Hi,
1991 240 wagon, new problems surfaced today. The car drove in the am, my daughter took it on errands, car would not start after a short drive/park. I got her calm, and went through some troubleshooting via phone. Had her pull fuse 4 (fuel feed pump), found to be OK, then fuse 6 (main fuel pump), which was blown. Had her replace with fuse from glove box (she put in a 15a by mistake), but car started and she was happy. She drove a while longer, maybe 1/2 hour, and all dash light came on and car stalled, would not start. She replaced fuse again (got a correct 16a this time) and was OK. Car is now home.
My question is this; what might be causing the fuse(s) to blow? Hope to get it back to a reliable state in a short time, and as always low $$$.
Thanks,
Bob

Just be sure to disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before cleaning the fuse contacts. I agree that it could be a connection problem causing the overheating, but my '84 760 turbo had a similar problem a couple of years ago. It turned out to be the main fuel pump drawing too much current. If you find that yours is drawing too much, replace the pump ( with the OE Bosch) and the relay.

Good luck,
Dave

Hi to all,
Update on the fuel pump fuse blowing and causing the car to stall\fail to restart.
I spent some time cleaning up the contacts for the two fuel pump fuses (in-tank and main) and applied dielectric grease to the ends of the new fuses. I discovered that the fuse for #4 (in-tank pump) was so thin in the center, it was looking like a filament.
Car started nicely and has been running without a problem for several days now, and it would appear that this board has again pointed me in the direction to a solution to what seemed to be a thorny problem. I plan to clean up all of the fuse contacts and replace all the old fuses with glass Buss fuses. As time and $$ permits, I will likely replace the fuel pumps taking the suggestions offered here.
Thanks again,
Bob

I had a problem with my '86 240's fuel pumps drawing way too much current, and the culprits were a corroded connector/wire at the battery for the injection system positive+ volts ( smaller red wire), and fuel pump grounds were also corroded.
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'94 940 150k, '86 240 170k, '72 142 KIA, '70 144 KIA, '69 144 RIP

It could be the pump wearing out, or the filter blocked. Or it might just be the fuse box contacts needing cleaning. They are notorious for corroding, being mounted just below a notorious source of water leaks, and once a fuse has begone to run hot it softens the copper clips, and the plastic moulding, so that the fuse is gripped less firmly. That compounds the cycle, so the contact gets worse, etc.
I would clean the contacts very thoroughly, bend the clips a bit to give more pressure, and measure the actual current drawn. Haynes gives the correct figure.
Consider switching to another unused fuse position, if you have one, or fitting an entirely new supplementary fuse.

A question regarding the measuring of the current drawn by the fuel pump, how should I do it? Remove the fuse, and clip multimeter leads to each post? Turn on key, or not? What is an acceptable method to clean the contacts?
Thanks,
Bob

Thanks for your response. The old ceramic fuse in position 6 had already been replaced with glass; it was a 16a fuse which had blown. I will clean the contacts and apply dielectric grease (read that tip here in the past). Will also check amps on the fused circuit with key on. It may be time related, as the car did run for a while before stopping (with all dash lights on, etc).If time permits over the weekend I will yank the fuel filter and the in-tank sending unit. The main pump is beyond my capabilities at this time (snowy here in VT) and no garage.
Bob