I posted this a long time ago and the car has now sat for several years. This is what happened. I had the car running wheels off and steering wheel off car on stands and I was purging a new power steering pump that I just installed, actually an upgrade to the 82' to the newer type. I was using vise grips gently clamped on the steering column and was turning the rack back and forth to get the air out when the vice grips touched the steering column casting (where the steering wheel would mount) and there was a small spark.
The engine immediately stopped and has never run again. I have replaced the fuel pump relay and no help. No blown fuses or anything obvious. I am at my wits now after several years.
I swear there is some sort of collision circuit that I tripped. I know newer cars have this and Volvo's are usually 10 years ahead of the crowd. So is there this circuit, and maybe a reset button?

Hi,

I too seriously doubt that you caused damage to anything connected below or going up to the steering column. The pin in the center area rides against a brass ring is the only power not inside a connector. The switches are farther out to each side.

On my 1978 K Jet there is a black box mounted up from the alternator. This is you ignition brain and it needs a signal from the distributor's Hall effect sensor. I would study the fine wires from the connector on the distributor to the black box for anything not looking solid and water proof

On my car I had this intermittent problem and I changed out the black box in vain as best I could tell.
Later, I found a ballast resistor with rusty looking corrosion on its terminal ends. As I remember it was white and 4 inches long.
I found it clipped up under the left strut housing or in that area. Out of sight out of mind!
Today's ignition coils have them built in, I think, but don't hold me to it!

Things seem to get or be better but every now and then, it had a hard to start issue again. Just like it was flooded out when I tried to restart. It would do it after it was operating just fine. Bam! Out of nowhere!
It finally got bad enough that I traced it to a metal cube relay mounted on the left fender. It had rusted on the bottom and gone up inside it. I was amazed it was worked at all. It should have shorted out.

Studying the schematics I showed me a very tiny symbol or blip on the lines. It was showing me there was a relay as part of the Lambda operating system.
It hooks up the oxygen sensor to the ECU for the feed back.
It also provides a separate circuit for the ECU to operate the Frequency Valve.
This valve controls mixture by pulsing the fuel flow through the fuel distributor to all of the mechanically "pressured open" flow injectors at one time.
Much like the indivual "pulsing electrical injector" of today as per the O2 sensor reading.

I had final paid enough attention, for a hard knocks education, to notice it was not buzzing with the car running after one of its harder starts.

So in conclusion, I was winding my way through two old car issues. Caused by Corrosion! Good ole' water and air!
These Interlaced electrical not-workings is what cause my fuel problems. It was just running too rich enough to be rough really occasionally! Bottom line it was back to poor connections.

You gotta find the places that need the due diligence of some maintenance or suffer the consequences of the over dues!
It's been almost 40 years and it's the down time that hurts machines the worst.

Phil

Is this your 1980 Volvo? Do you have the Bentley Bible or one of the Volvo "Greenies" for your year?

Andrew

Suspect through the ignition switch you've fried something else completely unrelated to the fuel pump.

First things first -- jumper the pumps and see if they're working on their own. I'd bet whatever the car is looking for to be functioning IN ORDER for the relay to fire the pumps is now not working. When you get that working, the pumps will kick off.

And it's been 21 years since mine has had the Volvo set up in it - so I don't know where to tell you to look.....but others will. I believe the factory relay has connections to the coil/ignition side or the alternator to determine that the engine is turning over/trying to start/running. If it's not getting that signal, it won't send current to the pumps. Admittedly - I'm curious. The only thing I can think of that might have been "hot" up there with the wheel off should be horn related.....

BTW, the racks (3 different CAM/TRW and 3 different ZF) are all interchangeable with different mounting hardware. There's really no "upgrade" from mid 70's to early 90's, although having had/installed at least 4 over the years, I prefer the feel of the ZF rack.