My 1986 240 DL wagon was running great this morning. One of the last things on my tune up list was a new fuel filter. Anyway, I had a shadetree mechanic help since I was a little nervous about doing it myself. He pulled out the assembly with the filter and the pump and changed the filter. He then put it back and I tried to start the car. It cranked forever but no start. Occasionally it would sound like it wanted to start but only for a second. My "mechanic" says there is air in the line and decided to pour fuel directly into the engine by the idle speed adjuster. The car starts, revs up really high and then runs good for about 5-10 seconds then quits. Now "mechanic" thinks it is out of fuel (since it was low on fuel when he started) and puts about 1.5 gallons in the tank. He then pour more fuel directly in the engine, it starts, revs really high again and quits. This happens a few times. Finally, he thinks fuel pump isn't working so he runs a line to fuel pump from battery and we can hear it running but it still will crank but not start. Now, we pull 2 spark plugs which are completely fouled (from pouring fuel directly in). The plugs are black. By now I've had enough and tow the car home. My wife hates my Volvo because I always seem to be working on it or reading the Haynes manual. Anyway, she is furious because money is tight and is insiting that I sell the car if we have to pay a lot of money to get a mechanic to fix it, especially since it was running fine this morning. Anyway, I've got the weekend to sort this out or else it goes to the Volvo mechanic down the street and the higher the bill, the more my wife will insist on getting rid of the car.

Some possible problems:

Fuel Tank was on empty when we started the job. Not much fuel drained during the change, but their may not have been enough to fill the new filter.

My friend who sold me the car told me that he thought that the in tank fuel pump may have died and was never fixed when he owned it but he was told that the car was still o.k. to drive.

The wiring insulation is starting to crumble so disconnecting the wiring may have caused a short somewhere.

I'll change the spark plugs but then what should I do? I've read the posts about 700 series owners that had similar problems but I'm not sure how similar the cars are.

I can check the wiring but since I didn't unhook or reconnect the wires, I don't know if they are correct.

Please help. Sorry, but I'm a novice so I may need simple instructions. I do have a 12V light tester and an multimeter. Thanks in advance.

Success, problem solved thanks to all the helpful advice.

So I got brave and got down under the car. When I removed the mounting bracket I was shocked at what I saw. I attached a picture so you could see how bad this guy botched the job. As you can see, the fuel line between the filter and the fuel pump is completely kinked. Also, the yellow connector wasn't even hooked up and was severed just sitting in the tray. What you can't see is that the fuel line going to the filter was also completely kinked as well. This shade tree guy has usually been pretty good in the past, I think he may have been so hard up for money that he was purposely creating more work for himself. Thanks to the brickboard, I can now add this to one of the jobs I can do.

So I unhooked the fuel lines and took the filter and pump down the street to Voluparts. They grabbed me a used attachment to go between to filter and pump since the kinked one was toast and even installed it for me free of charge. They even through in new washers for free. I also picked up new spark plugs and went back to work.

I was very careful in hooking everything back up to try and not kink or damage the hoses. I ended up supporting the assembly with boxes under the car so it was low enough that I could tighten the hoses but high enough that the hoses wouldn't kink when I put it in place. The fuel line at the back of the pump was still a little kinked right where the fitting is. I tried everything I could think of but I couldn't completely remove the kink although it got a bit better. There wasn't much slack in the fuel line but I think I got it lined up the best I could.

I then fixed the break in the wire. The shade tree guy had evidently broken the wire and just taped it together. The wires had lost a little insulation but weren't near as bad as the shade tree guy said they were.

So then I thought I'd turn the key and all would be better. I cranked several times and every once in a while it would sound like it wanted to start but no luck. Then my wife and 3 year old came out, my wife's hatred for the Volvo increased, and my son told me the Volvo was broken and Daddy couldn't fix it.

So I then started troubleshooting using all the great advice. I jumped fuses 4 and 6 and immediately heard the fuel tank pump kick on. However, no sounds or vibrations from the main pump. I then check the wires, 12V light lit right up at the fuel pump connections. I plugged it in again, still no sound from the fuel pump. I then called up Voluparts to get a price on a used pump. They told me to take jumper cables from battery and to hook up alligator clips to the pump. If the pump still didn't turn on, then they would happily sell me a used or rebuilt pump. Badabing, it worked, the pump came alive and the car started right up. So then I checked the connector and the inside of the connector plastic was broken so that even when the connector clicked into the fuel pump connection, the actual metal part was not touching. I fixed this and all was good to go.

So the car is running now but I'm still a little worried about the kink I couldn't completely get rid of. The engine changes pitch (about a full tonal step for those that are musically literate) up and down maybe every 3-4 seconds. It isn't all that noticeable and it doesn't sound like it is going to quit, but it didn't do this before. I messed with the idle a bit but I don't have a tachometer so I'm not sure where it should be set. It still would run without quitting with the idle as low as it would get.

So should I be worried about a small kink? How would I fix this since the hose has virtually no slack and installing the end fitting didn't look easy.

Thanks again, especially to Voluparts who could have easily sold me pump but instead helped me figure out that I didn't need one. My wife is a bit happier that it didn't cost much to fix although she didn't like that I spent most of the day on it.

The wagon will continue to live on.

Once I purchased a bosch or fram filter that caused this problem in a different brand of car. Since all I touched was the filter, I took it off and tried to blow air through it. It was plugged from the factory! Who knows why. I could blow through the replacement easily. For what its worth, Do something nice for her, It doesn't have to be big.

"I'll change the spark plugs but then what should I do?"

Since it runs (erratically) with gas dumped in at the throttle, the ignition is OK. But it seems that the fuel pump is not working since the filter job. Low tank level plus unknown tank pump and feed hose conditions are also a concern.

You can use your test light (at the fuse panel) to see if any voltage is getting where it should as the engine is cranked...

(1) "Test" the the test light first, Find a place to ground the test light alligator clip near the fuse panel, and probe the LEFT side of any fuse from 6 thru 10. There should always be +12V there, and the light should glow.

(2) Now put the test light probe on the LEFT fuse contact of fuse 4. That's the fuse input, and it should get voltage from the Fuel relay during cranking and running. Try it and let us know if +12V is getting there.

(3) If +12V is there at fuse 4 input, it should also be at the Main pump. To check that part of the pump circuit (even if you didn't see voltage at 4 when cranking), use a temporary jumper to put +12V on fuse 4 input and listen for the pump to run. You can get the +12V from the LEFT side of fuses 6 thru 10, remember?
With fuse 4 in place,the tank pump should run too. Pull fuse 4 to test either pump by itself — +12V to Left contact=Main, Right contact=Tank.

That's enough for now, I guess..

P.S. The pumps don't get "primed" when the key is turned on, as noted below. That came later, in the '89.

And I wouldn'tget all wrapped up in the Tank Pump just yet.

Also, you can't check the "Fuel pump fuse" because there isn't one on your car (the fuse labling is wrong for U.S. market cars).


--
Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

Well maybe you should check the ground and power at your main pump, maybe he knocked it loose or it broke when he was doing the filter. If that doesn't work try putting the old filter on and see if it works if it does you have a faulty fuel filter. I would bank more on the wires coming undone or breaking more than a faulty fuel pump have him test it with a test light before you pay big bucks for something that you can fix pretty easily. Also you can try the "jumper" method and jumper the left side of fuse #4 and #6 ( I think those are the right ones on your car) with them jumpered the pumps should run. Also the 25 amp fuse by the battery could be the culprit check that it and its holder are in good shape.

I just replaced the in-tank pump and the fuel filter on my 1990 240. Here's some things to be aware of:

1) The car would not run with less than a quarter-tank of fuel -- A clear indicator of an in-tank pump failure.

2) After opening the system to replace components, it took many, many, many, many, many tries to re-start the engine. Following each attempt to restart, its important to turn the ignition completely off before trying again. Both fuel pumps energize briefly when the ignition is turned to the "on" position. This primes the fuel system.

3) Conclusion: if you've opened the system to replace parts and they are installed correctly (big "if" -- is the arrow on the new fuel filter facing the right direction? You jumped the main fuel pump, but is its electrical connection attached, correctly?), but do not have a functioning in-tank pump nor enough fuel to compensate, it's not unreasonable to find that its difficult to restore enough fuel pressure to start the car. Pouring fuel in the front of the engine does not cause fuel to flow through the lines, since the pumps work essentially independent of the engine (they're electronically controlled). That technique worked better in the old days of mechanically-controlled fuel pumps driven off the engine camshaft (like on my '53 Chevy).

I'd install a new in-tank pump with a new strainer sock, ensure there is adequate gas in the tank, make sure the fuel filter is properly installed and double check with your shade-tree mechanic to ensure that nothing else was touched, such as wiring.

For a beginner this at least a full Saturday afternoon job, possibly more with the trial and error process. Unfortunately, a spouse who believes the car is competition with her may make this discussion moot.

Hope you can get both problems fixed, and best of luck!

Start with eliminating your assumptions. Make the trips with a 3 gallon can to the gas pump and fill it up with 5-6 gallons of gas. If its the in-tank pump then maybe that will help you to figure it out. Sounds like gas is not getting to the engine. If its the in-tank pump buy a tool from IPD to get the bung nut undone on the gas tank. Once you have the tool you can go to the junk yard and get a pump for cheep instead of $50. If jumping turns the pump on then I'm betting its going to be the in-tank pump.

Although if it worked before the filter change then? Check wiring like mentioned before.

I did this entire job not long ago. I replaced the in-tank fuel sender unit (the assembly, pump, sock filter - everything). Car refused to start at all - before it just sputtered on low gas making turns. I killed the car after doing only this.

I bought an AutoZone main pump and new filter - still no start. I checked all of my ground wires (both main pump and in-tank pump) and I got a start - then it died.

The clear fact was that at the fuel rail on the engine, I was not getting fuel.

Long story short - I went to junk yard, pulled OEM main pump from a car, bench tested it to make sure it worked. I went home, installed it - VRROOOOOOM! Perfect start.

Also, couple things. Make sure:
1- Fuel pump relay is good
2- Fuel pump fuse is not blown
3- Wires on pump are connected well
Trick: Turn your key enough to 'bump' the engine - don't crank it. Turn it all the way off. Each bump primes the fuel pump. After about 5 or 6 of these, your car should fire up without as much as 2 or 3 revs. This saves lots of cranking and battery power and forces fuel from the pump to the injectors.

Last - you don't need any tool to remove the plastic ring on the fuel tank for the sender unit. A hammer (rubber if you have it) and flat blade screw driver is all you need to tap it loose. Avoid doing this job if you can, it is a pain in the butt the first time.