The car ran reliably until recently. Then my White 1985 244 automatic stopped running at all.

Trouble began when We put in a radio. A previous owner had something against radio and antenna wiring, and had removed all of it. My buddy used to install car stereos for a living and managed to get a junkyard deck installed and sounding great. Maybe it was a coincidence, but the car stopped running. Two weekends of fiddling around and checking obvious things didn't help. We have confirmed that the fuel pumps are pumping, the spark plugs are sparking,and the motor is cranking away. But not even a cough. Holding a screwdriver on the injectors to feel for the pulses when cranking, I feel none. In my 245, I can distinctly feel the injectors pulsing with this trick, and that car runs. How can I get the injectors on the 244 to squirt again? Any advice appreciated.

Thinking about your radio work.

In 740s there are two identical relays under the hood, I think that one is for radio static suppression, and the other is for the fuel injection.

When troubleshooting fuel problems, it was common to swap the relays as radio suppression was not that important.

Perhaps the radio work caused a problem with the FI relay.

Volvo often tried new stuff in some cars, and used old stuff in newer cars - for instance, a tech told me that our "88 645 GLE had a 240 engine, and should run forever.

I would suggest looking at the 700/900 FAQ as you might have a system that corresponds to their advice.

Also, many systems of that era may overlap.

Worst case - you might have your buddy reverse his work.

Thanks James! I will have to track down that second FI relay you mentioned (not the one by the passengers feet under the glove box).

Regarding your picture of the Dana component you posted - Dana made cruise controls for Buick - see wikipedia.

Wow, I wonder if it came out of an old Buick?

I bought the car from someone in the neighborhood for $450 and was pleasantly surprised when I tried out the Cruise Control and it worked!

I've got a '91 245 (good running wagon) and a much newer Nissan Pathfinder, but the old '85 Volvo 244 was my favorite to drive, before the recent trouble started. Light steering,good acceleration,nice brakes.

While I can't relate the missing fuel injection to the radio work, I can give you a tip on troubleshooting.

Check first at the orange wire on the AMM for battery. This same circuit supplies the battery voltage to the injectors. If the pumps are running as you say (when cranking) the fuel ECU which supplies the ground side of the injectors is getting the signal it needs from the ignition computer to get them squirting.

If the test passes, and you have voltage, the only fault I can imagine causing no injector operation with fuel pumps running would occur as a result of the rotting engine harness insulation. The wiring to the injectors can short out and take the ECU with it.



Check this voltage with the key in KP-II.



--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Be careful of your tongue: It's kept in a wet place and could easily slip.

Dear Art,

As the next step in diagnosing my "no fuel injectors squirting = no start" troubles, this weekend I am going to meticulously execute the ECU terminal power report you described and post the results for your review.

Meanwhile, let me invite you to indulge in idle speculation. Forgive my halting grasp of what may seem obvious.

If I've learned anything from you so far, it's that without power to the orange AMM wire in KP-2, fuel injectors won't squirt out gas.

As you recall from our previous episodes, I checked the 25amp fender fuse and it's big red wiring for intermittent conductivity issues. To be certain, I replaced this suspicious fuse and it's brittle white housing with a cleaned and de-oxed assembly from the junkyard. But no joy yet. in KP-2, still no power to the orange wire on the AMM.

Would you care to speculate on the comparative likelihood of two causes for my no-start condition?

Behind door number 1: No power to the orange AMM wire in KP-2 is a JETRONIC ECU related problem.

Door number 2: No power to the orange AMM wire in KP-2 is an internal or external connection fault with my ignition switch.

Thanks for your patient assistance,

Clueless in Seattle

Hi,

From you are saying you are not getting power to the big red wire on the relay.
The orange wire gets its power from there but the ignition switch needs to be on.
Maybe the ignition switch is failing most of the time when you crank it.
They are touched by human hands and quite often as you can imagine. Therefore, are subject to wear or abuse.
These things don’t last forever but they do try!

The injectors will not fire unless the ECU says to do so! It grounds each injector set through the ECU.
That is started by the ICU out in the engine compartment when it gets a signal from the distributor that the engine is turning over. The power stays or should be staying on during the whole time the switch is being turned.
The switch brings power over from the battery fuse outside and from the terminal block on the fender. That terminal block feeds the cars fuse panel that feeds the switch.
A badly connected fuse there can be the cause of intermittent shut downs.


When it comes to the harness, Most of the time, it is my belief that the gray connector on the firewall has some issues too.
It’s right up there in lots of air flow to get corroded as it’s not very water resistant.
Who knows if they ever get looked into in thirty years?

Mostly ‘85-‘86 its a failure of wires in that engine side down harness.
I have cut mine open and found one yellow wire with the insulation rotten.
I pulled a new 2Ft. one in by twisting and soldering a fresh wire on to its end.
This wire went only to the temperature gauge but I surmise that it was touching another wire in the harness, that was also rotten. It was that doing the killing of my car.
Maybe the orange wire was one other being touched.
All of this had nothing to do with no power to the AMM’s orange wire, as far as knew then.
Your trouble appears different to me but I’m standing on the outside looking IN!
The red and orange wires are yelling “remember me!”

Closing the relay manually, without power to the relay, is still going to stop everything. The relay is a safety feature. In your case it’s an anti-thief feature. (:-)
I was tempted to tell you to hot wire the red or orange wire but that may not POWER on the ECU correctly. If and when you things like this, indiscriminately, it could back feed onto other wires elsewhere. That’s where the danger lives to kill delicate (I love it only one way, baby) electronics.

You can replace the backside of the ignition switch. You unplug it first and look over the plug socket for overheating and such.
Under the socket there are two screws to remove the actual contact block with it’s terminals.
The key rotates that block of contacts. You can check it’s functioning for repetitive action in your hands. You can also figure out where the red wire gets its power and how it move it across to your systems relay wire.

Keep hunting you are gathering good clues!

Phil

Thanks Phil! You 'connected the dots' on the relationships between various components.

I suspected the grey connector on the firewall too, so I cleaned it and sprayed some 'Deoxit' on the connections (which all looked ok)but no change.

The good news is after putting in a junkyard ECU, my AMM orange wire has power at KP-2 and the fuel pump/system relays are working again, so the car starts -- but runs terrible! No power, hard starting.

Your hard-earned cure for a wiring harness fault on your car caught my attention. Pulling the engine area wiring harness wrap off, and inspecting every inch of every wire may be unavoidable for me too.

But first I'll read old posts on 240 rough running and wait for more advice. Saturday will be my day to go down to the garage and try again.

Dear Michael,

Speculation and comparing likelihood of cause and effect is a shortcut method. In other words, one can speculate about the cause of abdominal pain and then compare the likelihood it is caused by a hot appendix. But we don't remove one based on the percentages. We're beyond shortcuts here. You need to diagnose electrical apparatus with electrical tools; visual inspection works sometimes but not always.

The power to the orange wire is an electrical clue that your red wire is good AND your ignition switch is good AND your ECU is good AND your system relay is good. That clue verifies several ingredients to one result: power to the same wiring as runs the injectors. Without it, one of those ingredients is missing.

Which one can be inferred by likelihood, as the most common trouble of all is the red wire. This is why I asked you to begin there. When you thought you had identified the problem with the red/black wire but retracted that, almost a week ago I asked you to test that electrically. I said:

"Because you said this voltage was missing, I did not bother to ask you about the first step I suggested -- dealing with the red wire and the 25A fuse. As long as you are taking readings at the relay, check the voltage at terminal 30. That's the one with the large, heavy red wire. Check it with the key in KP-II as well as with the key off. You should have battery there regardless."

"Perhaps I should mention that the Bentley manual jumper wire trick used on the fuel pump relay harness to test fuel pump operation with engine stopped worked fine when we began troubleshooting, and the fuel injector rail spurted out plenty of fuel when we opened it up and then cranked the engine. But now, that jumper wire trick does not make the pumps spin. And defintely no clicking from the fuel pump relay, even if I take off the cover and close the contacts manually."

Maybe I wrecked the ECU when testing the fuel pumps with the jumper wire trick from the Bentley manual. That figures, because I have no background, training, or aptitude for this work. But I'm not a surgical intern, you aren't the chief resident, and my ECU isn't a patient's burst appendix. I'm working on an old Volvo in my spare time on weekends because I admire and enjoy driving these cars. Maybe I did harm, but the Hippocratic oath does not apply in this case, thank god.

How true! It's just an old car. And for you it's just a weekend hobby.

The medical metaphor was limited to pointing out how relatively useless "idle speculation" is versus the effectiveness of gathering data for a diagnosis. It can't be extended to moral judgement. It's just an old car.

You've got three valid pathways here https://www.brickboard.com/RWD/volvo/1659019/220/240/260/280/iatrogenesis.html There's always a fourth option too, but I'll leave that for someone else to suggest.

Best of luck to you Michael. Our schedules are reversed, I mostly drive the Volvos on the weekends.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

What's the fastest liquid on earth? Milk, because it's pasteurized before you see it.

I put in the $12 junkyard ECU and it helped. The yellow wire going to the AMM gets power at KP2 now. The system and fuel pump relays started working again.

The engine staggered to life. It runs badly now, but it runs, which is progress. But it is really hard to start, lots of cranking. Seems to catch sometimes when I release the key from KP3 and it lopes and chuggs and shakes into an idle. Runs quite rough if opening the throttle at all, and the power drops out.

With the AMM disconnected, it seems to run the same in limp mode. The engine was quitting at idle until I screwed out the the throttle body adjustment knob quite a bit to bring the rpm up. A test drive around the neighborhood offered none of the smooth performance I enjoyed a month ago. There was very little acceleration or power available, but for the crazy thrill of it I coaxed the car a couple of blocks to a gas station and filled the tank up. I hope that wasn't overly optimistic.

Next, I tried installing the spare Ignition Control Module I pulled from a junkyard for $12, but no change afterward.

In retrospect, my problem with the 85 244 started before any radio install work was recently done. I had noticed that power and torque was way down when accelerating from a stop. It would still run at freeway speed at that point. Then we put in a radio and things stopped working.

To check for vacuum leaks, I tried spraying carb cleaner around the rubber accordion, fuel injectors, throttle body exterior, manifold gasket, all over.No change in idle speed.

I am getting an intake manifold gasket to put on next weekend. I wonder if a clogged flame trap cause these symptoms? Anyway, I'll clean it out while the manifold is off.

Hi,

Yep you sure got a mess going on in the car. I feel there is something, basic, wrong.
From the symptoms it’s sounds like it’s got an “ill” timing sequence and a dead idle control valve problem. It very well be there with the engine.
The relay suddenly working leads us back to the “wires of communication”, that miraculously connected?
Getting back the power to the relay was part of the answer to this but just swapping in the ECU didn’t make it come to life just yet.
I know it under the list of possibilities but in itself, the engines running system is too terrible to correct it all.

We have got to do a scientific approach here and do only one thing at a time in basic steps.
The Fire, fuel and air triangle.
To me firing is off and is a number one in priority. Things must be in time at the right time with pistons and valves, period.
Fuel can just be lying around here and there. The fuel system is not timed, per say, when in reality of the other two symptoms as yet.

A jumped tooth, I mean just one, on the belt could very well cause the hard starting, lots of cranking, and power drop, all by itself.
I would roll the engine around by hand to the right by turning the crankshaft with a socket and ratchet up on to the zero mark.
Look under the distributor cap to see if the rotor in pointing under the number one wire.
I think, there is a notch in the rim of the distributors housing that aligns to the number one area.
It might be the same one that locates the distributor cap.
The intermediate sprocket, that drive the distributor, has a dot on its face but you cannot see it with the cover on. It stops at the three o clock position.
The objective is too observe the number one plug firing location is not 180 degrees off.

Then I would take the clipping screw out of the top backside of the timing cover so I could separate the two plastic parts. If you pull the lower bolts you can get a good spread apart.
The sprocket cams notch or tooth dot should be and must be “dead on” its mark at the very top notch in the head area.
That means the cam lobes of number one cylinder are pointing straight upwards on compression stroke. Look through the oil fill cap hole to confirm.

Shame about the other ECU but don’t throw it away yet!
I know that Art has said that mixing up the throttle switch connector and the idle control valve connector will take out the ECU module. I hope you have not done that, ever!

The harness wires are still in here, dragging and kicking a fit, to get some attention.
I only had to cut the cover wrapping down about a foot to see crumbling insulation.
I locate the worse wire and easiest to replace in my case.
Yep, There are a bunch of wires in there, but it only takes one really bad one, to touch another, to start a tango dance of a problem!

I then used a translucent silicone stretchy tape that “like melts” together to stop the wires from having room for the insulation to flake apart. The tape is call “emergency” silicone self-adherence tape. It comes in colors but I like the translucent so I can eyeball the colors from time to time.
It seals fairly well to keep out wetness.
I wrapped up the rest of the not so bad wires. It’s been that way for at least five years now, until another pair wants to tango!

Remember step by step and since you are working on this on your spare days , take time to make short notes of what’s done and is correct.
Trust me, when you get older it’s going to be a good habit to have!

I have six cars and I still haven’t got a good system just for maintenance as I’m finding out!

Phil

It ran great a month ago...I didn't know that my belt could have jumped a tooth. Would this happen if the tensioner was too loose?

So my next check should be to verify the timing marks are all in the correct relationship, correct?

Hi,

Yes is the answer. A loose tensioner is exactly how it starts.
They even caution you to check or reset the tension right after belt replacement to adjust for seating in and stretch. Like at 50 miles and again at 500 miles for example.

There is a finite distance between all the shafts. The length of the belt between them must stay taut to keep those three sprockets rotating the same amount of degrees.
The belt will pretty much keep two of them together on one side but the problem begins on the backside under the tensioner.
Any slack flopping between the crankshaft to the tensioner and above the tensioner accumulates.
Sudden acceleration and deacceleration of trying to turn the mass of the camshaft with all of the vale’s spring tension overwhelms the belts teeth to be able to stay down in the circumference of the sprocket.
I have always surmised that between the camshaft and the crankshaft the jump happens down on the crankshaft. This is because of its small diameter and fewer teeth of engagement.
Add on the fact that the crankshaft starts the turning to begin with and it being the most instantaneous change of direction the slip happens down there.

Just think about it. The startup speed is going from a cranking speed of 200 to 300 rpm to “bam” to over 1,000 rpm in about a one second!
A belt breaking is just as quick at idle. I can only imagine this at highway speeds!

I haven’t worked this out in my head but just now thinking about it, but here goes!

The whole length of that belt spins by at about 1/4 or 1/2 engine speed.
Divide the engine speed of rpm by 60 seconds in a minute and that give you the trips the belt ran around per second.
I don’t know how many teeth are in the crankshaft sprocket divided into the number of teeth in the belt but it’s booking it!
It appears to me that it’s an astonishing speed and we only check the tensioner, just casually, ever so often.
I try do it every oil change. Most likely that is why Volvo put a rubber plug for easy access!
Loosen and relighted is pretty simple for something so crucial.

Any way, it’s a wise thing to get right, in your climb out, to find out what happened so suddenly!

Phil

Phil, this is very interesting. Makes sense. I will be lucky if that's the case and I can reset the timing properly. Since I'll be in there, and I have no idea when the belt was changed, should I put a new one on?

Thanks!

Deep in the Weeds, Hip Waders on.

You have written so far in this thread:

++++++++++Trouble began when We put in a radio. A previous owner had something against radio and antenna wiring, and had removed all of it. My buddy used to install car stereos for a living and managed to get a junkyard deck installed and sounding great. Maybe it was a coincidence, but the car stopped running.++++++++++

***********************In retrospect, my problem with the 85 244 started before any radio install work was recently done. I had noticed that power and torque was way down when accelerating from a stop. It would still run at freeway speed at that point. Then we put in a radio and things stopped working. *******************


I don't know if I pointed you to this particular Manual...may be or not. This is Manual compiled BeforeInternet and really Before Computer Graphics.
Wisdom of the Ages for Volvos that were designed and built Before

Download this and follow the procedures listed. from the Will not Start to Poor Running (simple)....all the way thru to the Deeper things to look for... in later chapters.


Hope this helps --- as Your Problem is getting Deep Into the Weeds.
Cheers


https://ozvolvo.org/archive/?download=Vm9sdm9fUHJvYmxlbV9Tb2x2ZXJfUmVwYWlyX01hbnVhbF8xOTYyLTE5OTRfTW9kZWxzLnBkZg==

That website is deep in the weeds alright. Lots of info, if you can find it. Still, it's a treasure trove and I thank you.

Hi,

I would say change it for sure if you found it off.
When you pull that outside cover and you try to feel for any slack on the left hand side you then know the belt has stretched quite a bit since it was last adjusted. That could mean when it was last installed.
I advise you to study the belt for a newness look. You do that by having one on hand ready to go in as it help ease the decision.
What also helps is finding oil seal leakage. Everything should look dry to almost a dry brown dusting from dirt dust. The same you see spread out under the hood. Oil seals can weep or sweat oil a little but should only like a stain not a coating that you can wipe away or is starting to collect up crud.
It’s a good time to address those seals as oil will make the newest belt have early failure.

It’s really about what you find in there. If you can do it when you have the time, it’s a more pleasurable experience.

Phil

I have the belts off and the timing belt upper cover off. #1 is at TDC (Cam lobes are correct).

At TDC on cylinder #1 the camshaft mark is in the right place, but the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley is nowhere in sight. I will use the "rope trick" to get the crank pulley off as soon as I get a 24mm socket for the crank pulley nut.

Does the lack of timing mark alignment on the crank pulley At TDC on cylinder #1 indicate the likelihood of the timing belt skipping and causing my hard starting no idle and terrible running problem? I sure hope so. I need to get the bottom cover off to really see what's going on.

I have the timing belt, seals, and tension roller on order. Meanwhile I can take the covers off and check this weekend. Thanks for the helpful advice!

What other vehicles do you own?
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Clueless in Maryland

Art, you were right! No power to the orange wire on the AMM when cranking.

Also, when we began troubleshooting, the fuel pump relay would click sometimes when plugged into the harness in ignition KP2. It seemed to be getting power -- sometimes, not always. A new relay didn't change that. I was able to limp half a block home when the car died while testing by plugging the fuel pump relay back in to the wiring harness repeatedly while the ignition switch was in KP2 until I heard the switch click, and then I could start the engine, which ran raggedly until I got back to the garage. That was the last time it ran, except briefly in the garage once after a day of cleaning the fuseblock, harness contacts, etc. when it started and ran perfectly until I turned the key off and tried again. Not a cough since then. That was a couple of Saturdays ago.

Perhaps I should mention that the Bentley manual jumper wire trick used on the fuel pump relay harness to test fuel pump operation with engine stopped worked fine when we began troubleshooting, and the fuel injector rail spurted out plenty of fuel when we opened it up and then cranked the engine. But now, that jumper wire trick does not make the pumps spin. And defintely no clicking from the fuel pump relay, even if I take off the cover and close the contacts manually.

There is a 40% off sale at the local junkyard this weekend. I want to try and find some swappable parts that might help. I don't know what to look for though.

There is a box under and near the glove compartment that looks important, and one in the engine compartment by the passenger side headlight that cooks like a computer or something...Which box is the ECU?


Is there a year range for this part that would work in my 1985 244?

And are there other possibly failed items I should look for in the yard that might get the injectors to squirt again? It's a long shot, as the yard has four 240's that are quite picked over, but I might get lucky with something.

Maybe at least a chunk of wiring harness if the year is compatible with my '85? But which chunk...

Any pictures of what I should try to find and pick off the wrecks would be gold.

Humble thanks.

I don't think you need any parts or advice on junkyard lists. You can fix this by fixing the wiring, repairing a poor connection, not by swapping parts.

You want to look for voltage on that orange wire with key in KP-II, not awkwardly during cranking. Concentrate on getting that right before doing any other work. Do that by first wiggling the connections to the 25A blade fuse on the fender wall, and the red wire itself. You're looking for the most common trouble which is a poor connection caused by oxidation and corrosion.

Second, if you haven't found the trouble in the red lead, make sure the ignition switch is providing switched battery to the red/black wire at the FI relay, so it clicks the system half when you put the key in KP-II. A problem here, could be related to the work with the radio, since that wiring is between the key switch and the relay.

Refer to Bentley p.390-28 grid 4K to 5L for the wiring that explains this.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

Thanks Art. If I ran a jumper to provide unswitched battery power to the red/black wire at the FI relay, would that confirm your diagnosis?

Your are correct in that I do not have an understanding of the circuitry involved. I was thinking that with power to the red and black wire, maybe the car would start when I ranked it.

"If I ran a jumper to provide unswitched battery power to the red/black wire at the FI relay, would that confirm your diagnosis?"

You mean, could it prove the ignition switch wasn't providing power to the red/black wire? I'll leave diagnosis to you. :)

Just check the presence of voltage with a test light or a meter. This is a passive, non-threatening way to learn what is happening.

Using a jumper wire to provide what might not be appearing could have consequences if you don't isolate the circuit depending on what is causing the fault. I worry that you're using "jumper tricks" to troubleshoot without thorough understanding of the circuitry. One slip at the wrong pin on that fuel relay and you could destroy the ECU. Even the Bentley has erroneous instruction regarding that LH 2.2 relay circuit in the Fuel Injection chapter. If you are curious, search "Bentley Errata" before you wind up committing yourself to finding replacement parts.

That white box has two relays in it for separate purposes. The reason for the system relay is to allow the ECU to keep power on the AMM for a few seconds after the key is shut off to allow the hot wire to be cleaned. The reason for the fuel pump relay is to keep the pumps from operating unless there is a continuous stream of ignition pulses indicating the engine is turning. Both are under control of the computer.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

Thanks for the info about the Fuel pump and system relay, and reference to the Bentley Manual wiring diagram.

With an excellent magnifying glass, I have peered and puzzled like a thoughtful primate at the bottom right corner of Bentley page 390-20, sections 4K -5-L.

Thanks to your explanations, I perceive that item 217 in the diagram represents the Fuel pump and system relay (white box).

The R-SB (red/black) wire from the fuel pump and system relay goes to pin 18 on item 214. What is item 214? Anyway, I do not see the presence of voltage at pin 18 when testing (with ignition switch in KP2).

"...puzzled like a thoughtful primate at the bottom right corner of Bentley page 390-20, sections 4K -5-L."

Probably your typo, but should be page 390-28 unless you have a later printing where the page numbers don't match.

"...I perceive that item 217 in the diagram represents the Fuel pump and system relay (white box)."

Yes, 217 is the dual relay above your passenger's feet. 214 is the fuel ECU to the right of her feet. The red/black wire is shown leading to item 3/15, meaning item 3, circuit 15. You can find this on p. 390-26 grid 3C. That's the key switch. The little symbol that looks like a snake-eyes domino with wire going through it represents an unreferenced connector, i.e. something that may have become loose. There's no clue in the documentation where to find it, between the relay and the key switch. Maybe check to be sure the key switch plug is tight on the switch.

All these number references are listed on pp. 390-24,25 by number and by name.

I have (had) a Robert Bentley book for a BMW E-46. It is as thick as two of yours, but the wiring diagrams occupy almost half of it. Nice and large. Easy to read. The shrunk-down black-line copies of the full-color Volvo manual pages presented in the 240 Bentley are accurate, but you have to squint, and guess where grid lines superimpose on wires. To use them is an ordeal worthy of Viking endurance.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

At KP2, I do have power at the fuel pump/system relay, but the relays don't work. What might the next step be? I will try checking the ignition switch connections.

Understood: Bentley wiring diagram item 214 is my fuel ECU JETRONIC, pictured here. What is that black box behind the firewall?

Dana Corp. box on firewall of 1985 244. Unknown function and adjustment procedures.

Understood: Bentley wiring diagram item 214 is my fuel ECU, piuctured here:

This photo indicates that my R-SB (red/black) wire for the fuel pump and system relay has power, which must be a good thing. I don't know what to do next though. The fuel pump and system relays do not operate when switching to KP2.

When you told us the red/black wire was missing battery voltage with the key on, I figured you were almost there. I guess you were mistaken?

Because you said this voltage was missing, I did not bother to ask you about the first step I suggested -- dealing with the red wire and the 25A fuse. As long as you are taking readings at the relay, check the voltage at terminal 30. That's the one with the large, heavy red wire. Check it with the key in KP-II as well as with the key off. You should have battery there regardless.

The black Dana box is the cruise control.

Art Benstein (near Baltimore)

Every calendar's days are numbered.

Thanks for trying to figure out what is keeping my injectors from squirting. Apologies for my confusion about power to the red/black wire in the fuel pump/system relay harness. I am now sure that the red/black wire gets no power until I switch to key position two, KP2. As for the larger and heavier red wire just behind it(terminal 30?)I can confirm that it has power with the key off, and when switched to KP2. This is good I hope.

Today at the junkyard I was dismayed to see they've crushed the 240's to make room. Four gone, one left. Lucky that the uncrushed one was an '86 244, just one year newer than mine.

Crawling inside the '86 I made the acquaintance of an older gentlemen who had just finished removing the massive heater blower assembly. To get it out, he had the under-dash area laid open like a heart operation. I plucked relays like cherries. Then, grubbing feverishly like Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, I tried to yank out the complete wiring harness from the Jetronic control unit forward, but before I could get that mess to come loose the closing siren blew and I had to leave.

I did have time to pull out the Jetronic unit and the computer box near the passenger's headlight, only $12 each. In case an undiscovered short might cook one or both of these, I will refrain from installing until expertly advised.

When I got home, I cleaned and deoxed a 25amp fuseholder from the junkyard and installed it with a good fuse. I wiggled all the wires in that area (no corrosion)and sprayed Deoxit on all connections. The test light shows power to the 25amp fuse, but again, no squirt, no start.

To review, I know that in KP2,the AMM wiring harness orange wire test fails - No voltage. Tonight just for fun I checked for voltage on all the other wires in the AMM harness and confirmed that at KP2 there is no power going to any of them. I do not know if that is significant.

Now that you have one, swap in the twelve-dollar Jetronic unit.

If that gets your car running again, and you're curious, I'll explain how the same series of events came about with another Volvo owner and how one might go about repairing the damaged ECU.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Badges? We don' need no steenking badges!

Hope springs eternal-- Will do. I think I can guess at your reasoning as to why I don't have to worry about having an undiagnosed wiring harness problem that would fry the thing.

Maybe the fact that after the onset of my injector no-squirt problem, the car did start and ran very well for a miniute until I turned off the key, is more indicative of an intermittent hardware problem in the ECU (or other hardware) and not a wiring harness short that had cooked the ECU -- if cooked, how could it then work briefly? Hence, little worry that swapping in my semi-precious salvaged silver box of hope labeled JETRONIC is going to instantly ruin it when I crank the engine.

Does that make sense?

"Does that make sense?"

I can't rule it out, of course, me here and you near I-5. But it isn't my thought.

My thought has more to do with how things may have changed since you first began to work on it, hence iatrogenesis. I'll explain as promised when you get it running again.

Meanwhile, if you want to positively rule out the rotten wiring harness as a cause of the ECU failure, you'd have to replace the harness. I think they're still available. I'd check with Dave Barton.

Second best, you could remove the cover from the ECU plug and carefully measure the voltage on each and every one of its 25 pins during both KP-II and KP-III and then post the results in detail here, hoping you would catch any intermittent external cause of death in the act. You'd have to be meticulous and double check your work this time.

Bentley shows how to access these pins on p.241-11 Fig. 9 (LH2.2) For my help, just measure the voltage in-circuit, i.e. with the ECU connected, and disregard the test procedure on the next pages in Table e.

Or risk your semi-precious silver box of hope.

This thread promises to be as long as I-5. :)

Best of luck to you, and those on the other side of the country waiting for Michael.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly. Except the profanity. You don't take that back; you just keep adding to it.

Here's one for you Art:

"Tragedy in the Unilever factory: A worker fell into a into a vat of Vaselene Intensive Care and softened to death."