Yesterday it was warm for Seattle, the car tried to die a couple times while I was stuck in traffic on the freeway and as I was getting off the ramp. I pulled into a parking lot and couldn't get her started. She'd turn over but would only run for about half a second before dying.
Tank was a quarter full, and after the tow home I had enough time to make sure the relay was kicking on before it got dark. While stuck in the parking lot I also banged on the gas tank a couple times which I know is a trick when the fuel pump gooes out but no joy.
After I get home from work I was going to double check with my multimeter that the pump is receiving electricity, anything else I should be looking for or checking? Also is there any way for me to pull codes without getting a reader?

Won't start or run at all. Pulled code last night:
p0103 Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit High Input

Pulled MAF, looked dirty and a little piece of plastic fell out of it. Hoping this is the culprit, will order new one.

If the MAF is dirty, order a new air filter also. With the MAF unplugged, the engine should start and idle, just not at higher rpms - not drivable.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Swapped out paper air filter for a K&N about a month ago, wonder if filter oil is to blame. Will try to start with MAF unplugged when I get home.
Thanks Klaus!

If the K&N is new and properly seated, it should not be a problem. K&N only become a problem when they get cleaned and re-oiled. I have used K&N for years without a glitch.

Auto parts stores sell MAF cleaner. But that piece of plastic has me stumped.

Your CEL will remain on until the MAF is reconnected. It might take a few cycles but will eventually turn off.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Ordered a new MAF today, should be here Thursday. I was thinking about cleaning my current one but given how suddenly these symptoms came on I'm leaning towards it being toast. It was literally within 10 minutes it went from running perfectly fine to stalling a couple times and me pulling into a parking lot to give it a couple minutes to rest and not being able to restart it and having to get towed home. I would assume if the cause was a dirty MAF it would have been a problem that would have gradually gotten worse.

Take the 4 screws out of the fuse box and lift it up. Underneath you will find the relays. #103 if the pump relay. Pull it out and jump 15 & 87, turn the key to posII and the pump should run, indicating a bad relay.

If you only bought the car, buy yourself a folding Torx tool for $5-6. Worth its weight in gold.

The idle air control always humms when the key is in posII, that's normal.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

New MAF in. Took a little coaxing but got her started. While I was in there I cleaned some electrical connections and reapplied dielectric grease, cleaned the intake, swapped plugs for a fresh set of NGKs and did an oil change. She's running beautifully. Thanks for all the help.

Have the torx drivers from working on my previous car, a 94 940. Also have the torx female socket for the ABS/TRACS module bolts I had to drive all over town for because the smallest anyone had was a 6.

I pulled the fuel relay and was going to jumper it but whoever wrote up the tutorial on Matthews said 87 & 30, not 15, there was no 30 so I gave up on that until I get home after work today. However I pulled the cover off the relay and checked the solder, I might resolder 2 solder points that look weak, something I've come to expect from Volvo, but when I put it back in without the cover and turned the key I saw the relay physically move.

OK, here's where I'm at:
Resoldered what looked like 2 weak solders on the relay. With it in place when I turn on the car the fuel pump runs for about 2 seconds. I'm assuming this is normal and some kind of pressure sensor is telling it to turn off. Please tell me if I'm wrong.

Jumped relay points 87 and 15 and the fuel pump ran continuously, tried to start the car but no go.

Pulled a spark plug and it was black, not so much sooty. I'll have to check the maintenence records to see when they were changed last.

Tested coil and one of the spark plug wires with multimeter and they're getting juice.

The previous owner was taking the car to Daisy Wagon every 2-3 months since 1999 and I have all the service records. When I first bought the car I went through them and noted that the flame trap was last replaced 2-3 years ago and I didn't see any record of the fuel pump having been replaced. When I pulled the plate off the fuel pump it looked like it had never been removed and there was a pretty thick layer of dust on everything.

So based on all this info are we thinking fuel pump or something else at this point?

The best way to check the spark plug is to actually see a bright spark, not multimeter a wire. It might be a weak spark caused by a failing coil.

With the pump running, you should be getting fuel. You have spark, which rules out the CPS.

See if it starts with your foot 1/2 way to the floor. That will open the throttle and let air in.

The initial pump priming is to bring the pressure up, not add fuel to the line, and that seems to be working. The relay sounds good.

Check fuse #1 and make sure it is not blown.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Pull the spark plugs and see what color they are. If they're black and sooty you might have a vacuum leak or a dirty idle air motor causing you to run too rich and then stall out.

If its the relay, it'll likely be intermittent where sometimes it stalls out and a few minutes later it works. Right when it dies you might try jumping 15 and 87 (if I recall the right numbers, top middle and bottom middle) and see if it starts up. You should be able to hear the pump hum for a second as you turn the key, might have to put the seats down to hear it from the drivers seat though. Make sure to turn your radio off as the antenna can be louder than the pump.

IF you have codes, go to your local auto parts store. Most loan out a scanner so you can read in the parking lot. You might not have codes (not really any set off by the fuel system until it starts screwing with other systems.) or some misfire/camshaft position sensor might clue you in to a different problem.

How old are your ignition components? <1yr, <3, <5, <10, still the wires/coil it was born with?
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If you're not driving it "like its stolen," are you really driving?

Only bought the car about 5 months ago, Cap, Rotor, and wires are all supposedly new. Air pump or whatever it is under the throttle cover was a little noisy but one of the manuals said not to worry about it.