All,

I recently bought my kid a 1993 Volvo 240 Wagon as his first car. He loves it and we feel relatively safe that he's driving.

That said, we continue to have problems with stalling engines and dead or dying batteries. I just returned from a 16 mile limp home with it after finding the battery dead upon restart in a mall parking lot. I've looked on Brickboard and here (specifically, here: http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=649690) and can't seem to find an exact duplication of the issues here or a lasting solution.

I've already checked or replaced the following over the last 30 days:

Fuel pump relay
Battery (replaced last week)
Cat and oxygen sensor (unrelated to this problem; needed to replace to pass CA smog test)
Alternator (twice)
Replaced all fuses in driver's side fuse compartment with same voltage/color fuses.
Reseated fuses in fuse cluster attached to + battery cable.

Driven the car with the A/C, fan, radio, iPhone (via lighter) and headlights on and driven it with all off and still...the battery dies.

I plan on checking the ground (earth) straps next, but I have my doubts. This is a SoCal car and has a clean engine bay. I have trouble believing the ground straps are corroded or aren't making good contact.

During today's trouble, I noticed the following over the course of the drive home.

1. Radio, fuel guage, ABS and SRS lights cycle on and off. The fan works regardless but goes faster as the battery recovers.
2. Car will stall unless I keep the RPMs high.
3. Revving the engine seems to help with charging/power but not consistently.

Many thanks for your collective thoughts on this.

Peter Kaufman
1993 Volvo 240 Wagon
2009 Honda Odyssey
2007 Toyota Prius
2012 Toyota Prius

Turned out that the ground to the alternator had, indeed, become disconnected. The ground wire had been tucked in around the B+ connecter so that it felt that it was connected. A little more fiddling and it broke free.

Prior to reconnection of ground to engine: battery voltage w/ car off: 12.8v; with car on: 12.5; with load: 12.2V

Reconnecting ground and alternator charged batter - even with load at 13.8v.

With this driveway fix and the flush and fill I did on the radiator of another car, it was a good day!

I think I'm good now, but so far, with this car, I can't be sure. I will keep you all posted.

Many thanks!

Peter Kaufman

93 Volvo 240
09 Honda Odyssey
07 Toyota Prius
12 Toyota Prius

You could have a short draining the battery. IME the most common is the wiring to the driver's door lock; or the tailgate on a wagon.

Remove that fuse and see if the battery is still draining; or just test for a short.

I just worked on an AZ car that had weak grounds. R&R with careful cleaning is a must for any 240 IMO.

Test the batter and charging circuit if you haven't.
--
240 drivers / parts cars - JH, Ohio

In key position 1, engine not started, is the alternator/battery light on or off?
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb, M46 trans, 3:31 dif, in Brampton, Ont.

The battery light is faint. When I start the car and turn it off, the battery light is brighter.

Have a look at the positive battery cable from the battery to the starter.Physically inspect it all the way the insulation may have rubbed through where it goes under the engine.

Alternator twice?

Anyone look at it? This is a problem with the alternator, its belt drive, or its wiring. Not fuel pump relay, but with your late prod 93 it could possibly involve the yellow fuse on the battery terminal. But you've checked for poor contact there.

How about that blue wire grounding the alternator? Who did the alternator replacements? Someone experienced? Are they Autozone Advanced O'Reilly Napa Lifetime Warranteed Gold Standard Remanufactured Genuine Alternators? ;) Belts tight? Crank pulley intact?
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a
picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."