B200E Intermittent Fault

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Rolfey97
Posts: 5
Joined: 03 Mar 2017 01:10 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

B200E Intermittent Fault

Post by Rolfey97 » 03 Mar 2017 02:14 am

Hi everyone,

I got my hands on an '86 360 GLT a while back as a project and it's some good fun so far. Unfortunately it has developed an intermittent fault as of late and I've been struggling to pin it down. It started off with the engine cutting out randomly every now and then and refusing to start until a minute or so afterwards. It has progressively gotten worse so that now it's rare for it to start. At first I assumed it would be fuel related but there was no improvement after changing the fuel filter and checking the pump and fuel lines. After that, I checked and cleaned the distributor which was all working fine and the engine was getting spark as it should. At this point I was thinking it had to be a problem in the Renix ignition system. I went through all of the routine fault finding and got the correct resistance values at all of the points except for the angular position sensor which had an alarmingly high resistance. I checked the cable which seemed to undamaged and couldn't get a change in the reading from moving it around. I haven't been able to remove the sensor yet as one of my mates damaged the head of one of the torx bolts holding it on. I can see how a dud sensor could cause the problems I've been having but I don't see how it could only be working intermittently so my question is whether this would be the cause or if there might be something else going on? And is there any hope of repairing/cleaning the sensor or will I definitely have to get a replacement? And finally, does anyone know if the same angular position sensors are use on any other Volvo models? I'm in Australia so it's hard to come by 360 parts!

I'm currently on a fairly steep learning curve so please excuse my ignorance if any of my questions are really obvious!

Cheers,
Rolfey
1986 Volvo 360 GLT
1976 Porsche 924
2004 Subaru Impreza

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: B200E Intermittent Fault

Post by Ride_on » 04 Mar 2017 11:43 am

The fuel pump fuse clips are a well know weakness. The Aux fuse box is behind the battery. When it dies check this, bend the clips in a bit, rotate the fuse or replace with a modern fuse box.

The crank sensor is also known to be intermittent once cracks develop. Easy to get in the UK, mail order should not be too bad. They are socket cap / allen key bolts. The bolts are a bit special to accurately locate the sensor but I think they have over engineered it and oridinary bolts should work fine (if they fit), especially if just using one.

Probably best to wire up a fuel pump voltage light (eg using the choke dash light, maybe 'not-pump' is better for the dash). The pump should go when the engine is turning (triggered by the crank tach pulses via the safety control relay). The Jetronic relay is also known to get cracked solder joints.

Fuel pumps can also go intermittent, they have a limited life with brushed contracts.
Last edited by Ride_on on 05 Mar 2017 11:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

User avatar
Rolfey97
Posts: 5
Joined: 03 Mar 2017 01:10 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Re: B200E Intermittent Fault

Post by Rolfey97 » 05 Mar 2017 10:53 pm

Thanks mate,

Thats a good checklist to go through so I'll get around to checking all of that as soon as I can!
1986 Volvo 360 GLT
1976 Porsche 924
2004 Subaru Impreza

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