2001 S80 Inside Fan
 

I sold this car to a close friend. I bought it new in 2001 and it has 24,800 miles. The battery went dead 3-months ago and she had a new one installed. No problems for 3-months last week after driving it a short distance she turned it off and it wouldn't start without a jump then it would be ok for a day or two. She took the car back to the shop that put the battery in 3-months ago after jumping it the last time it went dead. They tested the battery when she got there and it was at about 70% after she jumped it and drove it about 20 minutes to their shop. At first they said the battery was probably faulty. They gave her a loaner battery and charged the 3-month old battery for 24 hrs. When she returned they told her the battery she bought 3-months ago was alright and they put it back in the car.

She took the car to another shop that I recommended to her. I had taken the car to them once for a Software Update (they were recommended by Volvo USA because there is no Volvo Dealers on Maui) a few years back and knowing they were tied into the Volvo Computers is why I thought it was a good recomendation. That shop told her she needed a new Alternator, new inside fan motor and a Resistor Pack, all for just $1990.00. He told her the inside fan isn't suppose to come on and that's why she needed a new motor and Resistor pack. He also said her alternator wasn't putting out as much as it should. I knew he was wrong about whether the inside motor was suppose to come on so that made me suspicious of anything he said.

I stopped by yesterday and put my voltage meter on the battery without it running and it read 12V. I started the engine and it read 14V. That appears to me the alternator is putting out enough to charge a 12V battery. I'm thinking the battery might still be the problem. According to what I've read the outside and inside fan coming on shouldn't drain a good battery.

What do the experts think? Keeping in mind, she was having this same problem 3-months ago and after replacing the battery she drove it 3-months without an instance until last week.