Today I had the opportunity to do further testing on my non-starting 855. Here they are in sequence;
1. Charged battery
2. Checked trouble codes on A2 and A6, no problems
3. Connected fuel pressure gauge, 45 psi when switch is placed in position II
4. Put my inductive timing light on, picked a different spark plug cable, there is fire there (light flashes when cranking)
5. Cranked the engine for about 30 seconds, oil light goes off. Cranked for another 30 seconds. Engine appears to spin a little faster, but still no start.
6. checked trouble codes again, nothing
7. Pulled spark plug from cylinder #1 (?, closest to the "front" of the engine) plug is a Volvo brand 3 electrode, and it looked sooty, smells like old gas. According to the records I got, plugs are about 4 years old, 12K miles on them)
8. I was sure that the injectors are just not opening, but I disconnected the #1 injector and rigged a tiny buzzer i got at Radio Shack with a length of wires (so i could bring it inside the car and close the door). There is a definite "tic-tic-tic-tic-tic when cranking, so the injectors are actually getting some signal to open.

So, I have fuel pressure, the injectors are firing, and the timing light says there is spark. Still the car will not start. The timing belt is 3 months old and the car has been running perfect since, so this is not high in the list of possibilities.

Here is my next step, and i will appreciate any other help and ideas; the next suspect is spark plugs, wires and distributor cap. Although the timing light flashes, I suppose there is still the possibility that there is too much resistance in the cable, or that the plug just does not fire. This still seems wacky to me, given that the car was running and starting perfectly before I parked it to clean the EGR valve. Strange that all the wires or plugs went bad at the same time. Ohhhh wait a minute, i did remove the coil wire to open the air cleaner, and to do that I had to yank it from the little guides; that would definitely be the first suspect, and if i damaged it that would explain why none of the plugs fire.

QUESTION
Anyone know what the resistance should be in the 850 coil cable and plug cables?
What would be a better way to check if the plugs are really firing?

And a big THANK YOU Lee, i actually removed the fan and the starter again just to verify there was no loose cables anywhere and I could see those ground connectors under the manifold, fortunately everything checked OK there.

Thank you again to all of you for your suggestions, I am getting closer!

Charlie
'94 855
'88 244

Well folks, I have to admit to being the doubting Thomas for the idea of the "lawnmore effect". But I have seen, and I believe. I got home from work, plugged the battery charger while I removed the spark plugs. The spark plug hole is a lot deeper than my little squirt gun could reach, soo I went to the kitchen and got a drinking straw. About 2" worth of Marvel Mystery Oil went into each cylinder, closed and connected everything and the thing started at the first crank. I expected to see a curtain of smoke like the Blue Angels, but it was only a little puff, maybe the Mystery Oil (whatever that is) does not smoke as much.

I had one of the lifters clattering for a minute (it does that when i do not drive it for a few days) eventually it quieted down. I took the wagon out and went to the freeway, put it in 3rd and got it just past 65mph (speed limit) for the "Italian Tune-Up". It was only spinning about 3,800 rpm, i got it past 4,000 rpm a few times when i could see clearly ahead. Did that for about 20 minutes. I do not know that there was a marked difference, we shall see.

I have a debt of gratitude to each and every one of you. I hope that this write up helps someone in the future. I ended up buying a new tool (fuel pressure gauge) which is good :-), and will be putting some regular copper spark plugs this coming Saturday. With all the money I saved I think I will order my 16" wheels and tires!

Best to all of you!!

Charlie
'94 855 VROOOOOOOOOM!!!!
'88 244 taking a week off to rest

Now, if you get over 25mph and shift to "L", the car will go into 2nd and stay there until you go below 25mph (when it shifts to 1st gear). 2nd gear will let you get to 65mph easily and spin those valves, and blow out a little carbon.

Leave the radio off, so you can listen to the sweet music the engine produces.

With all of the money you "saved", buy some Volvo OEM spark plugs. The plug wires have month and year stamped on them, check if they are original. The cap and rotor should be changed with the plugs, or at least inspected. The rotor needs a very small hex tool to get off.

Klaus
--
Proud owner of a 1967 220S

Thank you all for your responses. Here are my responses;

To BLUE244, when I crank the engine over it just cranks and cranks, just like you had taken the coil wire off; no pops, nothing. The last time I cranked for 30 seconds, then again for 30 seconds more, and it did sound like the engine was speeding up.

To DJ, I have a new set of copper plugs, rotor, cap and wires on the way. I have to admit that I drive very gentle, accelerate softly so the engine has not been over 3,000 RPM since I got it, I think it spins about 2,800 RPM when doing 70mph on the freeway. So the idea of putting the car in 2nd or 3rd gear and punching the accelerator is foreign to me, but I am willing to try it.

Lee, this business of putting oil into the combustion chamber, does not mess up oxygen sensors or cat converters? Will Marvel Mystery Oil work? I have a little squirt gun I use to oil my pneumatic tools I could use for that.

Question; what does it mean when the tach needle does not move while cranking? This seems to point again to a distributor/coil/rotor or cap, although as i said earlier, there seems to be enough of an electic impulse on the wire to make the induction timing light flash.

Best to all of you

Charlie
'94 855
'88 244

I don't know if this will help but I have had a similar problem with my 93 850. I parked it on a steep hill (my driveway) with the nose up. It cranked and would not start. I pushed it into the garage and tried again the next morning. I had to let it crank for about 20 seconds with a battery charger on jump mode. The cranking got faster and faster and it eventually started.

Over the past two years, I have noticed that if I turn on the car and move it to the garage for example then leave it off and don't start it for a few days; the car does the same thing. Battery is good etc etc but the pressure in the fuel system is gone and I have to turn the car over for up to a minute to get repressurized. I assume there must be some type of pressure release.

Good luck.

@850 Tacoma

it sounds like the check valve mechanism in your pump is gone. Fuel injected systems need more than just 'the presence of fuel' to start - they need the correct fuel pressure and the correct volume. I think the pumps in these cars are rated at ~250lph or something like that, but I'm sure that's more than what is needed as most of that will normally get sent back to the tank by the pressure regulator.

The really important factor here is the pressure - there needs to be ~35 lbs pressure at the fuel rail in order for the injectors to work. So if the pump is not producing enough pressure, or the regulator is faults in some way, or (as I suspsect in your case) the pump's check valve allows the pressure to leak away when the pump isn't running, there will be problems.

Rather than cranking for ever, if the fuel pressure is really the problem, you can re-prime the system by turning the key from 0 to II and leaving it there for a few seconds to let the pump run, and then repeating. The ECU turns the pump on for about 2 seconds when the key goes to the II position. You should be able to hear the change in tone the pump makes going from a higher pitch hum (low pressure in line) to a lower pitch hum (high pressure in line) indicating the system is priming. Repeat the turn-to-pos-II a few times until you don't hear the pitch getting lower anymore and then try to start it - it should fire right up.

Ideally you should replace the pump for one with a good check valve, or buy an inline check valve like the 740s used to use, and jimmy that into your fuel system. FCP has them listed for a 740 for ~15$ I think.




--
1998 V70 AWD Turbo 195k+

Charlie, I said 30-60 seconds. Not 30 seconds folowed by 30 more. The oil pump needs to start pumping a lot of oil.

Go ahead and put a small amount of oil into each cylinder. Not too much, a tablespoon is plenty.
Then crank the heck out of it!

Klaus
--
Proud owner of a 1967 220S

>>Lee, this business of putting oil into the combustion chamber, does not mess up oxygen sensors or cat converters? Will Marvel Mystery Oil work? I have a little squirt gun I use to oil my pneumatic tools I could use for that.<<

The expensive oil will work but it is a waste.

You need to rely a bit more on your your ears before doing this. Does the car spin really fast with the starter as compared to normal? If so proceed.

No ill things will happen to the cat or the O2 sensors - it will just eliminate all mosquitoes for the next season.

The problem that I think you have has been dubbed the "lawnmower syndrome". If the car starts briefly and then dies the priming gasoline washes the oil off of the cylinder walls and the rings no longer seal. If you have a compression gauge you can confirm that.

You have confirmed two of the three things it takes to make a motor run - fuel and spark. The last one is compression. A squirt of oil in each cylinder will re-seal the rings and you get the compression back. If that is the problem you can actually hear it after a few revolutions as the compression returns - just as the engine will try to start.

...Lee

Fully charge the battery and then dump a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder. Replace the spark plugs and then crank the car and keep cranking even after it starts to fire until it will sustain itself running. The smoke cloud will be amazing so don't try it in the garage.

...Lee

Blue244 raises a good point. "White" engines can loose compression through the valve seats and the "no-start" condition is exacerbated by fueled down piston rings, soaked plugs and a gradually weakening battery.

My recommendation: new plugs - not tri-tip style you have or any platinum or laser fancy shmancy plug. NGK BKR6E. Newer platinum, iridium, etc plugs are not able to "clean" themselves as well as traditional plugs, and that's what you need. While the plugs are out, crank the motor to clear the combustion chamber of fuel. Reinstall plugs. Make sure you have a tip-top battery. I would even put a strong charger on it while you crank it. You will have to crank the engine over upwards of 30 seconds. Don't worry. And don't touch the accelerator. Little by little you'll hear one cylinder fire, then another, then another. Process will have to be repeated. Eventually, it'll start.

Now the fun part. Valve seats get some buildup with miles, especially with prudent driving. Valves in white motors will begin to "spin" in their guides upwards of 4000 rpms or so. So you need to take it for a "hell ride" aka "Italian tune-up" Drive for 10-15 minutes in a low gear so that the engine is screaming along above 4-5000 rpms. You will effectively be performing a valve job. You won't hurt anything and you'll be rewarded with a smoother, more easily started motor.

Good luck.

When you crank the engine over what does it sound like? Does is sound normal like it just has no fuel or is it irregular like it is missing a crank position signal? If it is the latter you might try dropping a bit of oil into the cylinders and see what happens. The early whiteblocks like to lose compression from time to time.