I just purchased an 02 V70. 116k, very clean car. I was driving it and everything was fine but the dash showed the battery light. Within minutes after driving it from a cold start; the brakes became very stiff, making it difficult to brake, the ac quit blowing cold air, the car was accelerating very slowly, the abs light came on, traction control light came on and the cel light as well.
I parked the car and pulled the codes. Cam position sensor and coolant temp sensor. A battery light typically means a bad alternator, but it has a new one.. which doesn't necessarily mean anything. The battery is also from 2012.
This is my first volvo and I don't know anything about them specifically. Can anybody point me in the right troubleshooting direction?

 

I suspect the battery is bad - will cause all kind of weird electrical issues. Any battery 4 years old is suspect - especially non-Volvo batteries

 

I know BMW's can be this way as well. So the age of the battery did throw a red flag. I've just never owned a car that had these issues with a bad battery. Any other possibilities? Or are you pretry certain that I should throw a new one in it?

 

So I replaced the battery with a known good battery from another vehicle of mine. The issue is still there. Does the ecu need to be reset? It's also backfiring more then it did yesterday.

 

Pulled the alternator off this evening. Failed the test at my local parts store. I'll be replacing the alternator and battery tomorrow. The parts store has an option for a clutch pulley style alternator or a regular pulley alternator. Any insight on the clutch style?

 

Problem solved! New alternator and battery fixed her right up. I'm still having hard start issues and a CEL P0342, Camshaft position sensor.