Hi all, I’m the (previously happy) owner of a 2011 s80 3.2, and have loved the car for the years I have had it. A month or so ago while traveling home from out of state it cut off, with several warnings (charging system, power steering, airbag service, and DSTC temp off). Not being at home I had few options, had it worked on at a shop who said the alternator tested wonky and replaced it. Drove it the 300 miles home, was ok for a week, then did it again. Took it to a local shop (closest dealer is an hour away at least) who said battery and some connections were bad and repaired them, they couldn’t find anything else. That was a week or so ago, and now it’s just fine it yet again. I’ve read several threads on power drains, but nothing that really fits it (especially cutting off, not just dying when not in use), if anyone has ANY advice I would greatly appreciate it, I’m comfortable working on most engines but electric stuff is beyond me. I’m a poor grad student and can’t afford to keep throwing $ at it without doing anything.

 

A common alternator misdiagnosis on the 3.2 is caused by the the alternator one way clutch seizing and pulling the engine drive pulley loose. A Repair shop logically diagnosis a bad alternator since it is not charging (and sells it to the customer). They order the part, and during replacement find that the drive pulley on the engine is actually loose. (and the alternator is not really bad, but they have bought it and sold it to the customer) So the shop swaps the alternator pulley onto the new alternator (which is actually a one way clutch that is seized) tightens the loose drive pulley on the engine (not understanding that the bad one way clutch on the alternator is what caused the problem to begin with)

If the repair shop is not familier with that and does not put a new clutch on, the drive pulley is pulled loose again, causing the same problem.

Did the first shop put a new clutch on, or did the replacement alternator have a new clutch on it? Was it a factory alternator or a random aftermarket brand?

 

Hoonk,

that is a great question, to be honest after 2 days of being stuck far way from home I was just so happy to get the car “fixed” I didn’t pay as much attention as I should’ve to the repair. I will find the paperwork, but I strongly suspect they didn’t replace the clutch, it was just a Meineke shop (only place that would accept my car in Greenville, SC for at least a week), not a Volvo specific garage. I did fail to mention that the last time it died prior to the last shop visit, it was completely out of juice, I couldn’t even remove the key fob, but the second a touched it with a jump box it powered up and started/ran fine, do you think this would be possible if that was the issue? I will definitely see what I can do to check it out, I’m pulling my hair out about this. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the advice, that’s not something I would have ever thought of.