My learning curve of Volvoisms continues. My son's "retro" 1988 240DL has me stumped...as in puzzled...vexed...ready to put the breaker-bar through the windshield...


The battery discharges while driving the car. I replaced the alternator about a year ago and we have taken it to 2 Advanced Auto stores to have it tested...No Problem Found. I had Andy start the car in Park, turn on the headlights, emergency flashers, radio, fan on high, door open so the dome light was on...disconnected the + battery terminal and the car continued to idle...so the exciter wire is returning 12v+ to the alternator windings at idle speed under this extreme load and there appears to be no grounding issue; best home test that I can create. The battery is brand new, yet car will drain the battery to stall-out in about 35 minutes of driving with the headlights on. I had Andy race the engine with the +12 disconnected and my high-sample digital volt-meter indicated voltage range from 12.6 to 14.58...so increased RPM is not saturating the bridge and the voltage regulator appears to be within spec.


Since he bought his "retro dream" now turned nightmare a year ago...I have replaced:
both fuel pumps, fuel sending unit, fuel filter, fuel relay, master cylinder, 4 wheel cylinders, all brake pads, front brake hoses, all 4 rotors, rear parking brakes, rear shocks, struts, rack & pinion, 4 new tires, power steering pump and hoses, water pump, all of the belts and hoses, mass air flow sensor (this wasn't cheap), fuel diverter, cornering lenses, radiator, alternator, battery, rebuilt the odometer and replaced the radio...yes, the outside door handles and steering wheel are original...


Any ideas oh gurus of Swedish auto oddities?


The moral of this story...never let your teenage son buy a car that looks exactly like the first crayon picture of a car that he drew at about age 3


There are 2 good things in all of this...1) for the rest of my life I can smile and with great authority say, "Remember when I told you NOT to buy the Volvo because it would be difficult to work-on, parts would be hard to find and cost a fortune."....unfortunately a fool and his father's money are soon parted... 2) His only opportunity to get a speeding ticket is going down hill with a tail wind when the speed limit is 35 miles an hour or lower...

 

even at idle, the alternator should be putting out at LEAST 13.6 volts as measured at the battery, when most accessories are turned off.

last one I had problems with, it was the ground wire from the engine to the alternator. take your multimeter, put it in DC Volts, put one lead on a clean spot on the body of the alternator and the other lead on the battery negative (-) terminal, with the engine running, you should see very close to 0.0 volts. if you see any more than that, put one probe on the alternator, and the other on the engine grounds near the fuel injection rails (bunch of brown wires), make sure you clean off the surfaces you're probing so they are shiny.... if you still see more than 0, its the alternator to engine ground thats bad. if thats 0, then go engine ground to battery -, and if THAT isn't zero, try engine to car chassis (like the metal plate the relays and positive terminal are on), if thats nonzero, its the engine-to-chassis ground thats bad... if thats zero, try car chassis to battery -, if thats non-zero, its the chassis to battery - cable thats bad..

 

p.s. a 240 is a great first car for a kid, they are very easy to work on, very simple and robust, parts availability is pretty good, and with a bit of maintenance, they can last nearly forever.

case in point, we're original owners of a 1987 240, which now has around 500,000 miles.

Son leaving for college in 2010...


daughter leaving for college in 2013


(yes, I posed them the same, its what Dad's do...)