When I took the 'ol volvo wagon into my indie mechanic to find out why leaving the door open for a matter of minutes results in a near dead battery he told me the charge to my battery was between 12.9 and 13.1 Volts. He also told me about Technical Service Bulletin 3370001. The fix according to TSB is to replace the positive battery and alternator cables. I'd like to hear from anybody who has any info about either the TSB or the problem in general.

thanks for your replies!

Seems the cables were to thin to last more than 10-12 years. But my 95 is in great shape. I would first check why there aren't 14 volts going to the battery, are your alternator brushes going? How old is your battery, is it time for a new one?
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98 V70Rawd(101Kmi), 95 854T(85K mi), 88 245(165K mi)

Without actually reading the TSB I beleive that the battery and alternator cables are what's preventing the 14 volts from getting to the battery. I'm trusting my mechanic here.

I'm an experienced dealer expert tech, have access to all Volvo info yet I'm unaware of any such Volvo generated TSB or TNN. That # is not a Volvo # either.
It baffles me why some websights list Volvo TSB #s that aren't even close to what Volvo lists, doesn't make sense to me.

At any rate, if you're having starting, battery or charging system problems, get the real problem properly diagnosed by an experienced tech because I highly doubt that you need new wiring harnesses. Volvo has never had Volvo dealer techs replacing battery and alt cables on 850s for those problems.

Sid:
Thanks for your reply. I'd like your advice if you don't mind. Here's my situation in a nutshell:

My indie mechanic (who is generally pretty good) found that 12.9-13.1 is the charging voltage. I don't know if he measured at the alternator or at the battery. He calls the local Volvo dealer and gets the TSB and part nos.and recommends that I replace the parts. Gives me the TSB and parts nos. at that point.

I take the TSB# and find it on alldata.com under the Volvo section, I chose not to pay their fee to read the whole TSB. Without looking at the parts I blindly order them at the dealer for $75 each. When I recieve the parts I know I'm being extorted by looking at the simplicity of the wires laying there. I called the dealer and I can get most of my $150 back.

I was going to build new cables for $17 in parts but now that I've read your posting I'm rethinking changing the cables.

What would you do?

thanks
Scott