Okay, let me first point out that i'm no mechanical expert, I basically just know how to to do basic stuff (tires, change oil, etc).

I have an 87 volvo 240DL wagon (automatic) that has driven great in the past, but has had issues over the last few months. Basically about 80% of the time I have to come to a stop while driving, or even slow down to a crawl, my volvo will kind of sputter and then shut off. The good news is, it usually starts right back up and I continue driving. It happens especially when I slow down and make a turn at the same time.

I notice if I have to restart it multiple times, the battery gets weaker and weaker, so I've been bringing it in a charging it overnight every three days or so. At one point I got it towed and the tow guy checked the alternator and said it was putting out fine, he thought it was a bad battery or bad cables connecting to the battery, which I agreed. The battery is only a few months old, and the wires look terrible, so i'm guessing its the wires. If its not getting charged properly it just slowly dies over a few days.

I'm thinking the fuel filter needs to be changed because sometimes the low fuel light clicks on even when I have plenty of gas, so I guess thats the car thinking its low on gas because very little is getting through the fuel line. I bought a new fuel filter and tried to change it out, but no human can get the old one off with the tools we have, so I guess i'll have to pay to get someone else to change it with proper tools.

I'm hoping maybe changing the wires and fuel filter will solve part of the problem, any other ideas? Thanks very much.

[Edited on October 4, 2012 at 11:09 PM. Reason : .]

10/4/2012 11:09:04 PM

I will first start by saying I have ZERO experience on old volvos, but from what I do know as general knowledge:

A few things I would start guessing:

Looking terrible isnt bad. It is bad if they are corroded. Have the ends been cleaned? I like the "pour scalding hot water on them" method, then I follow up with a battery cleaner brush deal. also check the connection between the other end of the wire and the starter, as well as the alternator. check your ground connections also. Poor connections will provide high resistance, which will cause symptoms of a weak/dead battery.

check to see if the battery is good (you can get it tested at autozone/advance), even if it is new. to me, it sounds like the battery isnt holding a charge. How far do you normally drive it? Even if you are starting the car every 2 miles, the alternator should be able to overcome this and recharge the battery.

If you feel inclined, you can take the alternator off and get it tested as well.

also,

the shutting off while coming to a stop is not the fuel filter. Neither is the low fuel light.

The low fuel light is triggered by the fuel sending unit in the tank. depending on how much fuel is in the tank, a float causes a contact to pass over a variable resistance. High fuel = high resistance and low fuel = low resistance or visa-versa. The fuel light comes on when the resistance reaches a specified amount. There could be many reasons this is triggering in error, but fuel filter is not one of them

Also, a clogged fuel filter would show symptoms at times of high fuel demand, IE, wide open throttle. At idle, you are using very little fuel.

In my experience as a tech, 99% of the time the car stalls when coming to a stop its the IACV or IAC (Idle Air Control (Valve)). It is a electronically controlled flap that allows enough air into the engine to keep it running when you suddenly let off the throttle. IT also adjusts to keep the idle at the proper RPM even if you have the AC on, all the lights on, and are turning the wheel (all things that add drain to the engine). These valves have small passageways that like to get built up with carbon and other gunk. The stepper motors that control them are not strong enough to overcome these obstacles and thus they get suck. Usually, cleaning out the valve with carb-cleaner or brake-klean fixes the issue.

10/4/2012 11:57:15 PM

get a bicycle and learn to use the mail

10/5/2012 6:47:39 AM

^^wow, thank you very much. I appreciate you taking the time to type that all out. I was unaware of the AIC valve possibility, so I will try to locate it. Hopefully it'll be easy to take off and clean.

I thought there was a chance I had just gotten a bad battery from advanced auto. I thought the same thing, maybe it just doesn't hold a charge. So I took it back to them and the guy working was a moron and didn't grasp what I was tryin to say. The battery was dead and he just said, "well lets see if we can charge it back up" so they charge it for 30 minutes and he says, no, the battery is fine. I'm like, "i'm not saying you can't charge it, i'm saying it won't hold the charge." Of course he just told me to try it again and come back if I still had issues. That was back in may, i'm guessing whatever warranty came with it runs out after a month or so.

10/5/2012 8:39:21 AM

it is not strange for a battery to die if you start a car many times in a short period of time. the alternator just doesn't have enough time to charge the battery back up between starts, especially if you never raise the RPMs because the alternator will recharge the battery quicker when it turns faster.

[Edited on October 5, 2012 at 9:17 AM. Reason : what i'm saying is there's probably nothing wrong with your battery or alternator]

10/5/2012 9:17:02 AM

check voltage at the battery when it is running. should be 13.7-14.0 ish if the alternator is working correctly.

as for the stalling, i would also suspect the IAC. it is probably a bosch unit, and will go from the air intake tube to the intake manifold.
google "3517067" and you can see a picture

10/5/2012 10:05:13 AM

^ That AIC is the same one used on M20 bmw's? It looks like it anyways.

You should be able to remove that valve and twist it back and forth along the axis through the plug at the end. You should hear stuff moving inside when you do this. If you do not hear stuff moving, thats bad.

10/5/2012 11:35:20 AM

I think i've located it, but its going to be tricky to get to. I can't do it today, gotta go to this wedding rehearsal. Hopefully the car will hold up long enough for me to wait and work on it sunday. Thanks again, guys.

10/5/2012 12:17:17 PM

^^ not sure, but worldpac pulls up Bosch #0 280 140 520

10/5/2012 12:29:36 PM

Do you all think it could possibly be a bad ignition coil? The battery seems to be fine, but it has many symptoms associated with a bad coil. Its been sputtering and shutting off sometimes, riding rough, etc. Sometimes it wont start, but then after a while it will, so i think the coil overheats and won't work for a while. maybe i'm an idiot. just trying to find the most simple things. Probably take it friday to get it looked at.

10/31/2012 11:03:55 AM

The IAC valve is bad on those cars. try cleaning it out or letting is sit in a tub of carb clean. they are about $260 new so good luck

10/31/2012 1:11:18 PM