S70 starting issue

[Aaronpkelly89]

Good evening everyone.I have a late 1997 Volvo s70 2.5
Diesel automatic with an awful starting issue. The car will
not start without an absolute battle. Takes at least half an hour to
Start, if it even starts. However will run perfect once started for as
long as you like. Then when you switch it off, the problem returns.
Usually a fully charged battery will drain during these attempts to start. I have had my mechanic look it over and he is at a loss as to the
definitive reason for this issue. He thinks the timing is off and does not feel comfortable dealing with this incase the situation is made worse. He has never worked on any volvo and has always said timing issues are the one thing he wont touch. Please find attached what his fault machine found with car switched off.
EFI-718 code is his worry
Thanks for any help in advance.

[Dancake]

You've got the codes but ideally you need a mechanic/technician who would be able to methodically work through the possibilities associated with each of the codes. EFI-122 and EFI-718 can both cause starting issues, but there are a number of things that you would need to check to either rule them out or confirm them as potential suspects. I could give you a list as long as your arm of causes of the symptoms you are experiencing, but you need a fault finding strategy and access to the proper technical information that will allow you to work through the diagnostic procedures associated with the codes.

It's also worth mentioning that not all starting issues will generate fault codes, but they are always worth investigating.

[Luxobarge]

When it's in "not starting" mode, try to find out what's missing, fuel or spark - or both. This will help rule out a lot of things, there's only a few things that can make both go missing, and if it's just one of them then you've got a route to follow.

When I say "fuel" I don't just mean fuel pressure at the rail, but is it actually firing the injectors too?

For example, both missing could easily be CPS or cam sensor, apart from the ECU itself there's not a lot else will do this.

Just one other thought - does it fire for a few seconds and then die? If so, this is a classic symptom of the immobiliser antenna around the ignition switch barrel going faulty, which means the car is immobilised but will still crank. It's usually caused by bad contacts on the antenna, pretty easy to clean up and fix is free. Sometimes you need to replace the antenna, but it's cheap and easy.

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi folks, the car struggles for ages and occasionally it basically comes as close as you can imagine to starting but not actually starting. To the extent you think it is going to start but doesn't. The car sounds healthier and highly likely to start but does not. Then you try again for an eternity but it's just cranking. Theres 240k on this motor so perhaps it could be the ring on the barrel....that would be great. I have a bad feeling that it will be some deep hidden disaster though. Dan it's a pity I wasnt in Belfast to ask you to look at it. Thanks for any help folks

[Aaronpkelly89]

Is this the part that may need cleaned / replaced? Are all petrol and diesel s70 and v70 immobiliser Antennas the same? Or are they specific to certain models

[Martin Cox]

It's the D5252T diesel engine so I'd suggest it's highly likely to be a pump timing issue. I'd agree with your mechanic when he says it's likely to be a timing problem. If it were the antenna ring it would probably fire up fine and then die almost straight away.

The question is what's causing it?

I'd suggest checking the state of the cambelt, tensioner and harmonic balancer (crankshaft pulley that drives the aux belt)and the injection pump belt, tensioner and idler. If these seem OK I'd check the dynamic pump timing.

The pump timing is critical on these engines and it doesn't need to be out by much to cause poor starting and smoke.

It's almost certainly nothing to do with the glow plugs should this be suggested.

Do let us know how you get on.

Martin

1998 V70 Tdi SE Auto 225,000 miles

[Aaronpkelly89]

Thanks martin for your input.....the car was quite smokey the last time I successfully started the car although this soon cleared. I assumed this was because I'd spent so much time trying to start her up though

[PNuT]

Pump timing! without question!

[dingov70]

Morning, your issue is retarded injection timing . It may be loose crank damper allowing sprocket to move ( which is very bad news ) cam belt stretching ( same again ) or pump belt stretching .

The symptoms are definitely without fear incorrect injection timing , Oh and is mechanic changes cambelt make sure the diamond coated washer is fitted ! ! ! !

Mine had not been ( previous owner ) damper worked loose , sprocket sheared woodruff key & valves got kinks in their stems .

Mine was a total arse to start until pump timing was bang on , Good luck

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by Aaronpkelly89

Is this the part that may need cleaned / replaced? Are all petrol and diesel s70 and v70 immobiliser Antennas the same? Or are they specific to certain models

That's the badger, yes. Sorry about my previous post, I didn't notice that yours is a diesel. If it fires for a second or two and dies then antenna is still a suspect, but as others have said pump timing is a hot favourite on a diesel.