My 1989 Volvo 240 DL is stalling out when I try to start it. It will run OK for about 10 or 15 seconds and then it will stall as if the fuel supply was cut off. I can start it immediately after it stalls and the same thing will happen. It will run for a few seconds and then stall out. If I stay on the accelerator, I can keep the car running but it is not safe to drive when it is cold. After it warms up, it is OK at cruising speed but still unstable when at a stop. The check engine light is on.

The car has 89000 miles on its LH Jetronic fuel injected B230F engine.

With the diagnostic probe in socket 2, I have recently read the following codes after disconnecting the negative battery lead to reset the computer: 3-1-2, 2-3-1, 2-2-1, 2-3-1, and 1-1-3.

The car has recently had the following new parts: plugs, cap, rotor, plug wires, fuel pressure regulator, air mass meter, O2 sensor, flame trap, air filter, and fuel filter.

I have also recently cleaned the throttle body and checked for cracks in the hose that runs between the throttle body and the air filter.

Any ideas before I end up taking it to the shop? Please advise. Thank you.

Dan Arbuckle

Darbuckles@aol.com

Dan, recheck the Air Mass Meter. I know that you said that you had bought a new one, but I had a new one go bad less than a week after it was installed. It should be under warranty, so it won't cost anything.

Dean,

Right you were! I had put a remanufactured AMM in the car in August. I paid about $215 for it at Foreign Auto PArts in Rochester, NY. It is still under warrantee so it looks like I'll get a replacement part.

By the way, I know it was the problem because I have 2 bricks and I can do the swap trick. When my wife comes home I will have good news and bad news. The good news is that her car is running again. The bad news is that mine is not.

Thanks for your advice.

Dan

Dan,

Didn't see an ECU or coolant temp sensor on your list.

I can't look up the codes right now (whine) but sounds like you have enough to indict everything!

First I'd want to know, is it too rich or too lean. Does it drive-off (not idle) poorly when cold? Do you smell fuel?

Have you tried the limp-home test to see if your brand new AMM has gone (ugh - you know from reading here about the airbox thermostat, right).

If you cleaned the throttle body, you checked the TPS switch, right?.

Do you have a Bentley - there is a series of tests you can make with a multimeter from the ECU plug to eliminate a few more FI related reasons.

The '89's 516 ECU has a bad rep. But many times simple fixes, like the injector grounds on the manifold or the temp sensor will surprise you.

The warm-up behavior you note sorta sounds like vacuum leak, but it looks like you've already run that angle down. Had a busted intake manifold gasket once that made the car act like this.

Not sure if this will solve the problem, but check and clean the injector grounds on the intake manifold. I had an idle problem and the injector grounds were the problem. Good luck.

Aaron