I have an Automatic 1991 Volvo 240 Sedan with 124,000 miles. The car is in good overall shape and usually runs suitably. When it rains, however, it is a different story. I can always cold start the car with half throttle, but accelerating from idle (like at a light) is an issue. In rainy conditions, the car has occasional misfires at idle – and once the throttle is applied, it loses all power and begins bucking and struggling. Sometimes the car will overcome the rainy-day tribulations after a few seconds of throttle are applied. Other times, the car will go into a full stall; all of the dashboard warning lights will come on, and the engine will go dead. I have no trouble restarting the vehicle once it has stalled; giving it cold-start procedural throttle brings it back to life. It’s just really frustrating.

Once again, I’ve only experienced these issues on rainy days. Rain does not have to be falling, it just has to have fallen within a few hours. I think that extreme humidity might play some role in the stalls.

Sometimes I smell a mix of stale gasoline/oil in the exhaust after a complete stall.

I had repairs made to the fuel pump in June 2009 and repairs to a warped head gasket in July 2009.


Thanks in advance for your insights.