91 240 - fpr replaced, no pressure and fuel relay ?'s

hello!

i just replaced my fuel pressure regulator after increasingly frequent hard start/stalling issues. i knew i hadn't heard my intank pump running for a while, but decided to start with the fpr 'cause it was leaking fuel into intake manifold vacuum line. i thought the install went well, but now it won't start at all.

to relieve line pressure, i pulled my main fuel pump relay and started the car. it did start but died almost instantly. i wasn't sure if it was out of fuel that quickly or if it was the same intermittent stall issue, so i tried to start it again. no start, so i went ahead with the replacement. apparently it worked, because fuel leakage was minimal (just what was stored in the fpr itself)

i haven't done any underhood diagnostics since the install, and will let you know what i find when i do, but for now i was wondering if i should have expected difficulty building pressure through the drained lines. my tank should be above 1/2 full, and leveled. (the main reasons i can think of this being an issue without the intank pump) perhaps am i just expecting too much of my main pump?

okay, i'll try to keep this brief. sorry. two more questions:

i read something about checking for clogged return lines. if the rubber valve was deteriorated in the fpr, this may be an issue. how would you go about checking/fixing?

i held the relay, cover off, while turning ignition on. the intank switch engaged briefly, then started jumping on/off like there was a short somewhere. (faster if i wiggled it at all) any suggestions where to start? (pics of relay and solder points attached)

oh, and an introduction... i'm kayt. way too busy to do it myself, way too stubborn to let someone else, and just knowlegeable enough to read everything i can get my hands on.

thanks for your time and any help you can give!

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/dc/user_files/1161.jpg

[classicswede]

Most likely a small pin hole in the fuel line. Very comon problem which can be difficlt to trace. Have a look for any rusty patches on the pipe. you you see a damp patch that will be your leak.

Dai

>Most likely a small pin hole in the fuel line.
>Dai


not quite what i want to hear, lol, but thanks for the response! i've been avoiding the whole "tank lines" possibility 'cause i think i have to drop the drive train to get to the tank on my model, (244 - if anyone knows otherwise, please speak up!) which of course i know nothing about.

i understand that the leak would have to be between tank and main pump, and most likely right at the tank seal, inside or out. not the most user friendly environment for someone like me with no experience (aside from basic user maintenance and extensive bodywork).

any ideas about the relay switch bouncing?

i have a list of 5 or 6 other major issues to worry about once its running again. i 'totaled' this car about 5 years ago. (whence the bodywork experience.) i think i'm still trying to catch up on the mechanical and electrical damage from the accident. i just can't bear to give it up after my dad helped me rebuild it.

anyway, thanks again



"way too busy to do it myself, way too stubborn to let someone else, and just knowledgeable enough to read everything i can get my hands on. "

-kayt

[Clifford Pope]

The most likely place for a leak is, as you say, in the steel pipe just as it emerges from the top of the tank. In an estate that is quite easy to get at, but you may be right about it being hard on a saloon. I don't see why there shouldn't be an equivalent access plate though.
If you can get at it, and it is only a pin-hole, you could try cleaning all the rust away and just sealing it with epoxy or resin.

You could check the return pipe by uncoupling from the FPR and leading a bit of pipe into a can. If petrol flows out freely, but won't go down the raturn pipe, there's your answer.

The main pipe over the tank is normally partly presurised by the in-tank pump. But if your tank pump has failed the pipe will be under suction from the main pump trying hard. Any pin hole leak will let air in, so you won't get a proper supply of petrol.

>You could check the return pipe by uncoupling from the FPR and
>leading a bit of pipe into a can. If petrol flows out freely,
>but won't go down the raturn pipe, there's your answer.
>

thanks for your response clifford. i assume this will have to wait 'til the car is running, correct? or is this possibly what i need to do to get it running. ugh, i can hardly think straight anymore.

also, if the return line is blocked, is it possible that the internal pressure is what broke my last pressure regulator? and if so, is the newly installed one at higher risk of rupturing 'til i figure this out? and is estate/saloon just refering to 245/244? i've never heard those terms before.


thanks so much!



"way too busy to do it myself, way too stubborn to let someone else, and just knowledgeable enough to read everything i can get my hands on. "

-kayt

well, i finally got it started tonight! i went out after dark, annoyed that i didn't get home earrlier, and decided to pull the overdrive relay to see if that problem would be easeir to see. i pulled it and decided to try starting one more time before heading in.

i checked all the fuses again. this time i decided to pry the bypassed fuse out from behind the panel and check that one too. (fuse 6, fuel pump was replaced not too long ago with an inline fuse due to a short in the fuse panel.) found one thing of interest here. i'll get to that in a minute. so i pulled the fuse, looked fine so i put it back in and turned the ignition. VROOOM!!! wow, what a great sound!!!!!! (i assume the fuse must have been loose, though it didn't look like it. there is no way the od relay could have affected anything, right?)

i drove to the local grocery store (haven't been there in more than a month--no food here at all) for a test drive. unfortunately, i forgot my wallet and still have no food. lol. but back to the point: i went back to the car and started fine again. on my drive home it buckled 3 times briefly (like no gas) and finally stalled the 4th time.

i pulled over, put in neutral. much harder to start this time, but i got it going and made it the rest of the way home. i checked my error codes and the familiar 2-3-2 (lean idle) was not there. rather in my ignition system it flashed 1-4-4. (load signal from MFI system absent) i haven't figured out yet what the MFI system is. doesn't sound familiar, but i assume i can find it in my chilton manual. any suggestions here?

as for the fuse observation/issue: the original called for a 16a fuse. the one they installed is a different kind, but i assume the numbers mean the same thing, right? the one in there now says 20 on it. i checked my fuel pump relay and it was quite warm after driving. (not surprising as the in-tank switch seems to open and close sporadically.) but seeing the fuse i wonder if i'm now sending too much power somewhere, and if that may actually be causing the issue with the relay.

please send any ideas, info. or even theories you may have. also wondering if it might be better to leave the relay case cover off for a while to keep it from overheating?

thanks again!!!
-kayt


"way too busy to do it myself, way too stubborn to let someone else, and just knowledgeable enough to read everything i can get my hands on. "

seems MFI is multi-point fuel injection. still don't know what to look for though. i just opened up my overdrive relay. it looked pretty messy in there. hopefully, that's one solution found!

-kayt