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Electrical Rewire required | 1998 V70 | Bad cables and/or bad alternator

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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yanga001
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Year and Model: 98/99/00 v/s70’s
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Electrical Rewire required | 1998 V70 | Bad cables and/or bad alternator

Post by yanga001 »

So i measured the voltage drop from the positive terminal to the main fusebox and came up with about 0.2V under moderate load. The voltage from my alternator is very low as i am getting around 13V max across the battery. Im guessing it needs to be replaced ASAP and have a parts one up north i need to recover.

I am wondering about cleaning or rewiring part of the battery to fusebox harness as it has a fairly significant drop. Additionally ill check the starter cable and alternator and post my results.

EDIT:

Measured the max voltage drop from alternator to battery as roughly 0.3 volts
Soldered and cleaned the contacts on battery to fuse box and brought down the max drop to roughly 0.09V.

Alternator seemed to be roughly 13.4 V while idling. The battery voltage under max load was 12.7V
1998 S70 N/A Auto (Parts car)(planned to be harvested)
1998 V70 N/A Auto New full restoration project (Water pump thrown at 404K Km)
1998 V70 N/A Auto (Workhorse) (Tree to driver B pillar :( )
1999 S70 T5 Auto(Project) (planned to be fixed)
2000 S70 SE M Learning platform (planned to be driven one day)
2008 S60 2.5T Auto (Sold)
2012 Honda Pilot AWD Touring (Daily)

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misha  
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Post by misha »

Measure alternator output directly on alternator while engine is idling.
Red probe on b+ and black on alternator housing.
You should have 14-14.2v.
If alternator output is 13v...directly on it....voltage regulator or alternator are bad.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

yanga001
Posts: 787
Joined: 24 March 2019
Year and Model: 98/99/00 v/s70’s
Location: Ontario
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Post by yanga001 »

misha wrote: 09 Jun 2021, 01:23 Measure alternator output directly on alternator while engine is idling.
Red probe on b+ and black on alternator housing.
You should have 14-14.2v.
If alternator output is 13v...directly on it....voltage regulator or alternator are bad.
Thanks Misha,

The 13.4 was directly on the alternator from the + terminal of it to the frame. I think the bearing went out on it as well as it makes a whirring sound.

Hoping my spares up north are good and worse case will pull a brand new one from a project car.
1998 S70 N/A Auto (Parts car)(planned to be harvested)
1998 V70 N/A Auto New full restoration project (Water pump thrown at 404K Km)
1998 V70 N/A Auto (Workhorse) (Tree to driver B pillar :( )
1999 S70 T5 Auto(Project) (planned to be fixed)
2000 S70 SE M Learning platform (planned to be driven one day)
2008 S60 2.5T Auto (Sold)
2012 Honda Pilot AWD Touring (Daily)

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erikv11
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Year and Model: 850, V70, S60R, XC70
Location: Iowa
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Post by erikv11 »

yanga001 wrote: 09 Jun 2021, 07:21
misha wrote: 09 Jun 2021, 01:23 Measure alternator output directly on alternator while engine is idling.
Red probe on b+ and black on alternator housing.
You should have 14-14.2v.
If alternator output is 13v...directly on it....voltage regulator or alternator are bad.
Thanks Misha,

The 13.4 was directly on the alternator from the + terminal of it to the frame. I think the bearing went out on it as well as it makes a whirring sound.

Hoping my spares up north are good and worse case will pull a brand new one from a project car.
Your sig says you have a 99 S70 project car - note the 99 has a different alternator that will not swap to a 98.
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

yanga001
Posts: 787
Joined: 24 March 2019
Year and Model: 98/99/00 v/s70’s
Location: Ontario
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Post by yanga001 »

Damn didn't know that, well i guess i can contact a friend in the area for one. Worst case ill rebuild it myself i guess. Thanks for the info!
1998 S70 N/A Auto (Parts car)(planned to be harvested)
1998 V70 N/A Auto New full restoration project (Water pump thrown at 404K Km)
1998 V70 N/A Auto (Workhorse) (Tree to driver B pillar :( )
1999 S70 T5 Auto(Project) (planned to be fixed)
2000 S70 SE M Learning platform (planned to be driven one day)
2008 S60 2.5T Auto (Sold)
2012 Honda Pilot AWD Touring (Daily)

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