I just got my first car, a 94 volvo 850. It has been sitting around in the driveway for about a year and a half (less than 1k miles put on in this time). Occasionally, it will not start, or less commonly, will stall out while im on the road. I was wondering if this is an electrical problem or something else and if there is any way i can clean it out or do some daily maintanence to keep it under control. My dad thinks putting the heat on draws energy and makes it stall. Any help greatly appreciated.
My first thought is old gas, or varnish build up in the fuel system. I would see if using a little sea foam running it as empty as you dare, fill it up with gas and another dose of sea foam and see if things improve with the new gas. If the next year will be like this year some fuel stabilizer would be recommended.
sounds good but what kind of sea foam should i get? From your specs it looks like deep creep is my top choice.
SEA FOAM MOTOR TREATMENT,
* Cleans fuel injectors
* Cleans carburetor jets
* Cleans carbon
* Stabilizes fuels
* Upper cylinder lube
* Removes moisture in fuel
* De-icer
* Frees sticky lifters
* Frees sticky rings
* Removes moisture in oil
* Cleans P.C.V. systems
* Cleans catalytic converter odors
* Oxygen sensor safe
http://www.seafoamsales.com/images/updates_whitecap.gif
Deep creep is a whole nother ball park.
Two possible culprits come to mind:
- Crank position sensor. You need to find it and examine its electrical lead. If the insulation is failing on the lead, that can cause intermittent loss of spark.
- Fuel pump relay, or other electrical problem in the fuel pump circuit. Listen for the fuel pump to kick on and pressure up the system when you first turn the key to On. If you don’t hear that sound and the car fails to start, that is where to start investigating.