My 1998 V70 has always started instantly and run smoothly since purchase in Feb 2013.

Yesterday it ran fine, then was parked outside last night in rainy, humid 35-50 deg weather. Today - the engine cranked but would not start, sounded like a cylinder randomly fired maybe once per second while cranking.

After running the starter several times for 5-10 seconds, cylinders started firing more often. I held the throttle about 1/4 open and kept cranking, after another 5-10 seconds the engine started and ran smoothly. I went for a test drive to recharge the battery, now the engine starts immediately.

If it was a carbureted engine I would suspect flooding with too much fuel. Can a similar situation happen with fuel injection ?

Distributor cap, rotor and plugs are almost new - replaced within the last 10K miles.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with 850 or early V70 ?

Thanks,

Mike

I just discovered some threads on lawnmower syndrome - no start due to gasoline flooded cylinders with low compression. The symptoms and solution seem very similar to the no-start I experienced a few weeks ago. I thought it was related to cold rainy weather, but we might have started the car the day before and only run it for a few seconds... it has started and run fine ever since.

Mike

Yup, sounds like lawnmower syndrome. Just been through it...:)

As a precaution, did you check your ignition wires? You didn't mention changing them.

Even with a carbed engine, I would start looking for moisture under the cap. I guess that you normally park inside where it is somewhat drier.

The cap seal is not the best design, plus tighting up the screws one at a time is also not the best procedure. I find that putting in the screws and then going around and slowly tightening each screw a little bit gives the best fit.