There are two problems-

1) It is cold this morning and my '87 245 started and died. It flooded. Pressing the gas pedal to the floor got it restarted. It is getting too much fuel at low temps. Any ideas on how to fix ( recalibrate )this ?

Once the car started the system voltage dropped to battery voltage. The voltage decreased when the fan was turned on, and did not increase with higher rpm. The belt was on and the alternator was turning. The battery warning light was not on. Shutting it off and turning the key to run only lit the oil pressure light.

A quick look at the fuses and they looked okay. It was cold so I just looked at them and gave them a little spin. No change. I'll have a longer look once it warms up a little, maybe above zero, but any ideas on where to start would be appreciated.

Thanks

Greg

No charge, no warning lights problem was a bad voltage regulator (possibly bad brushes - one was only 5/32" long).

Greg

Funny how coincidences go like that... Surely it was charging very soon before the cold snap. Otherwise, battery charge would have been compromised and it would not have started..

Glad you got it sorted out.
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

That's just darn cold...

Granted, it shouldn't be a problem with a Volvo. But it is a 26 year old car. My '84 was good to about 10 below. Colder than that, if I didn't do it just right the first time, it'd start, die, flood. Pulling the fuel pump fuse would get me going (coldest night she saw was 27 below), but not sure that'd work in a '87.

That said, you got it running. Great! Keep in mind, cold batteries are sad batteries. As is anything else.. including volt meters. Check voltage with a hand held multi meter next time, see what it has to say.

Block heaters are great, but my opinion is.. best chance of getting a car going in such cold temps is to bring the battery inside at night. Especially if it's an older battery.

Stay warm!


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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Here is something I would do when it was really cold out to start my 240.I would first turn the key to kII and wait a few seconds. All the dash lights on waiting maybe 5-10 seconds. From there I would turn to kIII and the car always started with no problems. I theorized that i the first few seconds the cables were being warmed by the battery current and that after that short spell the curent would flow easier/faster to start the car. This may sound crazy to some. My neighbor asked me why my car always started in the bitter cold and his 240 did not I told him my secret. He tried it and never had a problem with winter starting. Doesn't cost you anything to try. But do make sure you don't have a battery drain somewhere like your power door locks.

No dash light in KPII...no charge until the alternator spools up and self-excites...unless the alternator ground wire or big red wire (either to the starter or starter to alternator) are the culprit and then you are SOL.

Low voltage can cause issue with the electronics particularly as the resistance rises in cold weather. To eliminate it as an anomaly, fully charge the battery before starting next time.