The engine fired up again on the first try. Idle is still rough and erratic. I didn't drive it this time - just left it idling in the garage to see what happens. Once things started to warm up, I gave it some gas to rev it up and as usual, once my foot was off the gas pedal, the engine idled low and eventually stalled. This time it's completely dead! Each subsequent try resulted in a weaker crank until there was no play at all (after about 3 attempted starts). Where's the love? I don't think it's the thermostat anymore although I'm not ruling that out yet. This sounds like a whole new problem and I'm not going to try cranking up the engine again at the risk of frying my starter. This new developments has forced me to expedite the ignition system upgrade that I had planned anyways. There are so many things that could cause a "no start" scenario, I think I'll start by ruling out the ignition system by performing the following upgrades:
- Upgrade spark plugs
- Upgrade spark plug wires & coil wire
- Upgrade ignition coil
- Perform a points-to-electronic ignition conversion
A quick check on the battery with a multi-meter quickly ruled out lack of power as the culprit as the battery has a full 12 volts. Fouled plugs can easily contribute to idling or "no start" problems. A quick check on my plugs I discovered, was neither quick nor easy! None of my standard spark plug sockets would fit, nor would any of my long reach sockets for the matter! It turns out, the plugs on the Volvo P1800 are 13/16 hex - that's bloody big! Why so large? Me thinks it's because the B20 engine (and it's predeccesor, the B18) was developed by taking Volvo's V8 truck engine and slicing it in half to produce a straight-4 to fit in a car. No wonder the engine is bullet proof - that and it was made for the freezing cold Swedish climate. In any case, it turned out to be an exercise to track down the appropriately sized plug socket and the replacement spark plugs as none of the neighborhood auto stores carried them.
I ended up ordering all the upgrades online from various sources and am now waiting for the parts to arrive, hopefully in time for the weekend. I got the NGK standard spark plugs (Part No. BP7HS) and a chrome ignition coil bracket from JEGS. I decided on wires by MSD Ignition: I'll be building my own custom spark plug wires using the MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Spark Plug Wire Set (part no. 31159) and coil wire is MSD's 8.5mm Replacement Coil Wire (part no. 84049). I decided on these as they're red, and have the lowest resistance without electronic interference. They do cost twice as much though, but I'd rather do it once right and never deal with it again.
I also bought the PerTronix Ignitor electronic ignition system and the PerTronix Flame-Thrower Coil because they're a popular upgrade from points-type ignition systems amongst classic Volvo enthusiasts, therefore there's lots of support available if things go wrong ... and they have the ignition coil in chrome! The Flame-Thrower Coil has a 40,000V rating which is a substantially higher output potential than an OEM coil - sounds like it'll light a pretty big fire ... must be good, right?!! As for the PerTronix Ignitor, their sales literature states "never adjust or change points again". I don't even know what points are, but the fact that I don't have to mess with them got me sold - hey, one less thing to worry about right?!! Here's a Volvo specific application chart from Retro Rockets, a distributor of PerTronix Ignition Systems. All these components can be purchased directly from the manufacturer's websites, but I got mine from a much cheaper source at Summit Racing Equipment.
The PerTronix Ignitor points-to-electronic conversion seems like a simple enough install that even I can't screw-up, but it does involve resetting the timing and adjusting the idle which is way over my head, so this is one upgrade that I'll have my mechanic perform for me as part of the much needed tune-up. Now, all I have to do is find a mechanic ... and get the Volvo working so that I can drive it to the shop without stalling out and leaving me stranded. To make life easier for the mechanic, I also forked out $10 for a custom Diode Wire Kit from IPD that is used to "bypass the original armored coil without having to cut into the armored cable". Once again, I don't know what an "armored coil" is, but the "no cutting into" sounds like a darn good idea.
In summary, phase 1 is to get the engine firing. Phase 2 is to get it to purr like a kitten. At the rate that everything is shutting down, hopefully I'll be able to fix the problem before it causes a chain reaction leading to a complete catastrophic failure. On second thought - the car is already stalled-out in the garage, so it can't get any worse that that. Yay - good times! Somebody quick ... scissor kick me in the back of the head!
1 comment:
It looks like you are doing a great job on your project! I had a 1972 1800E that I spent a lot of time with, and it is really fun to get things fixed. I highly recommend the electronic ignition, as most of my problems were with the distributor. Have fun, and don't forget to paint it white! ;-)
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