Engine: D5: Suddenly engine cut out....

[Redcarlad]

I'm now in the 4th week of Volvo ownership with a 2007 ph2 v70 2.4d geartronic it had 117k on it now it sits at 120k....I've opted out of the company car scheme took the money and trying this as an experiment...I expect my mileage to reduce as I approach the 10k govt mileage allowance and will probably swap at the end of the year possibly for another one.
However, all the family were packed in the car for the first time to go to a theme park when after travelling some 20 miles or so at about 60 mph suddenly the engine died and we had no power
....just when we were joining the A1. The Mrs was non too thrilled when I bundled them all up the banking away from the road..I called the emergency services but couldn't withdraw my key from the ignition when I thought I'd just try it again...it started ! Needless to say I was particularly apprehensive but the car performed without issue since - about another 200 miles. I had power to flash the hazard warning lights if that's anything to go by. I have to say I am puzzled by this. Does anyone have any suggestions on what might have caused this - will there be a diagnostic which would show this ?
Thanks for reading.

[reggit]

Do you mean you had no power from the engine, or no electrical power?

If just the engine was affected, the obvious suspects are fuel pump/filter.

If electrical power, check the battery lead are tight - it's usually best to disconnect them, give the terminals a clean and reconnect in the correct order.

[Model flyer]

You say you couldn't remove the key. P2 had problems with ignition barrels /switches so could be your problem. Get that checked out before pulling pumps about .120k is not a lot of miles but have heard of ignition switch/barrel failures at lower mileages .

[Brendan W]

Fuel filter is a common cause of lack of power. They are frequently neglected - fvsh is no guarantee. I would expect the power loss to have been more protracted than sudden if that makes any sense.
Dodgy wiring, poorly seated or dirty plugs at the crank or cam shaft sensors could cause this.
As mentioned loose battery connections or earth strap, particularly the one from below the starter to just behind the n/s headlamp.
The ign key is a bit too much of a coincidence. It may have been a fluke due to your unfamiliarity with it or something more serious. I have seen cases where a heavy bunch of keys has broken them up.

[Redcarlad]

Thanks for the replies. Yes it stopped with no hint of any problem - one minute it's working then absolutely nothing. It was serviced last week and a new fuel filter fitted just to be on the safe side.
In my embarrassed confused state (and never owning an auto before) it might have been that the geartronic was still positioned in drive and therefore wouldn't let me withdraw the key, but in sheer panic to get everyone out of the car and rather red faced explain that we had had a breakdown I can't recall if this was the condition. I'm desperately trying to recall whether I did shift the box lever before we left the car ( no drive at the time so why would I have shifted it ?). I'm wondering about the ignition barrel - as I've only the house key and ignition key on the key ring it wouldn't have been me ...but being a s/h car it might be that previous owners wouldn't have been so kind.
Would Cruise Control have caused a blip ??
Once I'm on my own in the car if it should happen again then I'll hopefully make a note of what conditions exist at the time..
Has this happened to anyone else at all ?

[Redcarlad]

Originally Posted by Brendan W

Fuel filter is a common cause of lack of power. They are frequently neglected - fvsh is no guarantee. I would expect the power loss to have been more protracted than sudden if that makes any sense.
Dodgy wiring, poorly seated or dirty plugs at the crank or cam shaft sensors could cause this.
As mentioned loose battery connections or earth strap, particularly the one from below the starter to just behind the n/s headlamp.
The ign key is a bit too much of a coincidence. It may have been a fluke due to your unfamiliarity with it or something more serious. I have seen cases where a heavy bunch of keys has broken them up.

I'll give this a good look at - what I'm struggling to come to terms with is that the road was smooth, it wasn't raining, it had an indicated half tank of diesel, it had had an 800 mile run only 3 days earlier so if it was a battery lead or earth lead wouldn't this have shown on a bumpy road as it became loose ? It's certainly an area to check though..

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Redcarlad

I'll give this a good look at - what I'm struggling to come to terms with is that the road was smooth, it wasn't raining, it had an indicated half tank of diesel, it had had an 800 mile run only 3 days earlier so if it was a battery lead or earth lead wouldn't this have shown on a bumpy road as it became loose ? It's certainly an area to check though..

If the logic was that it worked yesterday so it can't be that, no part would fail and no car would ever breakdown.
Volvos are generally so reliable, it can be a simple thing that causes the problem.
Good luck getting to the bottom of it.

[Redcarlad]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

If the logic was that it worked yesterday so it can't be that, no part would fail and no car would ever breakdown.
Volvos are generally so reliable, it can be a simple thing that causes the problem.
Good luck getting to the bottom of it.

Yep you're right, putting it that way I feel a complete idiot ! I'll start with the battery leads and the earth strap as they sound an easy way to get into it..I do wish that the Mrs wasn't in the car when it happened..kind of makes her feel uneasy with it now.
Cheers

[cheshired5]

Having solved intermittent non-starts on another car by cleaning an earth point, there can be fine margins that create problems.
Halfords do a great little test light for £3.99 and my multimeter is a Maplins cheap £15 job.
Between them, for less than £20, they've saved me days of head scratching.
It might also be worth following this http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=216877
Sounds similar except it didn't happen on the road.

[Brendan W]

Then have a look at all the underbonnet plugs,wires and sensors you can find searching for breaks, abrasion, looseness ( is that a technical term?). No harm in opening plugs and spraying with contact cleaner. You could provoke a dodgy state to full failure which is a result. Check the connections to the back of the alternator as well making sure the nut is tight and the little plug is seated fully.
As it has a recent service it's possible that something wasn't reconnected properly such as the airflow sensor on the airfilter housing. Looking over the work done might give a few clues as to what could have been disturbed.
Sometimes these things are staring us in the face.
I've yet to hear of the cruise causing power loss. Generally if the car is unhappy about anything it disables the cruise and flashes a warning about things like brake service required or so forth.
PS That earth strap below the starter motor is prone to corrosion of the cable itself in the last inch or so before the terminal.