Hi! I am a recent Volvo owner with a 1999 V70 AWD with ~ 95000miles... (an upgrade from my 200,000+ miles 1996 Dodge Neon made possible by a relative who can no longer drive sad for them good for me!)

THE STORY

Driving down the road a couple of weeks ago, the dashboard lights started acting strange -- when braking, the brake light and couple of other lights would come on...

Later that day, the speedometer dropped to zero while the car was travelling around 50 mph -- I pulled over and turned off the car. It would not start again... Dead battery!

I hoped that the 7-year old battery was the culprit -- so I replaced it.

Since i live and work in the same place, the car sat for two weeks except for little trips of less than 10 miles (followed by charging the battery with a plug-in charger).

NOW:

I am still in the middle of Pocahontas County West Virginia and I have time off coming up... and would like to be able to drive around... BUT the battery is not getting charged while the motor runs. . . HELP!



Battery reads 12.5 v with car off and 11.6 with car on.

If I disconnect the red while the car is running, the car dies.

When I start the car, the charging system light does not come on.

--- I think this is problem with the Alternator but I am wary because i think the charging system light should come on when when starting up... yes?



QUESTIONS --

Is this the Alternator or another component such as the Regulator, or ???

If it is the alternator -- does anyone know of a good DIY replacement manual online?

Any hot tips in general would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

1. Indicates battery is discharging while engine running; i.e. not being charged.
2. WTF would you ever do this!!?? You may have easily damaged any number of electronic control modules on the car!!
3. Yes, the charging light (like all the other instr lites..) are supposed to come on in the key ON (but engine not running) position; that's why it's called the "bulb check" position.. That it's not indicates either an issue with the bulb itself or the alt.

Most likely your alt is bad; may just be the brushes, which are in the rectifier/regulator assembly, all of which is part of the alt.

 

Likely the alternator, but the cables and all connections should be checked.
I've also had no light or message until the batt was near dead.
A local starter/alt shop can usually save you some bucks. In my case I pulled the alternator and checked the diodes then decided to buy a regulator for $60 from my local shop.
They had a better price than any of the parts stores.
You can also go the salvage yard route.
Ed

 

Great! thanks for the advice --

I just tested the wires (a small red one, and the larger red one) connected to the alternator; with the key in the on position and the engine off, they both read 12V or so.

 

Im having the same exact issues even after replacing the alternator and the battery. Does anyone know what else I can check/replace? Its a 1999 Volvo V70 Base with 200K miles on it and was running like a champ until this happened. HELP!! Im sure my wife is loving this because she has new car shopping in her eyes!

 

Anyone solve this problem? I'm having the same thing alternator was changed a year ago, starter last week and battery yesterday. Speedo quit on last run and hasn't started since...