hi sages- doing some anticipatory planning so as to be ready when my 92 245 stops charging and leaves me stranded on tobacco road. my understanding is that on this alternator which doesnt usually crap out, the usual problem is dead brushes which are part of the voltage regulator. this item is on the back of the alternator and it appears to be easily replaceable. notice there are two regulators available from suppliers an 80amp and a 100amp. both are bosch which are from spain or hungary. there is another brand, huco, which i am unfamiliar with. posters here seem to think it is better to remove the alternator and do the replacement on the bench. actually it looks readily doable on the car, probably not more than a 1F job on a scale of 1-5F. current checks show the battery at 12.6v and a 13.5- 14.5v charge rate at idle. which regulator would be best. any tips , tricks and clusterf!#@s to avoid would be appreciated. thanks tons oldduke

Many folks have jumped in here. My thoughts would be to take the Alternator out for the repair. The two screws that hold the regulator/Brush assembly can be very tough to let loose for the first time ever. A Hand Impact tool it what the doctor ordered for this type of repair. I Just bought Brushes (about $6) from FPC Groton. Taking off and soldering in the brushes is a bit tricky. They are hanging in there some 100K miles later.
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/

http://www.egauges.com/Voltmeters-12-Volts-s/22268.htm

I think the mounts behind the panels take 2 1/16" diameter gauges. You will need three little rubber wedges for each gauge. There cheap from a dealer.

Hook the voltage sense wire to input side of any fuse supplied by position II of ignition key.

Hook the gauge light to the dash lights.

IMHO, the small tach is inaccurate. If you wear a watch and have a digital radio with a clock why keep that big dash clock. The big tach is much more common and looks way cooler.

hi 8124- you make a good point but where do you find one of those big tachs to putin place of the clock. have an ancient timex indiglo wristwatch with three hands on it (not digital) and a clock on the digital radio so dont need the big oe clock on the dash. have looked in junkyard volvos and no go. thanks oldduke

Pick n Pull, craigs list, ask here or turbobricks

The big one is much nicer as I did that with my 88 5 speed but the 87 with 5 speed has the small one and it works just fine. Its beyond me why volvo didnt put tachs in the 5 speeds at the factory. Who the hell wears a watch anymore? Digital or otherwise.

Cell phone clock?

yes but wait a minute kid- what about if you get stuck one rainy night on that tobacco road i told you about with a dead alternator and adead battery and you need a wristwatch to check if youve missed the last bus to biloxi. youre forgetting the red arrow lights on the dash which tell you when to shift, but i agree a tach would be better. i didnt have to worry since i was pretty shiftless anyway. wanna be as funny as artben. thanks tons oldduke

bosch regulators are best imo.

the best tip i can offer you on this job is to remove the 2 philips head screws that hold the regulator in place and if you can find them replace these with 2 hex bolts or two star head screws or inset hex head screws.

i find with corrosion and time the philips heads can be very hard to remove with the alternator on the car. the other choices off you a better way to apply gripping torque from a blind and awkward position

Use Bosch brushes in that Bosch alternator. Bosch PN 11011. New springs, new brushes with braided wire, and new insulator sections.

After market brush sets for the OEM factory installed Bosch alternator are tragically inferior. The spring are too stiff, pressing the usually cheaper brush materials on the contacts. Also, the insulator sections are of a more primitive design and material.

The alternator generates the power rated. If replacing the voltage regulator, use a matching part number for the voltage regulator. The replacement comes with, as you know, new brushes already installed in the housing.

Hope that hep-kats.

Buttermilk MacDuffy's Tavern
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First, cats eat the cheese, and usually without an invite. Then, the cats cut the cheese, without warning and sometime to human olfactory detriment.

Duke,
1st thing you should do is install a 2&1/4 inch VDO voltage meter in the pod left of the radio. This way you always know how its charging. I have always changed the VR with the Alt. on the car. Use an ispection mirror if you need to see what your doing. I have been fortunate as mine have always had standard screw heads. String or rubber band method to hold down the brushes on install works well.

hi kid- thanks for the tips. have thought of putting a voltmeter on the dash where you say. where can i pick one up and what do they cost. put a stewart warner voltmeter on a dash of a plymouth back in 73. trying to remember where you hook the wires up to. do you remember? also some have told me it would be better to hook up an ammeter there instead. what do you think. also in plan is to put a small tach in the other mounting panel just below the vom panel. but can find one. any thoughts. thanks kid you seem to know tons. regards oldduke

Art has a great write up and how and where to hook into. Stewart warner will work fine too ,sure you can fine them online. I was fortunate to get a small volvo tach and voltmeter out of turbo in the yard yrs ago.Volts are where its at as you want to see whats pulsing through the system.Piece of mind .