7am moving 60 mph in the fast lane and purring like a kitten- suddenly shuts down. Roll as far as I can and get it over off the side of the highway. Cold and nasty out so I call back home and wake Mrs R2 up (she so enjoys that), come get me, says I, the Volvo quit on me. Left the car, took Mrs back home, and drove her car to work. Put a new 'Fosterized' fuel relay after work and still no start. Called AAA and had it towed home. Today I check all fuses, put the rubber eraser on both fuel related fuses just so I know they're clean. Check the 25 amp fuse all ok - still no start. Took oil cap off and watched cam turn - ok. Pulled coil wire and got good spark - ok. Cracked the fuel line open, spun the starter - nothin', nada, zip, no fuel spurting out. So, looks like I'm fuel pump shopping in the next few days.

Question: I am assuming this means both pumps are dead, correct? Now, can I get away with just putting in a new main pump (the one under chassis) and not replace the in tank pump?

Before you buy and try to install new fuel pumps, I would try swapping the fuses (the ones for the pumps). Don't just look at them (viz., the metal strip, or whether the ends are corroded, etc.), swap them with a fresh fuse.

The reason is that these fuses sometimes develop a hairline crack -- enough to show voltage on a VOM when the fuse is cold, but when the fuse needs to pass a lot of current and warms up (as when it powers a pump) the metal sometimes distorts and the edges separate.

Trying this first might save you a lot of time, effort and money.

Good luck.

Yeah, I did replace the ones that were in with new ones just to rule that possibility out.

I'll be checking voltage at the main pump connectors before removal.

My experience is that Fuel pumps don't quit while already running. It's usually when you turn teh car off and try to restart that they say " I don't think so"
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

Somehow I just can't picture Chuck Berry singing about a Volvo. If you get no pump action after jumping the fuse panel or fuel pump relay I would disconnect the fuel line to the main pump (suitable container used) and activate the push pump. They sometimes run very quietly and I'm not sure a working one would push fuel through a non-working main pump. --- Dave

Hi Dave,

Can't get that song out of my head now, and yeah, not a Volvo. Not a fuel-injected anything.

I'm not sure a working one would push fuel through a non-working main pump.

Interesting question. Once while playing on an LH2.4 car after reading for the umpteenth time of someone frustrated with the Haynes/Bentley/Volvo instructions for "depressurizing", I decided to test the theory, seeing as the practical instructions to remove "the fuel pump fuse" were bogus.

With the motor idling, I lifted the rear seat (wagon - easy) and disconnected the main pump, and waited for the motor to quit. It didn't. After a minute, I pushed on the accelerator. It stumbled, coughed, but went right on idling.

I could not imagine that lift pump in the tank getting fuel even past the spring in the main pump's check valve, so I didn't know either: was it burning the teaspoon full of fuel that constitutes the residual pressure in the FPR, or was the tank pump actually sustaining the idle.

Outside chance it could be a coincidence, but when I pulled fuse 4 to kill the tank pump, the motor finally stalled. Since then, I learned a B230, in a Regina car anyway, will idle on 5 lbs. of fuel pressure. Won't safely drive down the highway, but it "runs".

Ridin' Along in my Automobile

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Put a jumper across the left side of fuses 4 and 6, see if it runs and or do you hear the pumps running?
I have had mixed results soldering the relay so I just replace it. Dan

Hi,


You should actually measure for voltage at the main pump connector for total conformation.


Goatman

Thanks, I'll measure voltage before doing anything else.

Good advice. I say never order a main pump until you confirm it is fed well with fuel and electricity. They're too expensive, and Bosch made them to last a half-million miles.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.