Friends,

Earlier today my 2001 S60 seemed a little off, lights were a bit dimmer than usual, and after a few stops it died outright. I was able to get it going again on the second attempt, and it limped back home. I had weak headlights, AC was out, ABS warning light kept popping in and out, and the speedometer would periodically die and go to 0. After a few minutes I was stuck in third or fourth gear as the transmission stopped shifting. This is all similar to what happened when I previously had alternator failures (twice in the past two years, third now by the looks of it,) but since this car is so old and I don't feel like putting more money into it in labour than it's even worth, I'm going to try to fix this myself.

So before I get my hands dirty playing mechanic, and likely destroy the car trying to get the alternator out, does anyone know of any other likely causes for the symptoms above that I could test for without major disassembly?

 

Simple test is just measure voltage with car off to measure state of battery. A healthy battery shows around 12.5volts. Under 12 is a problem. Then measure ith car on. You should have voltage 13.5-14.5 volts. anything less than 13 indicates alternator.
Keep your battery charged or it will be damaged