Volvo RWD 200 Forum

INDEX FOR 10/2025(CURRENT) INDEX FOR 1/2008 200 INDEX

[<<]  [>>]


THREADED THREADED EXPANDED FLAT PRINT ALL
MESSAGES IN THIS THREAD




  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start 200 1991

1991 240 Sedan, Blue, no ABS, 320K, daughter's car for past 11 years.

I agreed to have a look over lunch hour. Found it cranks strong but not a hint of fire.

Left the key on, popped the hood, and checked the OBD. Had a 232 on fuel side, 111 on ignition.

Took out a test light, rolled back the AMM boot, and saw good battery on the orange lead. Checked at the coil, also good battery.

Got out the remote start switch (jumper between test socket and battery positive) and cranked with test light connected across coil (term 1 to 15) and the light remained dark, telling me the coil was not getting charged. Steady battery seen at the white/red (coil#1) terminal.

Double checked by unplugging the coil wire, then connecting a jumper lead from ground to a scratch awl with a rubber handle held near the open coil high tension terminal to verify there is no spark. Plugged the coil wire back in.

Suspect CPS. Gave its lead a shake and repeated cranking. Still nothing.

Got out the DMM. Checked resistance of CPS at its plug. 160 ohms.

Got out T25 screwdriver to remove EZK power stage. Cold fingers not enough. Needed to put T25 bit on 1/4" ratchet to withdraw badly corroded self tappers from fender. With power stage connector boot rolled back, I see 300mV DC on input gray lead referred to the battery post. Cranking causes the display to bounce around 1 to 2V or if AC measured, about 1 VAC on my cheap permanently autoranging Walmart DMM. Meter or test light still shows battery (through coil) at the white/red lead out of the power stage.

Got out 8mm nutdriver to remove power stage from 89 wagon (my ride there) and again, the cold fingers wouldn't cut it without going for a ratchet. Kinda awkward in front of the battery with little room for hands. Swapped in the ignition amplifier from the wagon and now my daughter has a dead wagon in her driveway, but a running 244.

After work tonight, I'll return with a spare power stage for the wagon.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start 200 1991

Art, you are truly the Volvo whisperer ! Glad you figured it out.

Scott in Dallas








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start 200 1991

I have nothing to offer except to say when I see a question posted by Art it scares me to death.

I was in a small plane once in rough weather and the pilot moaned and cussed a little. I thought if he's scared I should be mortified! I was after that!

Hawk








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start - update 200 1991

Thank you Hawk. For your kind words and chuckle...

By the way, the 91 with the crank no start problem continues to start without fail two weeks later. And although the 89 wagon I put the suspect module in is not driven daily, it has started every time since as well. It may be some time before the trouble recurs, but if it does I will find this thread and append it.

Thanks again!
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming
1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it, 2. Whenever you're right, shut up.
-Patrick Murra








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start - update 200 1991

Final update. Two months later, no recurrence of trouble. And the suspect module continues to perform flawlessly, dangling in front of the battery on its pigtail. Diagnosis: oxidized contacts.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

Update on crank, no start... 200 1991

Brian Mee hit the nail on the head for me when he suggested the moral of this story "always to have an additional 240 around." That really sums up my family's automotive thinking over the past decade and a half. Not so much to have swap-ready parts, but to have in-depth experience in a narrow field.

Yes, it was warm summer day almost 15 years ago a gentleman pushing a baby stroller past my driveway stopped, seeing multiple 240s with me under one, to ask me if I knew I shared a hobby with General Colin C. Powell. I questioned, thinking, "oh, you mean he owns Volvos?" and he introduced himself (and I fail to remember the exact relation) as he surprised me to explain the General worked on them.

Years later when I read General Powell's autobiography, I learned he enjoyed the hobby the same way I do -- learning and understanding every part of the automobile. And when the time seems to slip away for keeping up with 8 old 240s I feel encouraged to read a busy future Secretary of State found the time to provide his kids with safe cars and eventually take 30 of his 122's from rescues to daily drivers.

The reason for my post was to capture a logical troubleshooting approach while it was still fresh in mind. As joekidd points out it was concise. A little too concise. Some email questions "why did you ..." make it clear to me there were assumptions I made not stated. And there is this implication I've found the root cause, as in solved the problem for certain. Not so.

Because RolandP compliments me on troubleshooting procedure with saving a copy, I feel compelled to explain my steps in more detail. Well, I figure if you've made it this far reading, you are specially tolerant of wordiness and detail, as much as I love the man of few words diagnoses.

Also, because I was not working in a heated garage on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I took some shortcuts. We all know the danger in skipping the steps in a logical procedure.

So here it is, explained: EZ-116K Ignition Amplifier Diagnostics

Found it cranks strong but not a hint of fire.

Not said: Has recent timing belt, and I do well recognize the sound of an engine cranking without the compression of all cylinders offering resistance. One should not assume as much as I did. Check under the oil cap and make sure the cam is turning.

Left the key on, popped the hood, and checked the OBD. Had a 232 on fuel side, 111 on ignition.

Beware red herring: The step here should be one to determine whether spark or fuel is missing. Problem is, I have the habit of checking OBD first thing. Also, I bring a suspicion along that this 91 is repeating an old trouble solved by replacing fuse 6 (peculiar to 91-93) with a copper fuse, and I know if that was the present problem, there would be no codes or a 111 on fuel. The 232 is an emissions code which, by itself, never causes a crank, no start.

Took out a test light, rolled back the AMM boot, and saw good battery on the orange lead.

Here is a very valuable trick. Doing this verifies the fuel injection's power system where it is so often vulnerable -- along the red lead fuse on the fender in 83-90, at fuse 6 on the inside fuse panel 91-93, and the battery terminal-mounted PAL fuse on late production 93. Just be aware Volvo changed the wire color from orange to red/black when the fuel rails began to sport Schrader valves in 92.

Finding voltage here gives me confidence in that fuse wiring and the fuel injection relay above the passenger's feet. And with the key on, the voltage is measured with a load on it, so even a sensitive multimeter will give you the truth.

Checked at the coil, also good battery.

We are checking electrical power because poor electrical connections comprise an overwhelming number of reasons for any suddenly dead 240. Look at the terminals on a 240's coil. Out in the weather. I don't want to wiggle them -- not yet. I want to find out exactly where the bit of oxide is that is keeping this car from starting. So with a test light, I probe the coil's terminal 15 right at the threaded stud. If the car was blocking traffic, well maybe then wiggling the crusty terminals is a good expedient.

Got out the remote start switch (jumper between test socket and battery positive) and cranked with test light connected across coil (term 1 to 15)...

Having quickly verified the spark and fuel systems both have a power supply, this is a quick and fairly universal way to start on verifying spark. The coil has to be charged and discharged to make spark. With a small lamp connected in parallel to the coil primary, we can see whether the timing signal, ignition computer, and ignition amplifier are performing the function a simple pair of points used to in our older cars. If the light flashes when the engine is cranked, all that is then needed is to check the coil high voltage terminal gets its spark to each of the plugs.

Double checked by unplugging the coil wire, then connecting a jumper lead from ground to a scratch awl with a rubber handle held near the open coil high tension terminal

Double checked indeed. Without the flashing light above, this step is redundant. Habit again, I admit. Without a test light handy, checking for spark at the coil goes a long way toward eliminating those "breaker points" components from suspicion, but because the distributor rotor, cap, wires and plugs are also needed for effective spark, the verification is not complete.


Suspect CPS. Gave its lead a shake and repeated cranking.

Here was another assumption of mine. It seemed like many years had passed since I changed the CPS on this car, but I do remember reaching it lying on a piece of plywood over the motor. Before I did it, shaking the old one would get it to work for a bit. Habits die hard.

Got out the DMM. Checked resistance of CPS at its plug. 160 ohms.

Experience helps here, but this check is not really conclusive. I've seen this test expose a bad one as well as not. 160 ohms is an acceptable number, I knew without consulting the book, having replaced intermittent failing sensors when catching their windings at 500-900 ohms upward to several hundred thousand. Just remember when you measure this, the temperature of the wire affects the reading a lot more than you might imagine, when you compare it to the nominal quoted 250 ohms. To convict one, you are looking for an open circuit, or one that is being conducted through corrosion.


I see 300mV DC on input gray lead referred to the battery post. Cranking causes the display to bounce around 1 to 2V

Again, not really conclusive. The "300mV" is going to vary depending on the integrity of a lot of ground connections and paths. Toying with this later, in a warm garage, I found I could reduce that base voltage to 25mV (key on, lights on) by cracking and retightening the body ground from the battery and the fuel rail grounds for the engine management systems. But the meter pretty consistently bounced around a couple of volts catching the pulses from the EZK ignition computer while cranking, so this may not have been conclusive for input to the power stage, but I found it a strong enough indication to say "has power and input, but no output."

Swapped in the ignition amplifier from the wagon

Ok, I swapped the part and the car starts and runs, poorly at first, as it cleared the fuel from the cylinders. It was getting late in my lunch hour and I now needed a ride home. This is where I cut corners. I did so, because when I pulled the module I saw the connector was filled with connector grease.

After work tonight, I'll return with a spare power stage for the wagon.

With the part swap, I jumped over an important step by not trying the suspect part in the donor car -- or even just putting it back in temporarily, just to assure myself the act of swapping didn't just clean a dirty connection.

The weather and circumstances kept me from fetching the wagon for a day, and when I did, I just popped in a junkyard power stage and drove it home. Weekend arrived, and with it the time to examine the old power stage.

The unit checked good on the bench (testing is a story for another thread) and in the wagon. I was hoping to have a confirmed dead power stage for a post mortem, but instead all indications are the original problem was just a poor connection in its plug. I am running the suspected unit in the wagon now, and even this morning at -3F it starts right up and runs. For now I'll just leave it dangling next to the battery and keep a spare in the glove box.

So once again, the short cut was a poor choice. The expedient of part swapping comes with an obligation to repeat the swap (most critically with electrical parts) to confirm the "dead" part is indeed dead. Right now I think having a spare 240 handy circumvented what might have been a "reseated power stage connector" solution.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Update on crank, no start... 200 1991

OK, I know this is an old post; I just came across it in dealing with a similar situation on my '84, but I feel like I want to print a copy out to keep in my wallet. I know there's big differences between those years, but the slow walk through the diagnostic process is really illuminating. Thanks so much Art for your generosity in sharing so much thoughtful detail.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Update on crank, no start... 200 1991

Hey Mark, I forgot about this thread. Good to know there's something still useful in it.

It reminds me something about screen names. You see Dan Marino posts in this thread. Years ago the Brickboard Dan Marino bought me and my wife a sandwich at a local sub shop after spending an hour in my driveway.

We told him about the time in the 70's meeting the real Dan Marino while in line at a Walt Disney World lunch venue. We had a delightful conversation with Dan and his wife about which I don't recall anything, only to realize he was famous after we parted ways.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. ~Malcolm S. Forbes








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Update on crank, no start... 200 1991

I also took a fresh copy of this elaborate no-start diagnostic description.

Thank you so much Art for all that work you are doing for us.

I hate the day this site will fall.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start 200 1991

Thanks Art,

You are the man! Based on this, I ordered myself a spare power stage today. Might be fun trying to find one around here in Montana if it were to fail. I took Daisy by the dealership in Billings to show the interior work off to the kid in the parts department. You should have seen the look on his face!
--
Bob








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start 200 1991

Great trouble shooting.

I also have a 1991 so I kept a pdf copy for my file.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Crank no start 200 1991

Art
How about the rotor?

Fuel system relay, bad coil wire, cap, fuses?

Dan








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Sorry Dan, I should have highlighted the second to last sentence in my post:

" Swapped in the ignition amplifier from the wagon and now my daughter has a dead wagon in her driveway, but a running 244. "

Easy to miss this with all the details. She's driving my grandchildren around in it, so I'm pretty confident we are OK with the fix.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

hi artben- always a distinct pleasure to read your posts. have to look at power stage module on my 92 245. unaware of it. still a student of you sages on these cars. your quote about the fan belt isfunny as hell,but i would add busted clutch cable near stinking creek,md at 2am, corroded fasteners reading 10k ohms resistance, and relay clusterf@#!ks. thanks tons oldduke








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

That part went over my head!

Glad all is well I worked on both daughters 240's this weekend.
Dan








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Thanks for sharing Art. There's nothing like having a spare part around to switch in.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Great stuff Art as always! Makes me so glad my 240s are pre-89 as well.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

I think the moral of the story is to always have an additional 240 around.

I'm in the process of replacing all the parts taken on the 90 240 DL over the last 5 years to keep the 91 204 running. Yes that included a power stage and a fuel pump relay. Will need the 90 240 DL for son#4 to drive in a couple of years.

I learned that one must have a "brace" of Jaguars if one wants to keep an 86 XJ-6 running also.

Brian Mee

90 240 DL
91 240
92 945T
86 Jaguar XJ-6








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

You couldnt be more wrong with the moral of the story. Art gave you precise concise troubleshooting tips to narrow down the problem to the ignition amplifier.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

I have no idea what an "ignition amplifier" is.

For me the lesson learned is that it's great to have Art as your father.

Nice job coming through for the family.
--
1992 Volvo 240 & 1998 Volvo C70








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Hi Dan,

It's mounted at the driver's side & beside negative battery post.

Travis








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

HaHa, I'm used to Art's great photos.
Going from my poor memory, is that the small metal looking relay thingy near the battery?
--
1992 Volvo 240 & 1998 Volvo C70








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Uncle Dan M.

Uncle Art B could offers mad skills in industrial photography, to be sure. In every photo image here on our brickboard and on Uncle Art B's www.cleanflametrap.com!

The ignition power stage is located, as you sit in the Volvo 240 driver seat, looking forward, to the right and slight ahead of the battery on the vertical inner fender sheet metal, sort of aft of the North American driver side headlight.

You may have to release the battery and slide to the engine compartment center in the battery tray.

Most likely, you have to remove the battery to gain proper access to the ignition module power stage.

We keep spares, of course, in the truck.

Another brickboarder brickhead makes useful mention of separating the power stage from the metal heet sink, clean the mating surfaces, and using a durable thermal paste compound, like what you use between your computer process and the heat sink.

Images for you ....



After market Volvo 240 power stage image found on the turbobricks, througha google image search. Though as a test without actual 240 engine bay mount location. (Bing still sucks.)

Strut mount is failing here. Very domed and separating from the inner bearing assembly.

BLACK BRAKE FLUID SHALL NOT BE TOLERATED in your RWD Volvo! Replace brake fluid every two years.







Questions?

Hope that helps.

RWD Volvo Boyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Kitty, thanks for the great photos. I've never seen that thing before. I'll have to look at it tonight in the garage on my 1992 wagon.
--
1992 Volvo 240 & 1998 Volvo C70








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200 1991

Uncle Dan Marino,

Very glad to help! Though we'd also like to thank our Uncle Art Benstein for all and everything, too.

I hope you're able to resolve this and other issues.

I'm still waiting to move up to a brand new 1993 240.

Maybe a model year 2016 Volvo 240?

Thank you,

Fuzzy Grey Kitty all Excited about them RWD Volvos with Manual Transmission!
--
Though teh Fuzzy Grey Kitty lounges on the rear hat shelf of the Volvo 240 in the Sun.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

EZK power stage 200

For me the lesson learned is that it's great to have Art as your father.

Wholly, indeed!

I also have a 1991 Volvo 240 sedan. Bought in June 2000.

Is it me, or are we seeing hot weather components failing more often during the cold months?

I guess they can fail anytime.

cheers,

dud.







<< < > >>



©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.