Hello all,

I just became a Volvo owner quite by chance, as I'm a dedicated diesel nut (my daily driver is an 83 diesel powered BJ60 Land Cruisier, hence my nickname). I just go this deal I could not pass up from a friend of mine (I could have got the car for free but thought it would be unfair to him) who was going nuts not being able to solve his intermittent starting problem on his 760 GLE. Knowing how much (too much!) he spent in the last few years on it, how nice its condition was and being a natural at trouble shooting I took it as a challenge and after some research located the culprit: the Fuel Pump Relay.

So I'd like first to thank all dedicated Volvo owners who have selflessly shared their findings here and elsewhere, as it appears even Volvo Dealer Mechanics were unable to diagnose the problem accurately for my friend, after spending thousands (yes!) in cables, spark plugs, a distributor and lastly the fuel pumps to be still stuck with the same problem: intermittent no start, overheat and loss of power at maximum load (full throttle and high RPMs).

So I just wanted to add to the body of knowledge, in case it hasn't been posted yet, that I did not even have to replace the relay! If the solder joints are OK, which was my situation, don't discount the relay as not being the culprit: relay contacts have a tendency to arc and burn! On this relay (there are actually two of them in the package), the contacts are very small so they can easily burn and you may not even notice it unless you use a loupe. Then you'll notice the blackened pits and arc build-up. I presume the contacts are silver and that would be silver oxide... Using a standard cosmetics ruby grit metal nail file I cleaned them in short order and solved the starting issue, the lack of power I was told it had when cold, the engine loss of power at high speed and the overheating issue as well, which can all be related to fuel starvation. Now that the engine is properly fed, it starts instantly, can be put in gear after just a few seconds, doesn't overheat and has plenty of power at high speed :)

And to think my friend though he had damaged his engine (he was used to drive at very high speeds and overheated the engine once) and it was only good for the junkyard...

Not bad for a weekend of research on the Internet, an hour to locate the relay and five minutes with a common cosmetic ruby grit metal nail file to clean off the contacts, especially when considering that the only other things that are wrong with the car are the driver side seat heater, the rear shocks (standard type) and the worn tires and the fact that I got it for 500 Cannuck Dollars, don't you think?

Now the trouble is, WHERE am I going to park it... :D

Best Regards,
83bj60
'83 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ60 (550,000 km - daily driver / work truck)
'87 Volvo 760 GLE (290,000 km - week end and family touring car)

It's a shame that your friend spend big Bucks to get nowhere. Especially direct from Volvo. The fuel pump relay is a subject that is beaten to death on this Site.

Your correct about that arcing at the contact points. I have a dishwasher that was saved. The guy said the timer was shot in the tune of $200 american. After looking close, I seperated some of the welded together contact fingers and garb the wifes nail file. That was three years ago.
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

Well maybe he was just using common sense. As a typical white collar guy, he has no understanding of mechanics and is at the mercy of the dealer's sales pitch and his own demands: it's got to work, so they made sure to replace anything that may have been defective, without thinking too much about it. He told me that at the dealer there were simply no mechanics with enough experience for the age of the car (most of them were in grade school when this model came out - I took my mechanics course before the age of antipolution devices, when you could fix anything on an car by hand using your ears, a wrench, a scredriver or simply a metal file or an arc welder...)

In any case, after having repaired the horn (I now got a standard duo tone setup) I'm afraid that won't be the end of teh electrical gremlins: the climate control failed today with erratic fan operation and loss of cooling. If anyone has some pointers, let me know! I suspect the thermostat control, but I could be mistaken of course. This car is brand new territory for me...

Hey, do you know Nick Stone? He's real active in Toyota Trails and works in the office with me. I think he has a diesel too. Wish I had a 60, but man, do they hold their value!

Sorry, I don't know him, we are actually only few Land Cruiser enthusiasts, diesel 60s are become extermely rare in Canada. That truck is the antithesis of the Volvo, electrically speaking. It could run with NO electric wiring whastoever... It's a model of spartan, utility design and reliability. After 21 years, the engine hasn't been touched (not even the injectors) and the only thing I give it is batteries (every 6-8 years), tires (every 4-5 years), brakes (every two years) and miscellaneous sundries such as filters, oil and diesel fuel... OK, I admit I'm way overdue to replace the tranny, differential and other oil seals which have started to leak pretty bad...

I just hope the Volvo will be as reliable after I've gone through the electrical system (I couldn't believe the thickness of the wire bundle under the steering wheel!!!). In any case, I must admit that the body has withstood rust much better than the Cruiser has so far: there is hardly any rust to speak of, and it's been through 17 salty winters already...

I also have an 87 760 GLE, this is a wagon, B280E, UK Spec. I also had your fuel pump relay peoblem, which was defective solder joints easiliy pointed to by several brickboarders.

The only other common problem I have to you is the non-working driver side seat heater (no heat, there is light in the switch between the seats when it is switched on). If you or anyone else has a remedy or step by step fault finding process on this one, please let us know. I fear that a complicated process of removing the leather seat covers looms, but it would be interesting if the problem could be such that it would not be necessary to go to this length.
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Kjartan Langskog

Have you looked at the connection under the seat yet? My son thinks it's probably just a broken wire/connection. That could be a likely culprit. Most connections on cars are simply crimped anyway and with stress and corrosion eventually fail. I would say it is less likely that teh heating element itslef would have failed.

In any case, after I figure out what went wrong with the climate control, I'll look under the seat, heck maybe I'll simply remove it and bring it inside...

Thanks for the tip, and no I ahven't looked at the connection. I will to rule that one out, hopefully that is the culprit as you say. That would be nice.

OK, if you have the time I'd go for taking the seat out. While you are at it I would recommend cleaning all the nooks and crannies on the floor below the seat, it gets quite crudded up in that area which is difficult to clean with the seat in place.
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Kjartan Langskog