Engine turnover / 2002 V70

[Mr. Detail]

Hello Gentlemen-
Went to start up my good 'ole V70 for church this morning and all I got was a clicking sound.
I recently replaced the battery back in February with a new Interstate one and the alternator
was replaced a few thousand miles back in 2025.
Do you think this sounds like a starter motor issue? Since I bought the car back in 2017, I have
never replaced the starter. She has 225k miles on her right now.

[abscate]

Check battery voltage first. 12.5 or higher

[erikv11]

Agreed must first check battery, even if it's new.

If you don't have a voltmeter (then get one! just kidding), is it easy to try jump-starting it from another car? Make sure you run the cables properly, of course. If it fires right up with jumper cables then it's like the battery, and you'll want to find out what's killing it so quickly.

[Mr. Detail]

abscate & erikv11-
Yes, gentlemen, just hooked up the jumper cables from my wife's van and my v70 started. Guess it's not the starter after all.
My neighbor is bringing over a voltmeter and a battery charger. My alternator was replaced back in 2021. Not sure how long those darn things are supposed to last.

[Mr. Detail]

Okay, latest on this issue. The voltmeter read "11.94" volts.
Charging the battery now on a slow trickle.

[Mr. Detail]

Follow-up question. If I do need an alternator, what amperage do I buy? i.e. 120, 140 or 160?

[erikv11]

Once you have it running, most auto parts store will do an alternator test for you. Sounds likely to be the issue but their little tester box can give an evaluation of the battery too. Check the grounds and the connections to the battery.

It's hard too get a good replacement alternator anymore. I'd go with Bosch but I know people have had their share of disappointments with those, too.

As for which alternator I am not expert enough to recommend for sure. I do now you can safely go with any of those sizes i.e. you can't oversize the alternator. The 160a is physically larger (maybe the 140A is too, compared to the 120A) so the only issue can be wedging it in there. The one you have is probably a 120A because a shop will usually put in the budget part but if you can get part numbers etc off of it, you can know for sure.

[abscate]

120 amps is fine unless you are booming a huge amplifier to shake the streets

[Mr. Detail]

Thank you erikv11!

[Mr. Detail]

No booming amps for this 70 yr. old.