2005 XC90 alternator problem?

nsheffer · Post by **nsheffer** » 26 Jun 2012, 11:07

Hi all,
the other day my wife and I were driving and all of a sudden the radio shorted out and then multiple messages/lights came on.

the messages were:
1. anti-skid service required
2. power system service urgent

the lights were:
1. red triangle
2. battery light

we took it to an indy mechanic that works on european vehicles and they said the alternator wasn't charging the battery at all.

by replacing the alternator, are we likely to resolve all the issues we experienced?
It just seems strange that all these lights and messages came on at the same exact time as when the radio shorted out.

nsheffer · Post by **nsheffer** » 29 Jun 2012, 10:19

Since folks didn't seem to have an answer... I thought I'd follow up for anyone who has a similar problem

Just got our XC90 back yesterday morning... the alternator solved all of our problems!
All in all, we paid $439 for the alternator (brand new bosch) and I have a friend who is a mechanic for Toyota that was willing to install it for $250.

Hate to put that kind of money into fixing stuff that wasn't even my fault but it could have been much worse. Indy mechanic quoted >$1000

Post by **jimmy57** » 29 Jun 2012, 12:54

"Hate to put that kind of money into fixing stuff that wasn't even my fault"

I don't quite understand this. Not being snarky here but it's your vehicle, you drive it, and vehicle repairs on 7 year old vehicles are no one else's fault.

When battery voltage gets low the various systems on the car start shutting down, mostly by design to let the car continue to run with battery power only. The various messages you observed were the indications of those things going off.
You say radio shorted out. Did the radio fuse blow or what was the symptoms of the shorted radio?

I hope you are not in danger from the fires. Stay safe.

nsheffer · Post by **nsheffer** » 29 Jun 2012, 16:27

The reason I say it wasn't my fault is that electrical components can "go" at anytime without warning... It's not like I did anything to cause the alternator to quit.

I'm not blaming anyone for the alternator going out... just sucked that it did. I would understand if I was doing something stupid with trying to install some component or something... then shame on me. It was just very unexpected.

I agree with you sayingthat various systems will shut down by design. That actually allowed me to get home and get the car checked out... so for that I'm greatful.

With the radio shorting out... the radio made a terrible screeching noise, shut off, then came back on... that's when the alternator had died and everything transferred over to running solely on the battery.

Thanks for the thought about the fires... so far, we're OK... haven't been evacuated as thousands of others have been. There's just a ton of smoke around the area.