Our V-70 with 70K miles did the exact same thing and had been doing it for probably the last 3 months but only sporadically. One day, it would start right up, the next, it would take forever. I posted about this (you might do a search under Starts, then dies) and got the one suggestion about the faulty key. I switched the key but it did not seem to help.

Recently, I took a trip to Fl (from cold, barren upstate NY) and the only time the problem surfaced was one cold morning in PA. The remainder of my 3500 mi trip was problem free, so it might have something to do with cold weather.

Another thing that I tried.... At the first indication of the problem - starts, then dies, someone suggested to just turn the key to the (I think) 11 postion (all the idiot lights on), but don't start it, and return the key to 0 position. Then try to start it. I did this in PA and it worked, so there may be something to it.

I originally thought that the electrical connection to the AMM was at fault, but have recently ruled that out.

Do me one favor please. Keep me posted on this as I'd like have a better idea of what the heck this problem is.

Marty Wolfson (oleseahorse) wolfson@nycap.rr.com
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90 244 216K, 93 244 167K, 93 244 109K

I would not drive it anywhere until you find the fault. See if the Check Engine Light is on. If not, let it idle for awhile to see if can get an error code to go on. If it does, troubleshooting will be much easier.

Could be the immobilizer, there is a microchip inside the plastic part of the key. An antenna coil around the ignition lock communicates with the microchip and checks the ID-code... If the ID is not recognized, the engine shuts down..
One of our keys failed and gave exactly this symptom, try if another works better. There is also a known problem with the connector to the antenna coil.