I f*in hate this car.

TXDart said
I say walk away for a little bit and chill.
First off lets get that cap back on,when you pulled the cap maybe the rotor got pull up and turn on ya.Try pushing down on the rotor and wiggling back and forth,and like the others said make sure the clips and nothing else is in the way.
Also if this is recurring problem start off my telling us what motor you got and what it is doing there are so many variable so the more info the better.
Dude me and others can fix that car on the internet if you are willing to do as we tell you.
Hell it could be a bad ballast,bad ignition switch,fuel filter......
Post picture of the cap if you can not get it back on...
Ever been so angry that you were blinded to what is right in front of you....
Just Chill......

Yes my anxiety is running haywire and when it comes to working on this car, my anger definitely gets thte best of me. Can you blame me? I get paid a whole $370 tomorrow. $366 of it goes towards rent which leaves $4 for me for 2 weeks. I pulled the rotor off to inspect it...Maybe I didn't push it down all the way. You know I have no problem working on someone else's car but when it comes to mine, my anxiety gets so bad that I can't even concentrate.

Yes, it's a reoccurring problem. When this problem arises, I've pulled the plugs (which smell of gas) and none of them get spark. Yeah if it's electronic ignition, I'd imagine that the ignition coil is the culprit, but I honestly don't know. I get so damned nervous working on my own car because God forbid I mess something up out here - I don't have a fallback option and car repair shops out here gouge you and/or don't have a clue as to what they're doing.

340plot said
it does not sound like the car to me. it sounds like some young 17-23 y/o that thinks he knows what he is doing, and has no clue.
i do not think you deserve or are ready for a older car. your best bet would be to sell it to someone who will treat it right, and go buy some non-mainenence needing hondata civic!

No it sounds like a 27 year old married man struggling to make ends meet, underemployed and working 20 hours a week whos daily driver was made when Jimmy Carter was president. See how calm and collective you can be when your gross pay is $150 a week. I have severe fibromyalgia. It's chronic pain. Leaning over my car kills my back. I don't appreciate your ignorant comment. Oh and by the way - I used to be a car shop manager up in Rhode Island. For your information in the 8 years I worked there, I never saw a car come into that shop that had ignition points because 90% of old New England cars are rotted out so please, can you forgive me?

LH23H2R said
How 'bout dumping that money pit Volvo ?
Foreign cars -- excepting Japanese -- will turn on you after their 3rd birthday , and will eat you alive from that point on !
I like some of them , but wouldn't own one as a daily driver :D .

I'd be really , really surprised to find that your '76 was built with those delicious points . Maybe it's an export car originally ??
Ballast Resistors were used for both ignition systems ; 2-prong for breaker point , 4 prong with electronic .

The Volvo isn't a money pit. It's a 200 series - one of the best cars ever made and unlike my Valiant, it starts up, runs and drives every time I turn the key. If my wife took care of the car, I wouldnt've had to replace all of the motor mounts and driver's side tie rod end. Anyways my ballast resistor has 2 prongs on the left hand side and 2 prongs on the right hand side.