Volvo 460 GLE

[tomgreasley]

Hi, I’ve bought a 1990 Volvo 460 GLE recently and I’ve been having problems. When I try to start the car it won’t start unless I put revs on. The engine will also cut out if I brake and let go of the accelerator. This is every time I stop wether I’m using the footbrake or handbrake. I’ve been told it could be the throttle sensor so I have replaced this and it’s made no difference. Could anyone advise please.

[triumphtoledo]

Yes - get it diagnosed properly before bolting bits on... Start with giving it a full service,l checking all pipework for leaks and then looking at the idle circuit, especially if it's an injection model.

[dcw]

Firstly, well done on your acquisition!

Before you start randomly changing sensors, there are a couple of potentially easy fixes that immediately spring to mind:

Is the throttle valve housing clean? Remove the air filter pipe and look inside - these get gunged up, don't close properly, and then stop the ICV taking over as you come to a stop;

Is the Idle Control Valve (ICV) clean? Again, these get filthy inside and don't work properly. Remove it and the pipes to it, and clean out - squirt of cleaner, and often a quick soak in some petrol works wonders;

Does the ICV have 8 ohms across its connector (double check Haynes that this is the correct resistance for your car - I am away at present so cannot do so myself)?

Are all vacuum pipes intact? In particular, where they connect to the manifold they often perish or work loose. Also the same where the vacuum pipe connects to the throttle valve housing.

1990 model - does it have the diagnostics box? Might be too early but if it does, then if you open the bonnet, look towards the nearside strut tower behind the air filter box, and you'll see a small black box with wires from it. This will let you check for error codes across the whole ignition/injection system - if you have it I or others can help you further with that.

Good luck!

David