740 refuses to start for more than a second!

[ian2000t]

Ok, so it's my own fault..... I got the Mini on the road finally... and the Volvo's taken the hump now!


Tried to start it today and it fired straight up as usual.... and ran for about 5 seconds before dying.

Tried again and sounded like it was trying to fire a bit at first but then was just turning over and over. Left it a bit as I guessed I'd flooded it.

Tried it again a few minutes later and it fires up, spins a few times then stutters and dies. The longer you leave it inbetween tries, the longer it will run if/when it does start (even though I'm talking 5 secs max).

Tried starting on full throttle and nothing. Took a plug out and it looks normal - not sooty, not wet in petrol.. just normal. Tested sparking the plug against the body and it sparks fine (even started up with just the 3 plugs in for a second while I was testing it).

Now one thing I think is strange is when I switch the ignition on, rather than the fuel pump 'whirring' it's more like a 'fizzing' (the fuel pump under the passenger side floor).

Do you think it sounds like a fuel pump issue? Do they only have one fuel pump, or are there 2?


It's a 1988 Volvo 740 GLE B230E, 159,800 miles (obviously scared of reaching 160,000!!).