I have lurked here and absorbed knowledge and information for many months. This is my first post.

I’ve driven a Volvo 240 for the past 16 years. In ’92 I bought an ’88 Volvo 240 GL wagon and then in ’04 I purchased another ’88 wagon. Both of those cars were incredibly reliable and durable. Despite what most people think, I found that the cost of ownership with a Volvo is very, very low. I had so few problems with either of the cars that I never needed to learn much about them mechanically and I stayed blissfully ignorant of the issues that I now know haunt Volvos from the ‘80s. The first ’88 I purchased is now a parts car, but the second one still runs. My 16 year old daughter will soon start driving, so this summer I purchased a 1982 240 DL Sedan with a 4 speed manual transmission and push button overdrive. The car has 108K miles. It has continuous injection mechanical fuel injection and a Chrysler/Volvo ignition (white distributor cap). Cosmetically, the interior is near mint with the exterior in good to very good condition. I like the look of the older 240 and I thought the manual transmission would be fun to drive and fuel efficient, so I picked it up for the asking price of $1,200. The car was leaking oil when I purchased it, so I put it in the shop for new seals and gaskets. 4 hours of labor, a new water pump, timing belt, flame trap service, new seals and gaskets plus miscellaneous materials totaled $432.25. I picked up the car on Aug. 8th. On Sunday August 10th, the car suddenly died on a local four lane highway. The car was very low on fuel, so my first thought was that it ran out of gas. It didn’t cough and sputter like a car normally does when it runs out of gas; it simply went dead and all the dash lights came on. Nevertheless, “out of gas” was my original reaction. I put several gallons of gas in the car, but it still would not start. Thinking that I’d sucked up some gunk from the nearly empty gas tank, I installed a new fuel filter. Still it would not start. I did not feel comfortable leaving the car on the side of the road, so Monday morning I had it towed to a local shop that specializes in Volvo. Shortly after the car arrived at the shop, they called me at work to tell me that the car started right up. I was incredulous. I had tinkered with the car nearly all of the previous day. It cranked fine but didn’t even attempt to actually start. The counter guy at the shop said, “We told you it needs a tune up” so somewhat reluctantly, I asked them to move forward with the tune up. The tune up included the following: distributor cap; rotor; air filter; 4 spark plugs; towing and 1 hour of labor. After a test drive they discovered an “intermittent problem” with the fuel pump relay, so they replaced that as well. The total bill was $282.10. I picked up the car Monday evening hopeful that it was now road ready, but it died 4 times within a couple miles of the repair shop. Luckily, I was able to get it started again and returned to the shop. At that point, I’d spent over $700 at the repair shop in two business days, and I was beginning to lose confidence in their ability to diagnose the problem. Rather than continuing to throw money at the car, on Tuesday I decided to stop the shop from doing any further work. My plan was to try to get the car home where I could take the time to diagnose and hopefully fix the problem myself. I picked up the car from the shop and it died several times before I could get to the gas station which is right across the street. The one positive was the fact that I was able to get it started again each time. I eventually made it to the gas station (literally right across the street from the repair shop) and I filled it up with gas. Almost immediately it started and ran perfectly. Aha! The problem must be the in-tank fuel pump. I drove home and all seemed fine. I drove around the neighborhood that evening and onto a local highway and all seemed good. The next afternoon, for reasons that are still not clear to me, my wife and daughter were on the way to a doctor’s appointment, and they decided to take the ’82 Volvo rather than my wife’s 2000 Toyota Sienna van (don’t ask me why). The car died on the way and they are left stranded on the side of the road. It’s a big deal. They miss the doctor’s appointment and both of them are ready to get rid of the car. The wife is mad at me for buying “such a piece of poop” in the first place. The gas tank is ¾ full. I fill it up but it still won’t start. Friday 8/15 I have the car towed back to my house. Saturday morning, with the help of my Haynes manual, I attempt to diagnose the problem.
This is what I discover:
1. There is 12 volts at the fuel pump relay
2. Both fuel pumps run when I jump fuses 5 & 7.
3. There is 12 volts at the coil
4. Resistance on the primary and secondary circuits of the coil are within specs
5. There is 12 volts at the ignition control module
6. Resistance on the ground wire of the ignition control module is within specs
7. There is 12 volts at the distributor cap power supply.
8. The spark plugs are wet with fuel.
9. The wiring harness is deteriorating in places.
10. The wire to the oil pressure sensor (near the oil filter) has no insulation
11. The alternator ground wire is partially naked.
12. Insulation crumbles off the wires leading to the starter solenoid.
13. There is evidence of past harness repairs at the gray connector on the firewall
14. I pulled a coil from one of the 88s. No change.

All along, the car will crank just fine but it won’t start. There is no evidence of spark, but I don’t have a tester or any tool for checking spark. I pulled a plug wire and looked for spark but discovered nothing. I pulled the coil wire and looked for spark while cranking but don’t see a thing. I’m not certain I’m testing for spark properly. I’m not sure that the wires were grounded properly, so my spark test is inconclusive.

With the noise of the seatbelt warning buzzer sounding, I can’t make out if the fuel pumps engage for a few seconds when the key is turned to the on position but when I jump fuses 5 & 7 both fuel pumps run.

Late morning Saturday 8/16, after reseating the connection to the ignition control module and cleaning the contacts on the coil, the car suddenly started. Naturally I assume the problem has something to do with those connections. I drive the car around town on Saturday and all seems ok for a while. Waiting at a light near the mall in heavy traffic, the car dies again. I jumped out of the car, reseat the ignition control connection and jiggle the coil connections and it starts again.

I did’t have any problem with the car for nearly a week. I used it to commute to work and all seemed fine until this past Friday morning. I got in the car to go to work and once again he car cranks fine but will not start. I reseat the ignition control module connection and reseat the connections at the coil but it still will not start. The gas level is below half a tank, so I fill it all the way up. It still won’t start. I worked on it both Saturday and Sunday. Once on each day the car started but then died almost immediately.

With taxes and tags, I’ve got over $2,000 into this car and I don’t want to continue to throw money at it.

Notes & Questions

1. The Haynes manual instructions say to check the ignition control module for 12 volts at the blue wire and check the resistance at the black wire in the #10 position. Both check out fine, but only after I pulled the connector did I read the warning that essentially says “If you have continuous injection mechanical fuel injection, do not remove the wiring harness connection to the ignition control module. The connection may be damaged and the wiring harness will then have to be replaced” Is this really true? Do I really have to replace the entire wiring harness simply because I pulled the ignition control module connector?

2. When the distributor cap is replaced as it was as part of my tune up, is the Hall Effect switch also replaced as part of the distributor cap assembly?

3. I know that this car needs a new wiring harness. If I knew with certainty that would solve the problem, I would get it done, but at this point, I’m concerned about throwing good money after bad. Is it possible to repair the harness well enough to determine that is indeed the cause of the problem?

4. I sometimes have to jiggle the key a bit to power up the radio and accessories. Not always, but every once in a while. I mention that only because my big problem is ignition/no start and this might be an important little clue.

5. As mentioned above, the car started a couple times this past weekend, but just as quickly died.

6. I've hit a wall. What should I check next?

Thanks, in advance,

Dan