Saturday, July 3, 2010

Cold Start Relay

For several weeks now I've noticed that It's been increasingly difficult to start the Volvo from a cold start. Warm starts are fine, but that first start of the day usually takes about 6 tries while keeping the throttle sightly open. Suspecting a faulty cold start relay, I performed a barrage of electrical tests on the unit to see if the terminals would open or close - nothing ... it was dead. Good thing, Bosch still makes new replacement relays! Unfortunately, they look too modern for the Volvo; black plastic and all. Fortunately, I was able to source a working, used, "old school" unit from iRoll Motors

Before: Volvo 1800E Cold Start Relay - Before After: Volvo 1800E Cold Start Relay - After

Above and below are some before-and-after shots of the replacement cold start relay after sanding and polishing. The car now starts on the first or second try, but I still have to keep my foot on the gas pedal to keep the throttle slightly open ... must be an old car thing.

Before: Cold Start Relay - Before After: Cold Start Relay - After

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