems rather than letting it develop.

You'll thank yourself when you're done for sure, and you'll rule out vacuum line/PCV probs before you go jumping into an expensive MAF purchase.
--
1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+

Would water in the distributor cap produce such results?

It has about 125,000 miles on it. I will most certainly start with actually replacing the vacuum lines as opposed to the visual check, that seems most reasonable. My fuel economy hasn't really suffered, but this morning I was unable to get the car to idle correctly. It would idle rough and then die. Hitting the throttle either stalled it completely or revved it rough. Also filled the garage with quite a bit of smoke.
I had to take my other, older, more reliable ride to work today.
Thanks!

If you car still won't idle, turn the key to off and unplug the MAF. Then try restarting it - it should at least idle when the spark plugs dry. Do not upplug/plug in the MAF with the ignition on. If it idles normally, you need to either clean the heck out of the MAF or buy a new one.

Replacing the vacuum lines is a good idea. Be careful if you replace the ones going to the turbo, they are color coded on purpose!

Colorado needs the rain...

Klaus
--
Common sense trumps a PhD

Good suggestion Klaus - it can be damned confusing in there with hoses going every which way.

I replaced mine one hose length at a time so wouldn't mix anything up.
--
1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+

Cleaning the MAF seems to have done wonders, however it hasn't rained since then so I suppose time will tell!
Thanks Gents.