Hi, my name is Nelson.

My 1987 VOLVO 740 GLE (B230F/AW71 LH-Jetronic/EZ-117K) died the other day.

I just tied up the wires inside the left front kick panel with the bendable metal wrap.

The car had been running less the 5 minutes.

As I was nearly stopped coming up to a red light, my car quit running.

There was no indication of anything wrong, my dash lights just suddenly lit.

I attempted to restart the car with no luck, but it does crank just fine.

None of the wire connections in the connectors found inside the left front kick panel

appear to be loose or pushed back/away from each other upon visual inspection.

All grounds that I know to check are good under 12v light bulb load test.

L and R fender, Ign. module/power stage base, Intake manifold, Pass. kick panel

The Tach. does NOT move when the engine is cranked.

The fuel injectors do NOT click when the engine is cranked.

The fuel pumps run when I jumper fuel relay terminals 30 and 87/2 so the wires are good.

However, they do not appear to run when the ignition is initially turned on (position II).

They also do not appear to run when the engine is cranked (ignition position III).

This was confirmed when I pulled the front spark plug and found it dry.

I had just cranked it for several seconds while pumping and holding down the gas.

I am not getting a spark from the ignition coil wire.

I can't be sure if the coil is bad since the manuals I have give differring Ohm specs.

The Haynes manual (ISBN 1-85010-550-2) says one thing:

Primary = 0.5 to 0.9 ohm Secondary = 6.0 to 9.5 ohms

The Chilton manual (ISBN 0-8019-7944-7) says a few different things:

Primary = 1.2 +/- 0.1 Ohms Secondary = 8.5 +/- 0.8 K Ohms [pg. 89]

Primary = approx. 1 - 2 ohm [pg. 68]

My Ohmmeter gives me a reading of:

Primary = 0.8 Ohms Secondary = 7.6 K Ohms

Page 68 of the Chilton manual is the ignition troubleshooting flowchart.

The chart states there should be a voltage drop across coil terminal 1 and ground.

It says the voltmeter reading should be 0.5 - 2.0 volts. I get a reading of 11.89 volts.

I get the same voltage reading from here as I do from coil terminal 15 and ground.

The chart suggests that I check the "electronic module" terminal 15, 16, and 31.

This is the only place in either manual where an "electronic module" is mentioned.

(except for a crude diagram on pg. 69 of the Chilton manual)

From the diagram on pg. 69 of Chilton, it appears the flowchart (pg. 68 of Chilton)

is referring to what Haynes calls the "power stage" in its diagrams (pg. 132).

However, this thing only has 5 wires running to it (both books agree here).

The wires are labeled 1-5 (Haynes got this right/Chilton is blank) but no 15, 16, or 31.

Coil terminal wires 1 & 15 ARE connected to the "power stage" (#1 and #4) and are live.

BTW: What does the same voltage on coil terminals 15 and 1 indicate?

The Chilton chart's "electronic module" being the EZ-117K control unit makes less sense.

There is no terminal labeled 31 (ground) on the EZ-117K and coil terminal wire 1 does not

run to the EZ-117K (nor does wire 15 directly) as is shown in the Chilton diagram (pg. 69).

EZ-117K terminal 6 (blue) is live 12v and another blue wire exists, terminal 24.

Terminal 24 (blue) is live 5v and comes grouped with other wires, one red, one bare.

The red wire companion is terminal 4 and it is live with 10v. The bare wire has mV.

Maybe someone will be able to clarify this conflicting information.

I do not yet know how to test the ign. module/power stage or the EZ-117K for certain.

From what I have learned this is sounding more and more like the Hall Effect Sensor.

I have been told about a radio interferance relay. Can these be tested/repaired?

I also looked for a fuel pump inline fuse but I counldn't find one.

Hope this info. helps someone understand this problem better.

Thank You.

/// Did you check the ignition switch? I don't have your mod. but on all the older 200s there is a plug on the back of the switch. It can be bypassed with jumpers plugged into that connector.

Nelson: Not sure about your first line which refers to tieing up wires??

I don't have Chiltons (thank God) and I did not pull out my Haynes to follow all your voltage measurements. (Its too late in the evening for that). But I can say: no spark, no tach while cranking, no continuous fuel means Hall sensor or igntion module on the fender or associated connections.

Abe's fascinating Hall sensor test sounds like a good plan. It tests everthing downstream from the Hall sensor and the Hall sensor itself in one swell foop.

Abe, how long has he been hiding this?

This is an old test method that came about 18 years ago when the connectors were givng a lot of stalling car trouble on the first 240's with Chrysler ignition. You did this to see if the hall sensor pins wre okay or if the crappy hall sensors in the Prestolite distributors was the problem (or both). This was the first system Volvo used with hall sensor as the crank position and speed signalling.

Unplug the connector fron hall sensor in distributor. Place coil wire 1/8 inch from a metal surface to observe spark. Turn on ignition and then use a paper clip bent in a way so you can jumper the blue to the black wire (pull boot back on conn. to identify wires).

When you touch and release the jumper you should have a single spark and the fuel pump relay will cycle for a brief period making pumps run.

If the spark occurs then check the red wire (only remaining wire) to assure it has 12V.

If no spark then check the blue wire for 5V.

If the blue wire has 5V then check the black wire for continuity to ground.

If all the tests pass then you need a hall sensor.

The power stage can be checked only by checking all the inputs and if they are all there and still no spark then it is bad.

The power stage needs a power supply, two grounds (one is just a connection to the shielding wire for the signal wire), a connection to coil, and the grey wire carrying the signal from ignition ECU to trigger the power stage amplifier circuit to complete ground for primary of coil.

Can whoever FAQs these things put this post in the FAQ? I feel like I'm gonna need it someday!

/// Save the wanted post as a "text" file. I never depend on the moderators.

i noticed NOONE mentioned bad wiring harness. if its an '87 it could very well have degraded insulation. i know im in the final steps of fixing mine. most of it is a-ok but in one area the wires were all bare so im heatshrinking and reinstalling any bad exposed wires. im hoping thatll do the trick:)

same symptoms on my 86

The tach not moving when cranking is a symptom of a dead Hall effect pick up in the distributor. You can get the complete distributor base with seals, Hall effect, and wiring connector from IPS in Boise for under $100 US. The Hall effect is between $60 and $70 from Volvo, or RPR.