Novice 480s

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Martin Mc
480 Rookie
Posts: 457
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 11:57 am

Re: Novice 480s

Post by Martin Mc » Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:52 pm

Ade helped me sort out a similar problem with my (ex) low mileage 480S, which would run like a dream until you switched off, and then would be hard to start again till the engine bay had cooled down.

It came down to four tiny rubber 'O' rings that fit around the injectors (i.e. injector seals). With the constant heating up and cooling over time, these eventually perish and crack. Once I got them replaced, the car was a reliable starter under all conditions. Ade was gent enough to send me some spares for free -typical of the generous folk we find on the forums here.

Anyway, it might be worth checking the injector seals out, as it is a relatively simple and cheap fix if that is the root cause of the problem. In any case, in many instances most 480s are likely to have aged seals in lots of areas, given the age of the marque.

I hope that helps :)

Martin
1991 ES White / 1995 ES Red / 1995 ES Red / 1994 S Black / 1995 Celebration Red / 1994 S Paris Blue / 1995 Celebration (again!) Red - Currently free of all extramarital cars, wrench-loose and fancy free :)

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brinkie
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 857
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:20 am
Location: The Netherlands
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Re: Novice 480s

Post by brinkie » Sat Feb 16, 2019 5:02 pm

I don't think the ECU is at fault. When they break down, you cannot start at all, or the idling is bad.
Have you tried to read the fault codes from the ECU? The Siemens ECU has a fair bit of diagnostics, which will usually give you a clue about what's going on. See http://www.am.torun.pl/~ja/volvo/diagno ... stem.shtml for details.

To me it sounds like a temperature related problem, because once the engine warms up, it cuts out.
My list of suspects:
- coil pack
- crankshaft position sensor
- fuel pump
- ECU temperature sensors in both the air intake and the coolant

and what other said in this thread of course ;)
Robert.

Present cars: 1994 Volvo 480 GT 2.0i, 1999 Volvo S70 2.5 Europa, 2010 Volvo V70 2.0F Momentum

Cjchefy
480 Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:24 pm

Re: Novice 480s

Post by Cjchefy » Wed Feb 27, 2019 7:16 pm

So it’s been a busy couple of weeks

Thanks for all the advice and guidance but rather than fiddle around weeks on end checking everthing as suggested and maybe still having no luck, I caved in and took it to a Volvo specialist to have a look and see what they can diagnose, hopefully it will sort the problem.

I dropped it off this week and will update when I get it back......hopefully in full working :D

Cjchefy
480 Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:24 pm

Re: Novice 480s

Post by Cjchefy » Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:20 pm

Hey it has been a while since I have been on but things are still ticking along slowly.

So got the car running now, turned out it needed a distributor cap and that fixed the running problems. Also changed the lambada sensor and put new brake cables in.

Got wheels and other parts from arthuy all fitted and looking good :D

thanks for the help.

However still have one major problem Speedo has never worked. I have taken it out and soldered the connections and changed all the bulbs so everything works apart from speedo. Next was to check the speedo sensor so took out the connector and soldered the wires together as advised but still no joy. By this point I was ready to pack it all in :badmood:
So decided to get underneath and check sensor and finally found the problem, the sensor was wrecked, the cover was broke off and wires broke in the sensor itself so tried to reconnect and fix but no joy. Somebody else had obviously tried to get it out in the past but failed.

I have searched for a new or used one but not getting anywhere the seem impossible to get.

Would anybody have a spare one they would be willing to part with, for cash of course. It is one of the last things to do and is wrecking my head trying to find a solution :angry:

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MisterH
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:15 pm
Location: Stockbridge

Re: Novice 480s

Post by MisterH » Wed Aug 21, 2019 5:14 pm

Cjchefy wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:20 pm

However still have one major problem Speedo has never worked. I have taken it out and soldered the connections and changed all the bulbs so everything works apart from speedo. Next was to check the speedo sensor so took out the connector and soldered the wires together as advised but still no joy. By this point I was ready to pack it all in :badmood:
So decided to get underneath and check sensor and finally found the problem, the sensor was wrecked, the cover was broke off and wires broke in the sensor itself so tried to reconnect and fix but no joy. Somebody else had obviously tried to get it out in the past but failed.

I have searched for a new or used one but not getting anywhere the seem impossible to get.

Would anybody have a spare one they would be willing to part with, for cash of course. It is one of the last things to do and is wrecking my head trying to find a solution :angry:
I know how frustrating the speedo is, mine is still an issue, resoldered the dash, resoldered the cable, still no joy, I might try and look at the sensor again, after seeing what you said.

as for where to find a replacement. I know Skandix is commonly cited, they seem to have lots of things, but unsure exactly what as their site is quite confusing

however, this guy on gumtree might have something, it is worth an ask:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/car-replaceme ... 1349644406

Hope this helps!

P.S. I forgot to ask: if you take the speedo sensor out, does that mean the oil gushes out of the hole left, as it seems to be below the oil line, quite lowdown in the gearbox, or am I on about the wrong part?
Current Jobs to do (23/1/22):
Fix Central Locking
Fix drivers side speaker
Annoying Scratching Squeak
Water leaks
Complete Front O/S rebuild

Cjchefy
480 Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:24 pm

Re: Novice 480s

Post by Cjchefy » Sat Aug 24, 2019 6:12 pm

Hey

I checked skandix, they are on the site but unavailable and no longer stocked it seems.

Does anybody know if a Renault gt5 sensor would work or not?

When I took mine out no oil came out but there was a smidge on the end of it. The sensor is located just at the starter motor I checked on here and google and finally located it lol. It was an awful thing to get at and work with but needs must.

I shall see if he has any but noting holding out much hope :cry:

arthuy
Advanced 480 rookie
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:02 pm

Re: Novice 480s

Post by arthuy » Sat Aug 24, 2019 6:29 pm

I wonder if it got broken by someone chasing the fault, I was going to remove mine but thankfully due to the horror stories left it and found the wire was faulty in several places.

If you cant source one it might be possible to go alternative.

Some of the guys running SD1 Rover have the same problem and sensors are expensive and hard to get. They use an after market job which attaches to the propshaft. google kit car suppliers and see if there is anything suitable.

The later clio uses a abs pick up.

Alan 480
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:03 am
Location: Aberdeen

Re: Novice 480s

Post by Alan 480 » Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:26 am

arthuy wrote:
Sat Aug 24, 2019 6:29 pm


Some of the guys running SD1 Rover have the same problem and sensors are expensive and hard to get. They use an after market job which attaches to the propshaft. google kit car suppliers and see if there is anything suitable.
I had a temporary speedo and had a magnet fixed to drive shaft and the sensor mounted off the gear-box, but it wasn't ideal although I DID manage to get it fitted into the instument cluster. You can't just use the sensor from after market as they are designed to work with one or two pulses. the real unit has twelve pulses per revoltion.

I'm sure others will confirm that it is 'similar' in operation to that used for the flywheel, but obviously a different fitting and resistance although that 'might' be adjustable by suitable addition of a resistor? but as the sensor for speedo is a few ohms and the flywheel is few hundred maybe adding a restor in parallel will not give sufficient amplitude on the pulse. so better to source another make of sensor and install into the VOLVO 'housing' ?
Alan

480 ES 2litre 'Celebration' ? , C30 1.8ES, SS1

arthuy
Advanced 480 rookie
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:02 pm

Re: Novice 480s

Post by arthuy » Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:24 am

If you are just wanting a speedo and not bothered about the odometer you could use a gps unit.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2666854559

I have had one in my Landover for a few years and it is pretty decent.

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