11-26-2008, 09:31 PM
One of our cars (1992 Volvo 240 wagon) starts fine in the warm dry California summer, but in the winter when it rains and gets cold it will not start. It cranks forever, will sometimes make a cough or two, but fails to start. Today we continued trying for almost an hour (with a jump from another car) and it finally started, ran very rough initially and then ran fine.
While I had the hood open for the jump, I did notice one thing that might be related to the problems. Looking at the ignition coil (without removing anything), I could see a spark jumping from under the boot of the ignition wire to one of the screw terminals on the coil while it's trying to start. When the engine did finally start, the sparking stopped.
So any guesses if this is related to the problem and what steps might fix it permanently? Is moisture getting under that boot and causing problems? Could there be a crack in the connector on the coil?
Should I try replacing the ignition wire from the coil to the distributor, and/or replace the coil?
Any opinions on what might be the most typical cause/solution would be appreciated.
While I had the hood open for the jump, I did notice one thing that might be related to the problems. Looking at the ignition coil (without removing anything), I could see a spark jumping from under the boot of the ignition wire to one of the screw terminals on the coil while it's trying to start. When the engine did finally start, the sparking stopped.
So any guesses if this is related to the problem and what steps might fix it permanently? Is moisture getting under that boot and causing problems? Could there be a crack in the connector on the coil?
Should I try replacing the ignition wire from the coil to the distributor, and/or replace the coil?
Any opinions on what might be the most typical cause/solution would be appreciated.