Volvo 480 Club Europe

Hi

haven't posted here much but need the help of the collective minds of the forum.

i have a 93' turbo with an issue that is being a bugger to find.

basically my car seems to lose power instantly when driving, often happens in the high rev range but sometimes low also. when accelerating the car will go fine then will just lose power, judder and theres a strong smell of fuel in the car (with windows open). this happens every time i drive it.

anyway i've replaced everything on the ignition side and changed the fuel filter but to no avail.

any help would be greatly appreciated as i have a long work commute and it often happens at the worst of times!

cheers

Theo

Hello.
It could be a number of things. Check all wiring is good to the battery. Check the earths near the injectors and the distributor.
When does it happen. Is it when you're accelerating hard. Could it be boost cut. Try disconnecting the battery for 30/45minutes to reset the ecu.

There is plenty of good information on this forum. It's helped me no end.

Cheers for the reply

yeah its at its worst when accelerating hard. boosts well though, its almost as if its hit a wall when it happens, very sluggish acceleration.

checked the diagnostic box and came up with fault codes 1-4-2 and 3-1-4 but both sets of fault code lists i can find say different things!

cleaned up earth points the other day when replacing a few bits but the positive side of the battery isn't looking to pretty.

will give resetting a go. strange issue is all when having similar issues with other cars in the past it was normally down to the coil/filter which i've done both.

thanks

Theo

That's what I would do. Reset the ecu and go for a drive. Try and keep an eye on the boost gauge. There's a few safety measures built into the ecu. It can cut fuel, retard ignition and I think kill ignition. That just feels like you've hit a wall. I used to have to turn the ignition off and on whilst rolling to start the engine again.

Reset ecu and took it for a drive (sorted positive lead while there as well)

no difference in the way it drives constant lack of power and spluttering like crazy from the exhaust.

boost travels up fine though so cant see it being an issue there.

wondering now if the maf is to blame or temp sensor.

Theo

Could something be sending the wrong data to whatever controls the injection?

Does it run ok at idle. Ive just had a problem like yours. It was the maf in my case.

If you can get a multimeter it would be good to check the resistances of the temp sensor. Also check crank sensor. All the values are in the Haynes book of lies and on this site somewhere.

Yeah it idles pretty much perfect.

just dug haynes out so going to check resistance shortly.

Are running normal amounts of boost?

Another update

cant find multimeter as the garage is just chaos so will check that tomorrow evening.

dont know if it would matter to this issue but my oil pressure gauge doesn't work, could that have anything to do with it? maybe ecu not getting a signal and panicking?

does feel like ignition, reeks of fuel and sputters very severely you can almost feel it ticking when it does, also noticed that its only when on boost that it does it if you drive very gently you can just about avoid it for the most part so ecu isn't happy about something.

and yeah standard boost i had an mbc on it (fitted after this problem but soon removed)

Theo

Back to basics:

Plugs - Last changed when? And for what? (brand + model)
HT/Cap/Rotor - Changed when?

No vacuum pipes blown off? Where dos your boost go to on the standard guage?

With Jifflemon on this - back to basic first...

Oil pressure gauge would be a redherring I think - it runs straight of the sender on the front of the engine and I don't think it talks to the ecu at all. If you've no reading, oil pressure gauge itself id ad; if it reads maximum all the time, sender is either dead or disconnected. Do you get the red oil light on start up on the instrument panel?

Otherwise, have you looked to see if the diagnostic box has anything stored? Very early days of on-board diagnostics and a limited range of functions, but nonetheless it works and might help you. Info on her about how to use and read if you are unsure, or ask and we'll help you...

David

Just changed plugs (ngk r) cap, rotor arm, ht leads, coil and module all new.

also just replaced fuel filter.

didn't think pressure gauge would be the issue but these cars can be brilliant like that. yeah oil light comes on when starting then goes off.

i have error codes: 4-5-2 4-4-4 1-4-2 and 3-1-4 but when looking for error codes i find two different lists.

boost travels a tad above halfway. when i was running an mbc i had it just touching the red.

Vacuums all look good sprayed them all no pick up.

cheers

Theo

The diagnostic box has numerous functions.

I know there are one or two different code tables kicking about, but the information I have to hand is, as far as I can tell, accurate

Inserting the pin in socket 2 checks the engine/fuel system, inserting it in socket 3 checks the ABS system, and inserting in 5 checks CEM functions.

According to the various documents I have, and working from VADIS as far as possible, you appear to have obtained codes from two of these areas:

1-4-2 = faulty stop lamp switch (via socket 3)
3-1-4 = RH rear wheel ABS sensor fault (via socket 3)
4-4-4 = windscreen wiper output signal (via socket 5)
4-5-2 = start interlock (via socket 5)

Have you read the codes via socket 2, since none of the above seem particularly relevant to what you are describing?

David

unfortunately only socket 3 and 5 are wired in in my car nothing to connect to in any other socket, found this unusual as my 480S is wired up on socket two. maybe lads at the factory were clocking off when this was built!

got a flyer from work today so going to try and get to the bottom of this.

will check sensors as discussed yesterday, shame gsf and the likes dont stock much 480 stuff like!

cheers

Theo

All in the small victories!

spent the day messing on with it. cleaned up crank sensor, smoke tested the inlet and cleaned the maf out etc etc.

went to start it later on and nothing but cranks! checked spark and hey presto the new coil i'de put on it was goosed put old one back on and back to life.

Took the car out and ran smooth so when warmed up i gave it the beans a little it didn't stutter through all gears, only on the second run did it play up a little (nothing compared to what it was doing) but stuttering high revs only.

So either maf is toast or coil is. leaning towards the maf right now as its the smoothest its ran since i bought it.

resistance on the maf was about 491 (from memory) about right or should i adjust it a little?

cheers for the help anyway guys what would you go for first, maf or coil? having trouble finding the coil with the same part number as mine (for less than the price of my left arm anyway)

Theo

Glad you have it sorted.
Regards the Maf. There is two settings that are recommended. 380ohms if you have the standard ecu. 530ohms if the ecu is modded. Half turns either way from there. You should be able to accelerate smoothly from 30mph in 5 gear.

I'd say if you were able to drive it like you have done Id say the maf is not totally goosed. The ecu goes into limp mode if the maf fails. It only gives 2 injector pulse settings. One for under 2000rpm one for over 2000rpm Not driveable at all under load.

Regarding the coil many will fit. Search on here for board member Robou and search for his post on ignition coils.

http://www.volvo-480-europe.org/forum/v ... il#p208540

Topic about ignition coil

Glad you appear to have sorted it - patience pays off!

I hope you can sort out the MAF/coil questions and fully resolve the problem - I am afraid I have never had a 480 Turbo so I have no experience to suggest which direction to look in of the two, but Whitewolf knows what he's talking about...

David

back to her old ways god i hate fuel injection.

guess theres a few things wrong with the old girl and i'm just slowly getting through them.

i'm still finding this odd though, never really had a car before that would go fine one minute then be crap the next consistently and the fact its just instant as if someone flicked the slow switch.

to further add its less intermittent than it is constant, it will be fine at first then the moment it first decides to run crap it will continue to drive like that (only like that) until i get to where i'm going.

i've literally only had this car drive through every gear fine once!

other problem i'm having is i cant just keep sinking money into it, there must be something daft i'm missing here with this thing.

sorry to keep bothering you all, should have just left the roughest but most reliable 480 on the road (sleeping due to rough bodywork)

cheers everyone

Theo