Well, I finally figured it out. A while back I made a post about a problem I was
having with my Volvo. I'd be driving along and suddenly there would be no power when I pressed the gas. It wouldn't stop running, it would continue where it was, but just wouldn't accelerate for about a second or two, then it would come back strong. Sometimes it seemed like it was just sputtering along. I had finally given in and decided to just take it in to the dealer when I had a revelation.

About 11 years ago I had an 83 mazda rx-7. Loved, absolutely loved this car. Still do. But it started giving me fits. Power was going in and out (the same as my volvo is doing now). One night, late at night, I was looking at the engine with my girlfriend's (future ex-wife's) father and I noticed that electricity was arcing ALL OVER the spark plug wires, distributor, and ignition coils. It was like looking at a pic of New York taken at night. Bingo!

And that's what I said to myself tonight when I looked under the hood at the ignition coil of my volvo. I had previously noticed that the ignition coil had been making erratic popping and clicking sounds, but tonight confirmed that my problem comes from a bad coil. After the sun went down, I looked at the coil again and noticed that all around the coil where the metal brace is there was electricity arcing badly.

Now I know what to replace. This makes me very happy :)

kevin