Volvo: 88 volvo 760 turbo gle, fuel pump relay, volvo 760

Question
QUESTION: Please, I need help! I own a 88 760 turbo gle sedan. It has about 165000 and when I bought it it ran like a champ. about 5000 miles ago. It started to die at random but always refire to get me home. I have given it a new tune up, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, air filter, fuel filter. It ran fine for a few weeks then it died again. So, i got a brand new coil, power module, and fuel pump relay. Again it ran good for a few weeks and now its even worse. I'll start it up in the driveway and it will run for about 5-6 minutes and cut off like someone just turned the key. no spitting or sputtering. And it won't refire. When this happens, I have no spark at the coil and no fuel at the regulator. If I let it sit overnight, It will do the same thing the next day. I picked up a used computer from the bone yard, mine is the 0 280 000 541. and the used one is exactly the same. Now, if I plug in the junk yard computer, it won't start unless I hold the fuel pump relay shut with my finger. Again it starts and runs for about 5-6 minutes then dies with no restart. So, I was better off with my old computer, at least I don't have to hold the fuel relay closed to keep the fuel pumps running. So, today I am going to the junk yard to try and return the computer and get the distributor from the wreck. maybe its the pick up? What do you suggest?

ANSWER: Craig,
Yes the pick up in the dist if it is the LH 2.0 system. How about the radio supression relay. It is under the hood is black and has a number of 1323592. Some cars have two of those relays one is for the cooling fan the other is for the ignition/injection system. If the cooling fan works try to swap relays to see if that helps.

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QUESTION: thank you for such a quick response. i went to the bone yard to get that distributor. he said i'm going to have to come back later. so i came home and tried again. my question is, do pick ups fail intermittently?
what i have going on now is i read online that if i unplug some wires under the dash by the brake pedal, i should get a reading. so, i looked and found a yellow connector that carries a blue and an orange above the brake light switch. i unplugged it and took the dist. out carefully marking all the positions. now, with the key on, if i spin the shaft i hear the something clicking by the fuel and i get spark at the coil. so, i put it back together and left the yellow connector unplugged. and it fired and ran. it ran longer than the 5-6 minutes but still died out. i did notice that when it was running, it had a slight miss or stumble because it would shake the exhaust against the car, ya know? and I'm getting this loud clanking noise.it almost sounds like a rod knock on an old Pontiac i used to have.
so eventually after about 10-12 minutes, it warmed up and died out. no refire. i have changed the relays you were talking about, and still nothing. so, i looked at the fuses panel and in the 30 spot was a new style 10a fuse. i changed it with one of the old style that were extra in the car and wham, it fired. so, i reved it up and it cut out and died again. no refire. where can i get a fuel pressure gauge? maybe something is in my tank and the fuel pump keeps picking it up? i don't know.......


Answer
Craig,
At times when the pick up gets hot it will fail and when it cools works again. So when the engine quits you pull the dist and spin it and the injectors click, that would tell me the dist is good. I never heard of the wires under the dash test you are talking about. How about this when it stall have a fuel press gauge on it and see if the engine stops because of no fuel. When it stalls see if there is power at both sides of the coil. Pressure gauges can be bought through the Volvo dealer, tool dealers (Snap-On etc) and some parts stores.