2001 V40 1.8Gdi starting & idling issues, won't rev

[theboymike]

Hi all, looking for some help with my V40 please

It seems to have been running ok until a few days ago, when the following happened:

- Started from cold (fine)
- Driven for maybe 3/4 mile and turned off (as part of a larger route before anyone wrongly pegs me as the "drive round the corner to the shop" type )
- Upon restarting I thought it had fired so released the key but it died
- It continued to turn over on the ignition key but wouldn't fire
- It did start a few times but the idle was very low, with the accelerator to the floor it wouldn't rev over 1500rpm or so
- I eventually managed to get it going and nursed it home - at constant light throttle vehicle speed would remain consistent for a while but would periodically bog down, then pick up again.
- The engine doesn't appear to be mis-firing or running rough, just running very sluggishly with very little power- it reached the heady heights of 15-20mph and refused to go any quicker..


A poke around when I got home revealed not a lot:
- Oil level OK, no signs of water
- Water level OK, no signs of oil
- Visible steam from exhaust but not an excessive amount IMO considering it was still cold
- Engine warning now light on
- Coolant temperature didn't go above about 1/4, with 1/2 being the norm when warm
- Reasonable smell of fuel at the exhaust


Additional info, FWIW:

One of / the ancillary belt slips sometimes for a short period when cold but there are no indicators that any important driven bits aren't working as they should (battery evidently has plenty of juice and it's never overheated so I guess the water pump is doing its job).

Upon turning the ignition key to position 2 prior to starting the throttle body(?) has always clicked repeatedly before starting, which I've read potentially implies an issue. Thinking about it I have experienced a slight but detectable loss of power of power / bogging down before, but nowhere near as bad as it is now; which renders the car un-driveable.


I'm wondering if it might be a fuelling issue caused by a failed throttle body (either the stepper motor that controls the butterfly, the throttle position sensor or perhaps accelerator position sensor) as I guess this would flag up a warning / fault code and I hear they're a bit squffy on these engines.

I'd like to have the plugs out for a look inside but a previous idiot I'd paid to service the car has evidently stripped out the thread in the cam cover for the plastic engine cover so I can't get access (yet another job to do - any pointers on removal much appreciated!) - as a result the plugs are probably overdue a change but tbh I doubt this is relevant unless maybe excessive gaps have knackered the coil pack..

I'm skint and miles away from the only garage I trust so ideally I'd like to sort this issue myself if I can. I'm guessing from the engine warning light that I should be able to get a fault code, although I'm struggling to get my head around this having trawled google..

Will my model display DTC codes on the dash if I use the correct procedure? I'm not sure if this applies to this particular age / type of car. Also, am I correct in thinking that I can use a generic OBDII fault code reader to interrogate the ECU, but that this will only give me basic codes and that I'll need a Volvo-specific reader to get more specific codes..?

Any help would me much appreciated - thanks