Cut out in the (very heavy) rain, any ideas?

[volvogriff]

The 940 (2.3 LPT) cut out on me at the worst time and place I can imagine.

Approx 9pm at a huge junction off the M180 in a massive rain storm, last Dec. In the middle lane right at the from at the lights, luckily it was quiet. It seemed to splutter as I approached the lights then cut out when I stopped at the lights. Engine turned over, sort of fired, spluttered then got it going after a few minutes. Drove the remaining 120 miles back home dreading the same thing but it got there no problems. The car has been stored on a trickle charger for the last 4 months and has been started every month no problem by a family member.

I aim to get the car back on the road shortly but am concerned by the incident. Convinced it must have been something to do with the masses of water on the motorway getting in somewhere.

I think I read somewhere that there is a relay at the back somewhere that is prone to water ingress and has been known to cause such problems.

Any suggestions what to look for? I'll probably have to get it to a Volvo specialist in the North East as I don't have to the time to check it out myself.

Cheers for now.

[Laird Scooby]

If it's been starting consistently throughout the past 4 moths then i'd suggest it was sheer volume of rain coming down in December - we had some seriously biblical rain back then and a bloke with a big bushy beard was seen wandering round my village with a load of planks on his shoulder and muttering about pairs of animals.

I'd hazard a guess it was spray kicked up from other traffic (or simply just the downpour) on the road that found its way through the radiator grille and got scattered round the engine bay by the cooling fan.

Check the dizzy cap, rotor arm, coil etc for any signs that water has been near them, clean them up and drive it.

Unless and until it does anything dodgy again you could be chasing your tail incessantly trying to find a non-existent fault.

[volvogriff]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

If it's been starting consistently throughout the past 4 moths then i'd suggest it was sheer volume of rain coming down in December - we had some seriously biblical rain back then and a bloke with a big bushy beard was seen wandering round my village with a load of planks on his shoulder and muttering about pairs of animals.

I'd hazard a guess it was spray kicked up from other traffic (or simply just the downpour) on the road that found its way through the radiator grille and got scattered round the engine bay by the cooling fan.

Check the dizzy cap, rotor arm, coil etc for any signs that water has been near them, clean them up and drive it.

Unless and until it does anything dodgy again you could be chasing your tail incessantly trying to find a non-existent fault.

Yep, certainly was an epic downpour I think you're right, maybe a one off due to severe conditions, will check the bits you suggested. Thank you.

[bob12]

Assuming the 940 is the same as a 700 the disy is at the back of the engine up high to the firewall. There's a big rubber seal all across the back that the bonnet shuts down on to. The seal can slip and/or the little plastic clippy things that hold it in place give up. This can allow torrential or even moderate water to get on to the dizzy.