Hi - first post. My wife's 94 965 stopped running on the freeway yesterday. She was preparing to enter the carpool lane from heavy traffic, and when she hit the throttle the car lost power and died. Check engine light went on. Was eventually able to restart and slowly limp over to the shoulder. Towed to our mechanic who could not find any stored fault codes nor can duplicate the failure.

One year ago almost to the day the engine did the same thing on restart after being parked - no power, engine stumbling, running rough, barely able to move. No fault codes, wrench replaced a temp sensor as a "guess".

We've had this stumbling/rough running behavior once or twice before that, but nothing so severe. I read the FAQ about the battery cable and wiring harness, but our service rep (I faxed him the info) dismissed it as too trivial.

Help! We don't have any confidence in the car now, I'm almost unwilling to let my wife drive it anymore, and it's a bad time to buy another car. Any hints or suggestions?

Thanks,

Don

The advice about electrical problems/corroded connectors is good.The only things I would add are:AMM-could be problem.I know there were no related codes,but are you sure your mechanic knows how to pull Volvo codes?Also,how about intermittent leak in fuel pressure regulator?I have experienced this in a four cylinder car (745T).Don't know if it applies to 964.Check for gasoline smell in oil right after it happens.Good luck! sredwine 94 944T 135K,98 V90 62K

Hi, I know how frustrating it can be my moms Mazda has done the same thing 4 times. But back to the problem at hand. I would not fluff off the FAQ about the battery cable corosion, Check it out before you dissmiss it. Second I would check to make sure that the ground wires are in good shape. The 2 behind the cylinder head and the 2 more at the left front motor mount. I would then check your fuel filter for clogging, it could be that simple. The next thing is to do is a wiggle test on the engine wiring harness. If that does not turn up any gremlins check out the two ignition modules on the intake manifold. The connection can get water and grime in them and cause bad things to happen. Take conn. off and clean and fill with dielectric compound and reconnect. I would also check inside the cab where your ECM is and check the connector for corosion. It doesn't take much. Last but not least check the fuel pump pressure for low or high pressure while your out on a test drive. With a problem such as yours where there are no real clues it can be very labor intensive to find since the problem is so seldom. Good luck. I found the battery cable problem on my 92 because of the FAQ.

If the check engine light came on, pull the fault code, instructions are in the FAQ.

Also try:
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=627487&show_all=1
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Tom F

Thanks Tom - The wrench said there are no fault codes stored. Well, actually one, the O2 sensor, but that could not cause the cut-out/stumble problem. So that's what's driving me nuts - we have no way of knowing for sure what is failing.

When I get the car back tomorrow I'm going to check the harness/ground strap/other electricals as mentioned in the FAQ; just wondering if there is some known issue.

Thanks...

That may be an important clue. The O2 sensor is grounded near the drivers side engine mount. This ground also feeds the power stages which control the spark plugs. The grounding point may be loose or corroded, this could trigger a shut down to spark plugs and cause a code for the O2 sensor, had it happen to me. Especially if the intake manifold has been taken out for any service.

DanR 94 964 223,000 miles
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DanR

SOLVED!

Wife went to pick up her car from the wrench. Calls me to say it died. Fortnately, it died with the mechanic driving it.

Intermittent fuel pump.

Whew! I'm still going to check grounds and the like myself, but this sounds consistent with the problem and would be something not stored by OBD.

Many thanks for the kind replies and suggestions.

Apparently the thermostatic oil cooler and filter mount are seeping pretty bad, maybe I should take those on myself.

Thanks again,

Don

OK, we missed it. But glad you got it fixed. I assume fuel pump was replaced.

Now that you have dropped in, stick around and explore Jarrod Stenberg's Brickboard. There are some real experts here, unlike myself. If you get tired of reading the FAQ and the posts, visit the Opinions forum.
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Tom F

Yup - a nice shiny new pump and filters. A bit pricy, but really happy to have it resolved as opposed to intermittent.

Thanks again to the board - I'm fairly active on forums.pelicanparts.com (911 board), so it was great to go into a new neighborhood and be treated well.

Don