QuestionHey, Last night when i tried starting the volvo I hear a winding noise, like "wrrrrrrrrr" as I try to start it. I took my foot off the break and let it slide back about a foot on the hill i was parked and tried again, the second time it cranked right up. Today I am at work, and the same thing is happening, when trying to start I hear the winding noise. I tried tapping on the starter, but no luck. I have an appointment in the morning to get it checked out, but now I'm wondering if I can get it to the shop. Do you have any idea what it is? Do you know of a way I could start it? I've never tried roll starting, I've heard that it needs to be in 2nd gear and get up to at least 25 mph to start like that. What do you think? I really appreciate your advice.
Shelby
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hi there, I have a few questions about the health of my volvo. Every now and then it just will not start. I have an 82 240 and it had the same problem when the fuel computer went out, so I added a manual choke and there has not been another problem. But with the other volvo, the starter would kick in and just wind but no start before I added the choke. With the 76 it makes the clicking noise with the dash lights on, but no starter wind noises. Usually I will let the car sit in this situation for a few hours or almost a day and it starts right up, on 2 occasions I actually took the handle of my pocket knife and just knocked on the side of the starter/solnoid housing; it started immediately. I am wondering if this is an electrical issue maybe somewhere around the firewall, or if the starter is going out and i need to get a new one before I am stranded. What do you think? I really appreciate your help with this, I am a student and these volvo's are the best thing on the road, I hope i can get one past a million.
Answer -
The starter issue sounds more electrical than mechanical. Before 1987, Volvo's suffered from a degrated wire harness, where after a few years, the insulation would begin to flake off and cause random, maddening shorts in the system. It sounds like you are suffering from this, especially if you haven't ever replaced the wire harness. I would suggest tracing the wiring carefully from the battery to the starter. I believe the circuit goes through the ignition system as well as a high amp relay under the hood, left side. If there are any shorts in that system, you can get shorts like this. When you touched the knife to the starter, did you notice a spark? That would indicate a bad ground, and support this theory. Getting a Hayne's manual (Pepboys), and looking up the starter circuit will help you track it down. Good luck!
AnswerActually I know exactly what the problem is, but you're not going to like it. Your engine has a flywheel attached to the back of the crankshaft right before it connects to the transmission. When you start the car, the starter motor moves a smaller geared head back to engage the gears on the flywheel and manually turn the engine over until it starts. Sometimes, a chuck of the teeth get broken off the flywheel (usually because someone tries to start it while the engine is already running). If the starter motor tries to engage with this portion of the wheel, it will meet with nothing but air, hence the wirring of the motor you hear as it spins freely. When you move the car several feet (in gear), you slighly change the position of the flywheel so the starter motor can again engage teeth when it wants. I'm afraid if you want to fix the problem, you'll have to have a new flywheel put in. The only other option is to move the car a foot or two when it won't start to force the flywheel to rotate. Sorry for the bad news! Good luck!
