This is my 1995 940 Wagon, 8-Valve with 230k miles driven primarily by my wife.

On her drive home from work today on city street, the car suddenly died. I had to come give her bumper a gentle push with my c70 just to get her up the incline and out of traffic. I cracked up my front license plate cover, but it was fine beside that.

She said the car didn't sputter, but just suddenly died while she was driving up the incline. Her tank is half full and the car was warm (normal) when it died.

It was too loud, too dark, and too damn cold to do much more than confirm that the car was cranking normally and call a tow truck.

Got the car home and under the car port. Still too damn cold to do much, but I was able to confirm that the fuel pump is cycling, and it is running when 12-volt power is applied directly to the harness. Relays are clicking and I can hear the low hum you'd expect from the pump when I turn the key.

The tach doesn't move when I crank, but I'm not sure that's meaningful on this model. I had a 740 with a snapped timing belt and this doesn't sound like the dry crank you get with a busted timing belt.

Considering how freakin' cold it is, I want to do as little testing as possible so I'm looking for likely candidates.

Fuel:
After cranking, I'm going to pull the #1 spark and check the plug for wetness. If dry, I'm planning to loosen the fuel line at the rail, put it into a container and crank for a short while. If I get nothing, I'm gonna be pulling the sender unit (again) to see if the hose popped off the pump.

Spark:
eh.. no quite sure. I've got an inductive timing light that could confirm ignition pulse, but beyond that I dunno.


Other Issues...
The car threw a CEL O2 Sensor Code back in the Spring. After re-setting it, I installed a new OEM Bosch Sensor, but the code came back and keeps coming back. Fuel economy has been sub-par for a while.

I had to install a new starter in late Summer.

In the Fall, the car had several no-start episodes that I eventually traced back to recurring corrosion on the + battery terminal.

Any thoughts?

Confirm spark,fuel,then start checking electrical connections,if the battery connections have given you no-start problems in the past double check them.This ultra cold weather mixed with corrosive ice melting tactics in the air can play havoc on any less than perfect electrical connections.

Dear Repairman Jack,

Hope you're well. I suspect the crank sensor has failed. The evidence: the tach doesn't move, when the engine cranks. Are you 100% sure that the fuel pump spins-up, when the key is turned to "on"?

When the crank sensor fails, the fuel pump does not get - via the engine control unit - a signal needed to keep running.

If the crank sensor is the factory original, it doesn't owe you a nickel.

Please see the FAQs for the replacement procedure.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Spook thank you for the suggestion. I wouldn't have thought to check that.

The ding-ding-ding from the instrument cluster makes hearing the pump difficult, but I can hear a low hum from the cargo section (and I do not have a retractable aerial).


I did substantial preventative maintenance on this car back in 2005 - including a new CPS sensor. But it's not impossible that it may have failed.

While it is much easier to get to on a 940 (vs. a 240) it would still be something I don't want to mess with unless I can confirm it's the problem. Aside from obviously broken wires and lack of pump function, is there a way to check the CPS function? I'll check the FAQ shortly

Having proved that the pump works with external power, I'm going to open the line at the rail in the morning and try a crank/pump test.

If I get fuel in my container, it will be no-spark exploration land.
If I get no fuel, I will try an external power test.

If that gives me no fuel, I will be pulling out hair and yelling as loud as my hoarse winter voice will let me - because the pickup hose popped off the pump again mainly because the pump lacks a hose-barb!

If I do get fuel, I'd guess that the CPS is the most likely culprit (and I'll be looking for a spare.

I'll keep ya posted.

Thanks!

Dear Repairmanjack,

Hope you're well. You're welcome. A five-year-old crank sensor is not likely to have failed, unless it was somehow damaged. I wonder, though, why the tach doesn't move, when the engine is turning.

I don't recall posts reporting the in-tank pump hose separating from the pump or the send unit. The reason: if the right length of hose was used, there's no slack in it. Thus, even if it "wanted" to come loose, it could only do so if it were pulled away. If the hose started to "back" off of the pump, it would be stopped before separation occurred, because the hose could not move any further up the nipple, on the underside of the send unit.

For the hose to back-off the pump: (a) the clamp would have to be loose or not present and (b) the hose would have to be cut so short, that it barely went onto the end of the pump's fuel hose nipple. If the hose was cut that short, it needs to be replaced. The hose should go to the "stop" position on both nipples, i.e., the hose should be pushed onto each nipple, until there's no gap between the end of the hose and the pump wall and the underside of the send unit, respectively. If this is done, the clamps simply ensure there's no leakage of fuel from the hose back into the tank (which would reduce the amount moved towards the engine). The hose to be used inside the tank must be fuel system pressure-rated hose.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Yoru

Yeah, that was a different posting - bit over a year ago... December 2009, I think.

Anyway, in March of 2009, the fuel pump died abruptly. I ordered the OEM replacement from Tasca Volvo and installed it with little trouble.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have re-used the original hose clamp on the pump. Because in December 2009, the hose popped off the pump inside the tank. I had to pull the unit in order to re-seat the hose and I installed a new clamp, torquing it down as securely as possible.

The hose itself in the blue-lined FI fuel hose. The replacement pump set-up did not come with a spare hose, but the new line was cut to the same length. It may-well be more flexible than the original hose, which would allow it to come lose if pressure exceeds the surface tension afforded by the hose and clamp

I noted that the replacement pump hose nipple lacked a barb but didn't see a good solution at the time. I'm thinking if this is *again* a hose issue, I will use some heat and *carefully* make a nipple barb on the pump end

So... we fast forward to February 2011 and I've got a nagging worry that the same old problem may be coming back to haunt me....

However, I am not going to jump to the same conclusion without some testing. And now that the snow has stopped... Looks like I am about to go tackle the problem...

I do hate winter some days...

Thanks for the thoughts.

I'm giving up on the blue FI hose. It doesn't stay on no matter how much clamping power I put on it.

I'm pulling the hose from a salvage assembly. Old but stiff OEM quality and a very tight fit.

1991-1995 Volvo 940 8-Valve Pre-Pump Outlet Hose
$4.99

If you go to the fcp site and view this hose you will see that it is accordion shaped therefore will never pull away from the pump.
Perhaps this is the hose for you?

http://www.fcpgroton.com/category-exec/category_id/149/nm/Fuel_Delivery/sub_top_menu_item/by_make-by_model-by_year/by_make/78/by_model/1140/by_year/44

Don't have an answer for you but, my 85 740 has a feature. The door button that activates the interior lights/door open ding, I can turn it and turn off the annoying ding. I would think volvo put this feature in other models.
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

Yeah, the push-in and turn feature. The 95 has it. It was nice for Volvo to include it, but it doesn't seem to stop the chimes when you turn the key for the 1st time after switching it off.

Thanks for the thought.