My wife picked-up a '98 V70XC a few months ago, 133,000 miles, regularly serviced by St. Louis dealer, otherwise immaculate car.

I have an Equuis OBD reader; car shows no codes. Found the drive cycle routine posted here on the boards and performed the cycle without problems - OBD reader displayed an all clear or otherwise good read afterward.

A week later (a month ago), my wife pulled out of a parking lot and the car died - no symptoms previous. Car re-started fine, drove home fine and has been so until two nights ago when at night, the dash lights/headlights dimmed (slowly faded) almost to the point of being off. There "was no loss of engine power of power assist in steering or brakes while this happened." The loss of lighting event happened for just a moment and no other electrical load problems have happened since. Cannot replicate the problem either. No codes have since re-appeared.

My wife hesitates to drive the car because of a similar problem (though much more drawn-out)with a Range Rover we had that left us stranded for three days waiting for another Lucas (home by dark) alternator.

I assume the Volvo has its original alternator and am wondering about replacing it. Is the voltage regulator built-in to the alternator on this vehicle? Any other thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Additionally, the A/C buttons (automatic A/C)show amber lights (2)on start-up and will generally revert to green LEDs after a few moments. Any concerns here? How do I read codes for the A/C system - if possible?

Thank you in advance,
Tom Hoffmann
Columbia, MO