Please, am seriously looking for a mechanic who specialises in Volvo and fixes PRV engines well in Abuja. A contact phone number or location of the mechanic would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

Ikenna.

Am yet to get a Volvo mechanic in Abuja.

One in Lagos would be much appreciated also.

@ Siena -
Is the Volvo S60 engine (non turbo) same as the Peugeot's?

@ Siena,

Actually, the car is Peugeot 505 V6 5sp. Nigerian mechanics have no knowledge about ZN3J (even-fire PRV) engine. So, thats why am looking for a Volvo mechanic since '87 upwards Volvo 760 GLEs have the same engine.

Ikenna.

@Siena,

Below is the is the issues the car is having is having, which i believe is electrcal problem.

First, I have noticed that the car still emits black smoke from the exhaust, under heavy acceleration only. I checked the spark plugs and they were all sooted with black carbons. What could be the cause of this problem? They told me they have replaced the Mass airflow sensor/meter before the car arrived. So, could it still be the MAF sensor or the fuel pressure regulator. Like i said, you only see the black smoke on the exhaust when you accelerate heavily or rev the engine a bit high. The engine dosnt idle roughly. Though it misfires and hesitates at first start everymorning, while the engine is cold.

The up and down idling speed is still there. When you start the engine for the first time in a day, it will run and dies off/stall after some seconds. It will do the same thing at second and third trial. Even when you try to acclelerate while idling, it will hesitate and stall. And before it stalls, the battery sign on the instrument cluster will lit before the engine goes off. The sound of the fuel pump will also be going up and down with engine sound while idling. sometimes, when the engine warms up, it stops stalling and up and down idling will stop too. But as soon as you traffigat or on the side indicator sign, the fuel pump sound will start going up and down. Whenever i accelerate and release the throttle, the engine will behave as if it wants to stall, the battery light will show on the instrument cluster and go off, and the engine will continue to idle.

I have cleaned IAC (Idle air control) valve with carb cleaner, yet the problem persisted. I intend to look for vacuum leak tomorow, incase it could be the cause of the idling problem and black smoke from the exhaust. I also will clean wire connectors in the engine bay tomorrow. I just need to do every thing in my power to fix it myself before taking it to mechanics who might worsent he matter for me.

I noticed that oil in the sump is overguaged. I dont know why or how that happened. Could it be they overguage it when they drained and refilled the engine oil before they brought the car to me? Because it was overguaged when i received the car from them the first day the car arrived. Or could it be that the excessive fuel mixture in combustion chamber is causing this? I checked the oil with hand and i still felt the viscosity, but wouldnt know if the oil has mixed with fuel that made it to overfil/overguage.

I bought 10 liters of coolant and intend to drain the water in the cooling system and refill with the coolant tomorrow. My concern is i wouldnt want after the refilling , and the problem of the rich fuel-air mix will be dianosed to be Temperature sensor, meaning, i will those coolant , which was expensive. But I dont want to continue using water in that radiator. Am afraid it could cause corrosion sooner than i expect. I have once removed and looked for the temperature sensor but couldnt find the exact type. So i put it back, hoping it wouldnt be the cause of the unstaedy idling and black smoke from the exhaust and spark plugs.

In fact, am scared of driving the car anymore because of these problems, especially the black smoke from the exhaust and the overguage oil which could ruin the engine crankcase. But, inspite of these, the car runs fine when it warms up. The problems ddont affect it speed or acceleration. It moves smoothly once its warm. Though, would stall as soon as i on A/C compressor,.ie accelerate the car and returns pedal while A/C is on.

What be the possible cause of the two problems mentioned above (Black smoke / up & down idling speed)? I need an idea before i start beating about the bush.

Ikenna

Siena:

Ikenna, the idle speed will only be regulated accurately by the Idle Air / Speed Control Valve, if the throttle plate in the throttle body is fully closed. Any bit of carbon that may cause it to stick, will cause air to bypass the plate, and it wouldn't idle properly, if it does at all. It will be worse when cold too, when the fuel mixture is richer. I would remove the throttle body, and clean it first.

A faulty Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS) is another possibility. Unfortunately, the Peugeot 505 is not OBD-compliant, so you'll have to get resistance values, and test it manually with a multimeter, set to "Ohms".

The indicator issue, that causes the fuel pump buzzing to rise and fall, is a separate issue, and most likely caused by a faulty voltage regulator, or more likely a bad earth / partial short circuit in one of the bulb holders, either at the front or rear. Water ingress will rust the terminals, so they'll become high resistance, and cause the issues you've mentioned, by drawing more current than usual.

Ys, Siena, I have noticed the bad earth issue, when i connected CD player in the car. Once the egine hunting starts, the player would go off, cos i connected the negative on the body of the car, while  the positive was connected directly on the battery positive termina.l So, i removed and connected the player negative wire on the battery negative terminal, and the issue stop, player going off while the engine would be hunting. Also the headlights is also showing bad earth sign when on. I intend to clean wire connectors in the engine bay today. But my major concern is that, the car originally was a GTI/505 GTD turbo, and was converted to V6. So i wouldnt know if the electricals were connected rightly during the conversion, or the part numbers of electrical 505 V6/PRV  parts were installed, such as the fuel pump, Mass airflow sensor,the two ECUs for the ignition and Injection.

Ikenna.

Honestly, the car goes/runs fine once it warms up. The stalling would stop, but would start once i on the A/C, accelerate and release the throttle pedal. The engine doesnt rough idle. It doesnt hard start. To me, 505 V6 5sp is the best V6 car i have ever driven. Its a short stroke engine. There is something about this PRV V6 engine thing that makes it unique. Am yet to experience that in most of the modern V6 autos i have driven. Maybe its because its a rear wheel drive V6, couple with manual tranny, that makes it awesome. Its just this black smoke thing and hunting (up and down idling thing) that is making me sad and preventing me from fully enjoying the car.

I have the ZN3J (PRV) workshop manual, but its more of mechanicals and less electrical troubleshooting and repairs. I prefer PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE Which i maintain by DIY. At least, untill i find a Volvo mechanic in Abuja that have knowledge of PRV engines well, i would give him a trial, but until then , I just have to fix my car, which i can be very good at. I only lack information right now on what or where to start the diagnoses.

Ikenna.

Siena,

I did as you suggested by cleaning the throttle plate with carb cleaner. As soon as i started the car, the hunting was gone, likewise the stalling. I couldnt believe it. I swicthed on the A/C and the car didnt stall, as it would always do before. I test drive the car with the A/C on for some mins and the car was moving smoothly witout coughing. I was so happy. Never drove that car in that condition.

When i arrived home, I switched off the AC compressor and the hunting started again, though not stalling this time around. I switched back the AC on and the hunting was gone. Switching off the compressor again, hunting returned. What an Irony!

Anyway, since the stalling has stopped, I can live with the hunting. Thank you very much. Am very grateful. I will gradually track and fix other problems like the excessive fuel that brings out black smoke from the exhaust and soots spark plugs black. I even noticed today that the oil in sump has fuel mixed, making it to overfil. It could be the Injectors, Fuel pressure regulator & fuel return line/pipe.

Thanks once again Siena.

Hi Siena,

No. This time around, the car hunts only when the compressor is off. But as soon as the compressor is switched on, the hunting goes away. Before the cleaning of the throttle plate, the car would hunt and stall whenever AC complete is switched on and sometimes without the AC on. But now, it appears the switching on of the AC compressor stabilises the idle speed.

Ikenna.

Hi Siena,

Today, I carried out some test on the car as you suggested. First, I started the car and allowed it to idle for a while. As soon as the engine warmed, the hunting started, so i switched on the A/C and the hunting stopped. I then turned the wheel (Power steering) to full lock and hold it for some seconds. There was no hunting or stalling. Though, the engine sound lowered a bit, but not enough to stall. I released the wheel and the sound came up a bit. I did it again, this time i tried to accelerate but there was engine hesitation. I released the wheel and swtiched off the AC, the hunting came back. And while hunting, the idling speed/sound was a bit high.

The second thing i did was I inspected the fuel return and supply lines and they were both in good condtion. None bent under the car, upto the fuel tank. I attached a long hose on the FPR (Fuel pressure regulator) and placed the other end far from the engine bay in a container. I then swithed on the ignition, without starting the car. Fuel started gushing out of the hose and nearly filled the 1 litre container within seconds. The flow seemed ok, though i know it wouldnt give me the accurate pressure by mere doing that. I even forgot to start the engine and do the same test, to truely determine if the fuel flow from the FPR would be ok .

Then, I decided to check the throttle plate. I open the chamber and it was clean as i left it the last time i opened and cleaned it. I closed it back. I disconnected the IAC valve. Lo and behold! one of the opening on the valve was blocked partially with a plastic bag, the opening pipe on the valve that leads to the intake manifold . Why would someone do this? I brought out the bag and looked at it. The label on the bag was a Lagos company name . Meaning it was done by the mechanic in Lagos that claimed he replaced the MAF sensor, and collected the money from me for that,before the car arrived Abuja. One of the reasons am relunctant to give my car to another mechanic to fix for me. Anyway, I removed the bag and reinstalled the IAC valve back. I started the car and the matter became worse. This time the car wasnt just hunting, but was puffing out thick black smoke while hunting. The engine was high too. I turned and closed the back knob on the throttle unit and there was no effect. I switched on the AC, this time, it was also hunting, seriously bringing out thick black smoke from the exhaust. Hmm! It wasnt funny.So I blocked the IAC valve again with the plastic bag on that same side, this time, i completely blocked that side hose that enters intake from the IAC valve. As soon as i did that, the hunting stopped with the AC on. No more black smoke. The idling started sounding normal. I off the AC, the hunting came back, but mild. I turned in the knob on the throttle unit completely (closed the bypass air) and the idling sound/speed became normal for the first time without the A/C on. ANd the thick black smoke on the exhaust was gone. The black smoke only comes out of the exhaust on heavy acceleration. The engine appears to be performing better with the IAC valve blocked.

In my opinion, whatever is causing the hunting, also to a large extent, contributes to the excessive fuel/black smoke from the exhaust. Though, i wouldnt know if the blocking of the IAC valve would completely stop the excessive fuel in the combustion chambers, but at least, the black smoke is less seen while the engine idles or been accelerated.

For now, there is no more test i could do without multimeter. It has gone beyond my guess work. Could it be the IAC valve that is the culprit? Could it be loss of connection somewhere? Could it be the alternator? I just dont know what the Hell is going on in that engine bay! Am tempted to block the IAC valve for now and be using it that way, but who knows if the excessive fuel will still enter the crankcase, which is my main concern.I thought learning how to fix Injected engine would be that easy. Even on the engine workshop manual, the directions on how to test all the sensors and electricals with Multimeter sounds Abracadabra to me!! I only know how to test battery and Alternator volts with multimeter. I really have a long way to go. The indication now is that I just have to park that car, rather than ruin that engine with fuel washing down the cylinders and doing some damage in the crankcase. I missed my XN1 engine a lot.

Please Siena, What do you think?

Ikenna.

Thanks Siena. I will look for the IAC valve in the auto market. But i may not be able to find that part no here in Abuja, cos they only sale I4 carburreted 505 engine parts here in Abuja. Only at Onitsha that am sure it will be very much available. Will find away to get it anyway. But will still try APO mechanic village here in Abuja. You never can tell. I will, for the meantime, block the two openings on the IAC valve. As long as it stops the black smoke/excessive fuel, I can live with the low RPM.

Thanks once again.

Ikenna.

Hey Siena,

Someone was also suggesting that the O2 sensor could as well as be faulty. Though, couldnt even find it on the engine. Thought it was supposed to be attached on the exhaust manifold. Anyway, will deal with the IAC valve first and see how it goes.

Ikenna.

The instrument cluster of V6 was not installed. The car still has the GTI 2.2 instr cluster and the Tacho is not connected. So, that most hv been the reson why the Tacho wasnt connected. Though, i would have like it have the V6 instrument cluster cos the cluster has self diagnosis ignition diode/bulb that flashes to indicate a problem with the ignition system whenever there is one, and what could be faulty, with various no of flashes.

Honestly Siena, there is something about 505 V6 that makes it very awesome. The engine is 90 degree V6 engine configuration, unlike other V6 that are 60 degrees. It has V8 engine configuration, with absence of two cylinders. And its a short stroke engine, with a lot of power and torque speed at low RPM. The 2nd generation PRV, ZN3J in 505 V6, has proved worldwide to be indestructible when properly cared for or as long as oil is in the sump. The weight & Design of the engine gives the car front and rear even weight distribution while on high speed, thus, rear wheel drive. The road handling of the car is really awesome. Not just speed, the entire road handling. Siena, i did my homework well bfore i made up my mind to buy the car, which just arrived last month from France. You can check the car survey review on 505 V6 to learn more. Also the Volvo 760 GLE from 1987 upward models. The 2nd generation PRV engines are very sweet running V6 engines ever produced in the Universe. Try and test drive '87 Volvo 760 GLE if you can find one.

Ikenna.

Hi Siena,

Sorry for bothering you again. pls, is throttle plate suppose to be partially closed or fully/completely closed? i asked because I noticed the plate wasnt touching the walls of the unit when closed, which i reajusted. Then i removed the blockage on the IAC valve. and as soon as the plate started touching the walls or was completely closed, the engine sound, which was always high before, started sounding normal, but would stall every few seconds of idling after starting the engine. could it still be faulty IAC valve that made them adjust the throttle plate to be partially opened or is it suppose to be partially opened?

ikenna

There are two things going on here, your engine burning gas when cold, and not getting enough air to maintain idle.

Since it works fine in the noon and only smokes after long interval;I think your injector(s) are clogged up so staying open. This causes fuel to leak into engine and most burn at startup, so check injector spray pattern. If you have not changed the spark plug the cylinder with most soot is suspected

With the idle it might be the IAC or TPS, but since the engine was changed, It might be that the computer is trying to run a V6 like a turbo 5.
I am used to IAC sensors not sure how the earlier systems work.

Check EGR if it as one(looking for places that could be clogged by carbon)

On the throttle body I don't think the butterfly valve should be fully close(from all I have seen, there is a tiny opening to let air into the engine while you foot is off the throttle, so if your engine doesnot work at idle now haaa. The vacuum hoses might have a leak somewhere, check for cracks, once I met a Ghanaian at the auto store about to be taken for $400 by a hispanic man I looked and found that his PVC hose was disconnected bingo.

Take several pics of the engine bay from different angle and post it

first, 2nd series PRV engine dosent have EGR valve. it has IAC valve, detonation sensor and other sensors scattered on the engine bay. 2nd, the Engine is controlled by two ECUs. One for Ignition (BOSCH EZ 115K) and the other (BOSCH LH2-2 Jetronic). The two of them, I have seen & confirmed, are 505 V6 ECUs. So the right ECUs were installed in the conversion.

I have tried several times to attached the car & engine pics on this thread, but it wouldnt attach cos the sizes are more than 200 kbs allowed. But you can check "Peugeot 505 Turbo Forum", I have all the pics, including the pics of the IAC valve and the throttle unit attached in two of the threads there. In Technical discussion, open the thread "MY 505 V6 EMITS BLACK SMOkE" you will see the IAC & throttle unit pics there. Also, on 505 DISCUSSION folder in the forum, open the thread "AT LAST! MY 505 V6 5sp MANUAL HAS ARRIVED". There all the angles of the car and engine pics are there.

Am begining to think that the MAF sensor or the Injection ECU may have something to do with the excessive fuel and the hunting. Will get back to you guys why i think so. But check and see the engine pics first.

Ikenna.

first, 2nd series PRV engine dosent have EGR valve. it has IAC valve, detonation sensor and other sensors scattered on the engine bay. 2nd, the Engine is controlled by two ECUs. One for Ignition (BOSCH EZ 115K) and the other (BOSCH LH2-2 Jetronic). The two of them, I have seen & confirmed, are 505 V6 ECUs. So the right ECUs were installed in the conversion.

I have tried several times to attached the car & engine pics on this thread, but it wouldnt attach cos the sizes are more than 200 kbs allowed. But you can check "Peugeot 505 Turbo Forum", I have all the pics, including the pics of the IAC valve and the throttle unit attached in two of the threads there. In Technical discussion, open the thread "MY 505 V6 EMITS BLACK SMOkE" you will see the IAC & throttle unit pics there. Also, on 505 DISCUSSION folder in the forum, open the thread "AT LAST! MY 505 V6 5sp MANUAL HAS ARRIVED". There all the angles of the car and engine pics are there.

Am begining to think that the MAF sensor or the Injection ECU may have something to do with the excessive fuel and the hunting. Will get back to you guys why i think so. But check and see the engine pics first.

Ikenna.

When the IAC valve is partially or completely blocked with plastic bag (pure water satchet), the hunting stop. Likewise the black smoke stop while engine idles. The black smoke only comes out of the exhaust on heavy acceleration or high rev. Then, when i unblocked or remove the plastic bag from the IAC valve, the hunting starts and thick black smoke emits from the exhaust while the engine idles and heavy acceleration. Do you think clogged Injectors would cause all that? What if the MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor makes the Injectors to supply excess fuel in the combustion chambers? Or maybe the MAF sensor detects vacuum leaks and is making the Injectors to do so. I have checked but yet to see any vacuum leak. Will keep looking. Am yet to find another IAC valve to replace and see what happens. Even the one in the engine bay right now sucks air from the MAF tube. I tested it. Maybe, its not regulating the air it sucks well. I can only find out if it still regulates sucked air well with didgital Multimeter, right? Infortunately, i dont know yet how to use the multimeter to conduct such test.

Notwithstanding, I plan to bring out the Injectors this coming weekend, clean and check their spray. I know am doing a lot of guess work here. I just want to do everything in my power to diagnose the problem than taking to a mechanic, who might end up messing up the whole engine or compounding the problem. I just have to try.

Ikenna.

Hi Siena and Sultaan,

Pls, there was this issue the car had two weeks ago which i failed to mention that could help in diagnosing the blacksmoke thing.

I disconnected the main fuel pump earth/negative connection intentionally, but forgot to reconnect it. i was in a hurry to drive to somewhere. So i turned the ignition and engine clanked and the started. because i was in a hurry, i didnt wait to hear the whinning sound of the main fuel pump when i turned the key to ACC. The car started anyway (which am yet to understand how). While the car was moving, it was sluggishly moving. I was accelerating the engine heavily for the car to maintain speed and i could feel the engine struggling to move the car. I was wondering why that was happening. When i got to a traffic light, a car passed me and the driver told me that fuel was pouring/leaking from my fuel tank to the road. So i left the engine on and dashed to the car rear, only to see fuel gushing out from the top of the tank. I opened the trunk, removed the plastic cover of the two fuel pipes/in-tank fuel pump in the trunk and saw fuel gushing out from one the the two fuel hoses attached to the pipes that go into tank (return line hose/pipe). Why? Because the two hoses had no clamps on them. But i could see the mark of clamps on the hoses, indicated that they previously had clamps on them. Someone worked on the fuel tank and didnt put back clamps on the hoses while fixing them on the pipes. Why would someone do a terrible work like that? I didnt wait to answer that, so i quickly switched off the engine and tightened the hose on the return fuel hose attached to the return pipe ont ht e tank gushing out fuel with a wire. I started the car and checked and the problem stopped. I drove the car to my house, about 20km from there but could feel the struggling of the engine trying to move the car, behaving as if the car had low compression, but it wasnt stalling or misfiring, just hesitation. I got home and bought clamps and fixed them on the tanks. When i now wanted to start the car to check if any leak was coming from the hose, it then occured to me that i wasnt hearing the main fuel pump whinning sound or noise. Then i remembered that i disconnected the earth connection on the pump. As soon as connected it, the engine started pulling fine again. But why didnt the fuel flow from the return hose without clamp when all those while the main fuel pump has been on since the car arrived last monthy withont clamp?

Now i have a lot of questions.

Can an engine run with main fuel pump wiring disconnected?

Can the in-tank fuel pump start and move the car to up to 20km without the main fuel pump on?

Am begining to think that there is wrong connection of hoses on the fuel tank,fuel pumps or FPR. Because, why would fuel start coming out from the hose (return line) when only the intank pump is on with less pressure? Shouldnt that happen when the main fuel pump is on instead, since it would have more pressure on the fuel? Or is it the FPR that is now sucking the fuel from the tank and returning it to the tank? Or is something obstructing the flow of the fuel inside the tank return pipe line that made the fuel to pushed back and was coming back from the junction, where hose was connected to the pipe?

Also, I noticed something else on the fuel line connection. One of the two fuel pipes and hoses is bigger than the other. The supply line has the smaller pipe and smaller hose, while the return line has the bigger pipe and hose. Pls, is this normal?

Also, i would like to know how to connect hoses on the main fuel pump. Which side of the pump is connected the hose that goes to the engine bay via fuel filter, and which side of the pump is connected the hose that goes to tank? I believe the top of the pump is the side with electrical connection, while the bottom is without electrical connection. I want to be sure the fuel pump in the car is properly connected, cos i wouldnt understand why engine could be supplied fuel while the main fuel pump is not on or disconnected eletrically.

Pls, i need someone to explain if that was normal before i start tearing down anything that has to do with fuel under the car.

Ikenna.

Hi,

Today, I tested the resistance of the igniton coil with multimeter, and below is the result:

Primary winding: 1.4 ohms
Secondary winding: 5.7 kilohms

I googled the resistance specifications of standard Bosch ignition coil and got:

Blue Bosch coil: Primary : 3.0 ohms
Secondary: 9.83 kilohm
Black Bosch coil: Primary: 3.4 ohm
Secondary : 7.99 kilohms

From what i gathered above, my coil could be faulty because of the low readings. I checked in the market and found two Aftermarket ingnition coils: VALEO and Autostar. Valeo coil reads : primary =2.5 ohm and secondary= 7.7 kilohm, while Autostar coil reads :primary =2.5 and secondary= 10.4 kilohms. I think Autostar is the best option here. It also has a resisitor attached to it. Am begining to believe that the ignition coil, right now in the car, is not producing enough current to ignite spark plugs. Thereby causing some fuel to be unburnt during power stroke in the combustion chambers. Just a thought anyway. But Siena, is it wise to replace the coil, considering its primary and secondary winding resistance?

I checked the battery volts and it reads 12.5 v. I started the car and tested it again and it was reading 14.18 and 14.20v. Does it mean the battery and alternator is ok or charging properly?

I also ckecked the resistance of temperature sensor with the Multimeter . The sensor read 1.5 ohm when the engine was cold. Then, after starting the engine and idled for sometime, which made the engine to be warmed, i checked the resistance again and it was reading more than 400 ohms. I think the sensor is still ok, judging from the result of the test. Or am i wrong?


I bought another IAC valve. Though 2nd hand anyway and will install it tomorow and see what happens.

But I still need to know if i should go ahead and replace the ignition coil.

Ikenna.