In advance: If anyone has any suggestions I will be forever grateful.
This is my wife's 1997 850 GLT / Automatic

About a year ago the battery died. No problem, it was time for a new one. Went to Sears and had one put in. A couple of months later that one died too. Ooops, - I thought - maybe a defective battery was installed, a dud, a lemon? So I went back and, of course, they replaced it free of charge.

About a month later it happened again. This time I took it back to the Volvo dealer and after a "check-up" they said that the wiring harness from the battery to the starter motor needs replacing - it was getting too hot - and was causing the battery to fail. Not a cheap item with labor, but OK. One new wire installed.

And by now, you guessed it. After a couple months and another new battery it happened again. Took it to a nearby service station, they can't find anything wrong. Had two different mechanics look it over. No apparent electrical leaks or shorts, alternator is fine. They recharged the old battery and sent me on my way. Said there's nothing else they can do. That was about a month ago, and today I went to start the car but the battery is completely dead again. Silence.
Seems like there's no logic to it. The car can be driven, the battery is charged, and then it sits for a few days, and the battery is completely dead. (This situation makes me use bad words and kick things...) Otherwise it is a great car.
PLEASE HELP, anyone?
thanks!

 

I have forgotten the best way to check for something draining the battery...

1) I would take battery in to an auto parts store with a battery checker that gives reading of cold cranking amps. Just to start off on the right foot.

2) There is a way to use a multi-meter -- 12V DC Amp draw -- to chase down a circuit that is draining a battery. If you have a friend with a multi-meter, time to buy him dinner and have him help you find this problem.

3) I would remove the NEG battery cable and connect multi-meter between NEG battery cable and NEG battery post. Then, I would change settings of multi-meter to take a reading of 12V DC Amp draw. Anything more than 1.5 amps would indicate a problem. BTW -- Never Ever connect multi-meter on 12V DC Amp draw setting between POS and NEG posts of the battery. That is a direct short and will damage your multi-meter.

4) I would leave the multi-meter connected between the NEG cable and the battery. I would begin to remove fuses from the fuse box -- one at a time -- until your multi-meter drops below 1 amp.

5) Then, I would start adding fuses until multi-meter goes back up. Now, you have identified your problem circuit.

Another way of doing this is starting at the fuse box....

1) I would change settings of multi-meter to take a reading of 12V DC Amp draw. Starting at the top fuse, place the red probe on one side of the fuse and the black probe on the other side of the fuse. Look for readings above 1/2 amp.

2) Repeat and continue down the fuse box, until you find the problem circuit.

I haven't done this in a few years, so it would be best to find someone who is familiar with use of a multi-meter.

My educated wild guess is that there is a problem inside of your alternator -- maybe with voltage regulator. So perhaps, it may be best to have an auto parts store run tests on it first.

 

hey robert213,
thanks for a detailed suggestion list.
when the car was last checked at the shop, they did a test of the alternator and didn't find any problems.
as per your item 3) - they did this and it showed a drain of only .23 amps

i guess it's time to invest in a multimeter and start playing with fuses...

thanks again,
D.K.