Engine 850: B5234TR/2.3/20v/T5R: Battery condition affecting boost??

[Pupbelly]

Hello all, I've had a grumble that my recently acquired T5R is not boosting sufficiently i.e. it only just gets into the white part of the boost gauge.

It has been to my Subaru guy today and he's been over everything and all is well it seems, the only issue that has manifested itself is that the battery is weak and recently has needed a jump start a couple of times. He has suggested that it could be the battery is not providing enough oomph generally and the car could be in some sort of limp mode?

Is this feasible? Needless to say I've had a new battery fitted and will collect the car later. There are no fault codes stored or listed as he has interrogated the system with a proper scanner.

He's not been able to take it for a run due to it only having just under 1/4 of a tank and there is a serious lack of fuel around here which adds to the pain of him being able to test it properly and is bloody annoying to say the least, sooner this fuel faff is sorted the better. I tried to get some yesterday and this morning without success

Anybody had any similar experience? Is the Volvo ECU that sensitive to battery voltage / amperage?

Many thanks
Mark

[4x4]

Low battery voltage will affect the general running of the engine so could well be the source of your problem


There again it might be something else...

[Pupbelly]

Well a new battery can only be a good thing. After filling up (finally) with £87 of Shells finest brew we’ll see what happens. Although there’s a strong petrol smell at the back of the car now. Hope there’s not a bloody leak!!

[JohnM 855 T5R]

Originally Posted by Pupbelly

Well a new battery can only be a good thing. After filling up (finally) with £87 of Shells finest brew we’ll see what happens. Although there’s a strong petrol smell at the back of the car now. Hope there’s not a bloody leak!!

New battery shouldn't make a blind bit of difference! When the engine is running and the alternator is turning, what the car (and ECU's) "see" is alternator voltage - about 13.8 to 14.2v.
As for the pertrol smell - if you brimmed it when you filled, petrol will have flowed out of the filler pipe overflow tube - mine does it as did my old C70. Moral is - don't brim it. Just fill it until the pump shutoff occurs and maybe just a squirt or two more.

Regards
John

[Jammin]

or check the clamp around the filler tube into the tank as they rust away to nothing:

[s1monc]

Originally Posted by Jammin

or check the clamp around the filler tube into the tank as they rust away to nothing:

Agree, quite a common issue.

[Pupbelly]

Originally Posted by Jammin

or check the clamp around the filler tube into the tank as they rust away to nothing:

I'll check this but I don't think its the clamp - or I hope it isn't. Is it an easy swap or major surgery. Are the filler neck and tank neck plastic with the clamp being metal?

[Pupbelly]

Originally Posted by JohnM 855 T5R

New battery shouldn't make a blind bit of difference! When the engine is running and the alternator is turning, what the car (and ECU's) "see" is alternator voltage - about 13.8 to 14.2v.
As for the pertrol smell - if you brimmed it when you filled, petrol will have flowed out of the filler pipe overflow tube - mine does it as did my old C70. Moral is - don't brim it. Just fill it until the pump shutoff occurs and maybe just a squirt or two more.

Regards
John

Good shout John on the overflow, I didn't realise there was one so I'll do a bit of research. It looks like it had leaked from the top of the tank as a guess because the underside of the boot floor and chassis rail looked damp and smelt of fuel. I put some cardboard under the car and Saturday morning there was a tiny dried drip stain so it can't be anything major hopefully.

I thought the same regarding the battery and my Subaru guy said it was a long shot, either way the battery needed changing so its one more thing ticked off I suppose.

[Jammin]

Originally Posted by Pupbelly

Are the filler neck and tank neck plastic with the clamp being metal?

Yes, hence the rust. I've just bought a pair to replace my rusty clamp. pn: 3531428

[Pupbelly]

Thanks Jammin I'll make a note just in case. I think I'll clean the area up and have a look. Need to find an image of the overflow thing JohnM 855 T5R mentioned and see which is likely to be the most feasible.