My friend has the exact car as mine,99 v70 non turbo front wheel drive and his car one day just went into limp mode so he noticed that the lights where also dim so I told him to test the alt. He said he was only getting 12v so I told him he needed an alternator. After installing it he also notice that and the outside bulbs blew out and got a fault for his air flow meter. He changed that and now all is well. My question is what could have caused all the lights to blow out? Could it be the regulator? If so, my alt is still original and I have 210,000 miles on it. Could I change my regulator before it happens to me?
Thanks
Sorry long

 

Well, people have the habit of changing the alternator with the battery connected. Was that the case here? I would NOT replace any working parts.

 

Thanks for the reply. He didn't change the alternator without disconnecting the battery. I am wondering if you can change the regulator before it tanks out.

 

When the alternator "goes" quite often its really the voltage regulator and you can get a surge which can fry relays or fuses. When my 850's alternator went, I had to replace both headlight bulbs (since they were on when the alternator went). There are kits to replace just the voltage regulator so if you have the time/skills you can take that on. Check out Ebay - there's a range of part prices from $40 to $150... I'd probably shop brand name like Bosch...

 

That is what I wanted to do, like the old days when the alternator never went bad, just change the regulator. I will check to see if I can get to mine reasonable easy.