Hi all,
I have a 1989 245 that I have been working the bugs out of for a while and have been daily driving for about 2500 miles without much drama. This morning was pretty cold (2F with wind chill -10F). The car started and idled like normal. I pulled out of the unheated garage and got onto the road. When I pressed the accelerator, it fell on it's face... 5 - 10 mph was about the limit. Releasing the accelerator brought back good idle.

Anyone have any experience with this issue?

Thanks, Eric

Hi Eric,

This car hasn't been in Sweden for many years.

I would repeat the suggestion to obtain the OBD codes. Then reset the ECU by momentarily lifting out the 25A fuse. Drive it 10 miles and check for codes again, or symptoms. No sense in arguing or guessing, if you don't have to; checking the codes is a first step, and you won't get that cold doing it. Check your owners manual regarding the service reminder lamp.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

A TV can insult your intelligence, but nothing rubs it in like a computer.

It was a much warmer day today, and I took my 4 year old daughter out and taught her / had her check the codes for me. 1-1-1. Nothing recorded. The car ran great today. I almost wonder if the coil wire not being seated entirely was the problem. Anything else I can do here?

Guess just drive it and watch it. Could have been spark jump under a load.
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

OK, so I am posting back... My wife took the car today, and again it was very cold. Wind chill -20F. She said she was able to get it to 40 mph (she is pretty tenatious) but it had no power climbing any hills. She got to where she needed to go. I had her make sure the ignition wires were seated good and had her put a can of fuel line drier in the tank. It ran fine after that. It sat several hours then back to not wanting to go again. I went to where she was after work and ran the codes. Again, 1-1-1. I thought I'd drive it to see what was up, and it ran fine. I drove it 20 more miles with no incident.

In the last 5000 miles I have done (to the engine) the timing belt service, belts and hoses, complete tune up, fuel pressure regulator, oil seperator, flame trap and all associated hoses, main fuel pump, engine computer, oxygen sensor, coil, misc. gaskets and seals, battery, and exhaust system. What I have not completed yet is the air box thermostat valve. Would that be a possible culprit? What have I missed that would cause this problem? Would the AMM create this intermittent issue in the very cold, but not anytime above 25F?

I did thoroughly inspect the intake hose and it looks good.

Thanks again for your consideration in this issue.
Eric

the airbox thermostat is not the cause...failure here cause only hot air which eventually cooks the AMM>

Since the problem seems to be Ambient Temp related...I'll take a stab...

The large Flex snorkle that connects the AMM to the Throttle Body...can develop cracks or a hole(s). The cracks may close when the plastic is warm but stay open when extremely cold. Take it off and inspect esp the ribs for cracks.

A split or crack will allow unmetered air, since it's on the inboard side of the AMM, and the engine will run like it's fuel starved.

Adding the Heat and checking the wires gave it time to warm up enough to close the cracks.

Sorry

I failed to read...I failed to read your final entry.

my bad

Check the air intake duct from the Air Mass Meter to the throttle body for splits and leaks.

This was my issue giving somewhat similar symptoms. Idle or light-throttle cruise was OK, but calling for power to accelerate into traffic caused the engine to lean to the right on its soft mounts, opening up a split in the duct and allowing intake air to bypass the AMM. This caused bucking, a huge flat spot and near stalling.

If your car runs relatively smoothly - no bucking or lurching - when it is being low on power, I would suspect a fuel starvation situation.
--
Bob: Son's XC70, daughter's 940, my 81 and 83 240's, 89 745 (V8) and S90. Also '77 MGB and some old motorcycles

I'll go take a look at it. Wouldn't that create a consistant problem, though? I came home from work tonight (after I lost the radiator in the other car... it's been a good day), and took a look at the car. Nothing stood out as being wierd, except for the coil wire being not seated entirely. The car started and ran perfectly tonight. This may be a Volvo Noob misconseption, but isn't Sweden cold? Are these cars finicky in the bitter cold?

The fuel starvation could be as simple as ice in your fuel...trapped in the fuel filter.

Could be a dead AMM, swap in your known good spare and see!
Dan

That would be a great idea, but I don't have one...

You need one as well as several other parts that are commonly known to fail. Having used spares on hand will keep you going.

Do you have any codes on the OBD?
Dan

CEL come on? Any codes even if it did not? How much gas in the tank?

The CEL always comes on when it first starts. When it gets a bit of heat in it, say 1-2 min. run time it goes out. As long as it runs, it doesn't come back on.

I didn't have time to check the codes this morning, but it typically doesn't store anything.

There are about 50 miles on a full tank.

That is not the Check engine light it is the service light.

Could you please explain the difference? Is it normal to Volvo's to have that light on at start up, or is there something wrong with it I need to address soon?

The service light is just a mileage counter since the last time someone pushed the button or flipped the lever to reset it. It has nothing to do with the codes or the Check Engine light.

It's not impossible for the CEL to come on and then shut off though.

What does the light say? "service"/"service soon" or "check engine" ?

Nope...nothing is impossible but the description:

"The CEL always comes on when it first starts. When it gets a bit of heat in it, say 1-2 min. run time it goes out."

Has never bee seen here for an ODBI car. The word "always" was the key for me.