Hello fellow Volvo fans,

I have just added a 1988 245 DL wagon to my herd (2008 V50 T5 daily) as well as some other non prancing Moose rides.

First thing I did when I bought "Bluebarry" was to put new brakes and rear shocks on her to get ready for winter here in W. Michigan. After being down for a couple of weeks, I went to fire her up and take it for a test drive and....no start....what in the world?? It would turn over but not even try to fire. I pulled a couple of plugs and they smelled gassy, so I put a new coil and plugs in her and still nothing.

I don't have a second set on hands at the moment to confirm the no spark, but I am pretty confident that is the case.

Is there a Pareto list of opinions that I should go after?

I look forward to a long happy relationship with my brick and trust this is just an anomaly. It just seems super weird that it was running when I pulled it into the garage to do the brakes.

Any suggestions on where to look next would be appreciated.

Not sure this is an 80/20 thing...



Seriously, the way I would troubleshoot this given your observations:

Make sure it isn't flooded by something like a broken fuel regulator or excessive cranking without spark. Pull the plugs, let it dry out, then replace them, check for fuel in the FPR's vacuum line, squirt in a shot of ether and see if it fires.

Then I'd follow the troubleshooting chart Phil posted after giving the Hall effect wiring a critical look for obvious signs of rotting insulation. This is NOT the wiring harness trouble that ended in '87. There are not any fuses involved with spark.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the house. She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery!'
The husband said, 'Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?' 'Doesn't matter,' she said. 'Just get out.'

Thanks Art! I am planning to get deeper into it this weekend. I have replaced the coil and plugs and picked up a cap and rotor last night to baseline that portion of the system.

There was a fuse holder of some sort that was attached to the drivers side fender in front of the strut tower in a white plastic holder that disintegrated when I was cleaning in that area. The fuse looks a little old although intact, but I bought a new one of those as well and will replace. Even though the housing came apart, the portion that the fuse plugs into is still intact, so I zip tied it to one of the power steering hoses.

Thanks, Ian

That white fuse holder on the drivers strut tower is the one I referenced in my earlier post. It's the main fuse for the F.I. system, they often fall apart or melt with time. If yours is in that shape it's highly suspect. I usually splice in a waterproof replacement from the auto parts store. They call it waterproof, but you still have to keep an eye on it and pull the fuse and shine it up on a regular basis. Or it will cause no start problems.
--
Bruce S. near D.C.

Yes, in 1988, that fuse is for the fuel.



http://cleanflametrap.com/emfuse.html
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

Hello fellow Brick boarders!

Well, the wagon is rolling again and I suspect you guys were on top of the topic as it relates to the fuse holder.

I did also replace the cap and rotor as well as the fuse and she fired right up.

I like the idea of replacing in a weatherproof housing as right now, it is out in the open.

You guys rock and Merry Christmas to all.

Thanks, Ian

Here's the FI system fuseholder I put in my 83, as the original -same as the one in Art's pic - was looking dodgy and there were plenty of stories on this BB about them going bad and stranding the car:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue-sea-systems--in-line-waterproof-fuse-holder--11975869?recordNum=7

If you Google "waterproof fuse holder" you will likely find lower cost vendors of the same thing.

In my Pick-and-Pull excursions over the years I've found these underhood in many early 90's GM FWD cars, and pulled a few of them at a cost of $1 or $2 each. I think you could run these GM "WeatherPak" connections completely submerged in salt water and still be OK.

--
Son's XC70, my 83 244DL, 89 745 (Chev LT-1 V8), 98 S90 (recently sold) and XC60. Also '77 MGB and four old motorcycles

Check and clean all of the fuel supply related fuses. There are two on the inside fuse block, and one 25AMP under the hood on the strut tower.
--
Bruce S. near D.C.

Thanks Bruce, I think there is fuel as the plugs were wet and smelled of gas, but I will double check per your suggestion.

Thanks, Ian

Hi,

Pull the coil wire from the distributor and lay it close (1/4 " away) to a metal part on the car.
I like the the strut tower studs as I can see it from the drivers seat.
If you have it there and not the plugs the rotor button, distributor cap is bad. It should fire at least one plug. Unlikely all four are totally bad.

You should have a LH2.2 with a hall sensor so you might have to follow a sequence from this site.

http://cleanflametrap.com/manIgnition76.jpg

Phil

Thanks Phil,

I will give that a go and I appreciate your response.

Ian