Alternator vs Regulator

[proinfo57]

Guys I have what may be a similar issue.

Volvo v70xc, (2000). after driving for 20 minutes or so at 55/50MPH, at an intersection the speedometer stopped working and about 60 seconds later SRS light came on then a few more dash lights. Stopped the car and it would not start back up. No known issues prior to this event. Towed the car and battery was too low to roll windows up. Tow truck jumped the battery in order to roll windows up. Tried cranking the car and it cranked fine. As soon as the jumper cables were removed the car started powering down until it stopped running. My thoughts are the alternator. The car had no signs of battery fatigue etc. Prior to the event the car was driven for 3o minutes, turned off for 30 minutes, cranked perfectly and driven for another 20 minutes or so before the failure. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Of course this all went down as I started traveling for the holiday, wife, and 2 dogs in the car!

Tom

[JDS60R]

Thanks for the update. Hearing your issues with ROPS and ABS ligt it still sounds like he cables or alternator.

The question to ask would be "What is the parasitic light on the battery while th car and interior lights are off"
If they say 'huh" you say- "You know - when you use an inline amp meter to see how much juice the compter and stuff is pulling from the battery when the car is off"
If they ay "huh" again - you say " You know- hen something is killing the battery and you pull the positive cable off the battery and put an amp meter between the post and the cable - to see how much juice its pulling - I mean , my battery is dying and I want to now if its something in the car that won't shut off"

If they don't understand- get a new mechanic for electrical issues. Or right back and I can show you how easy this sto check with a $4 meter and 10 minuts of your time.

Please keep in mnd some of the best mechanics have never had in depth electrical troubleshooting . It occurs in cars much much less often than a mechanical failure. Thats why ther are specialty auto electric shops

[shiloh51933]

If I was you I would follow previous member's postings cause you want to know what's causing the parasitic drain to begin with or what's killing the alternator. If this mechanic is just putting in new alternator/regulator it will solve your problem temporarily plus it's the easy solution to an electrical problem your mechanic does not want look for cause it's very time consuming and a pain in the asssss!!!! Follow the instructions given and replacing an alternator in this car really isn't that complicated, if you get the Haynes repair manual for auto it's just about following directions, good wrenching, Shiloh.

[bguzz]

I like the idea of rebuilding the alternator, but I tried this not to long ago on my 98 S70. I got the bearing and brushes, but when I pulled it apart, I realized I also needed a new slipring. When the old brushes wear, at the end of their life, they start arcing against the slipring and it can cause gauges/damage to it. I could have put the new brushes in there but I knew that would be a short lives solution as it would probably start arcing/wearing right away. I couldn't find anyone to sell me a slipring locally or on the web. I wound up buying a rebuild at AAP instead...worked fine for $100 and that was 1.5 years ago.