I went through a costly alternator failure recently. I had driven to a city that is about two hours drive from our home and the alternator failed, forcing us to have the car towed and repaired at a service station while we stayed overnight in a local hotel. Total cost was about a thousand dollars. The alternator itself cost six hundred.

I had been getting the orange flashing arrow from the computer and occasional flashes of the ABS warning light before we went on this short trip. I had been able to clear the arrow by running the gear shifter up and down several times and the ABS light went out on its own.

If I had been more 'psychic' to the car's symptoms I would have known that the battery was running down and was creating these false alarms. Instead of helping me find the source of the problem I was being misled into thinking the car had other problems.

The same thing happened to me with my summer car which is a 2000 Jaguar S type a few years ago. On that occasion I was able to call an old friend and get a ride home. So it is not just a Volvo issue.

There was nothing to indicate the battery was getting dangerously low on either car. They started well and ran properly right to the final moment. I am sure my 240 would have shown a slow starter motor and difficult starting if the alternator had failed and the battery was being exhausted.

With all the sensors around these cars I am surprised there is nothing to say directly to the driver that the battery is running down or that the alternator is failing to provide adequate charge. Or is there something wrong with a sensor somewhere?

Ha! I wish there was a bad alternator warning light. The only warning is the car dies or won't start and low battery voltage when tested with an voltmeter.

I replaced two batteries on two cars that may have lived a little longer and still had starting/charging problems after checking and cleaning grounds. Didn't work. Had a trusted mechanic test one car and then another. Diode(s) bad/leaking. These were both original Volvo-Denso alternators with newish brushes and voltage regullators.

Installed two new rebuilt Bosch alternators that IMHO were new but not labeled Bosch.

Sooo, I installed a plug in digital volt meter into the cigar lighter. Maybe just a few bucks each from ebay. Not a warning light but shows a three character number representing the charging voltage.

Isn't there is (was) an analog voltmeter option for the 940.

Disappointing that the original alternators lasted only 27 and 29 years ;[.

BTW a work boondoggle brought me to Ucluelet years ago. Loved it.

Tom

Hi Tom,

So . . . I spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon trying to remove the headlight dimmer relay. This is day two of the struggle. All because of those holding clips. The whole job should have taken about an hour. Lucky I am retired and don't need this car for work travel.

And when I had all of the holding clips pushed back on Relay A/E it was still a job and a half to pull the thing clear of its socket. It absolutely does not require all of these clips Β] to stay in place. I have ground the holding nubs down [but not off] and put some talcum powder over the sliding part of the holder.

But yes. 27 years is not a bad service record for the alternator. Just wish it had chosen Parksville to stop working and not Victoria.

We had our holiday in Victoria instead of Mexico this year!

Bob

Hi Bob,

Next time you get caught with a Volvo problem on the south end of Vancouver Island, think Landsman Motors (downtown Vic), Chapman Motors (uptown Vic), Chapman Motors (Cobble Hill, with the ultimate wrecking yard), Danica Motors (Duncan) or Greenway Auto (Central Saanich), and in that order. Those are the Gold Star Volvo indies on this magical Island. Even better in your situation would likely have been one of the small local starter/alternator shops in Victoria -nothing "phases" them. I'd just as soon die than trust the highly varied skill set of the young wrench monkeys at Cdn Tire chain stores with my sacred Swedish iron. I'd be willing to bet close to 50% of them have never had intimate relations with a RWD Volvo. At least you're all fixed and back to normal.

Hope you at least got to enjoy the town on your unscheduled and expensive overnight stay!
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

Hi Dave,

It was a Sunday afternoon, it was three o'clock and it was Langford. The tow truck driver suggested Crappy Tire because it was open and it was close.

If I had been thinking, once I heard the price of the alternator I should have considered buying a new battery instead. Too bad the Canadian Tire manager did not think of that alternative. Even if I had had to buy another battery in Nanaimo or Ladysmith it would be been a cheaper alternative.

Incidentally, I did not go for the gold plated alternator at first. I thought of contacting Chapman's but later rejected the idea because of the thought of difficulties getting the part out to Langford or of towing the car into Victoria. The CT manager had told me he would order the part in regardless and that was a part of my downfall.

I called at eight sharp in the morning to tell the manager to go ahead and install the part. We then stayed in the hotel until eleven and took a taxi to CT Only to learn they were waiting for the part!

We didn't get out of there until three in the afternoon. There were two issues. One of the bolts was difficult to install and there had been a modification of the electrical connection, forcing the garage to do a change. But the main wait was due to the delivery of the part.

Not always a good thinker in an emergency I am sorry to report.

Bob

p.s. I got the flashing orange arrow again yesterday. Transmission trouble or ALTERNATOR trouble? It would seem the alternator warning light that should flash is useless. It never came on.

Dear muskox37,

Hope you're well. If the "flashing orange arrow" is one of the indicator lights on the row at the bottom of the instrument cluster, the problem likely is the overdrive relay. This relay likely is located in the relay "rack", behind a panel in the passenger's footwell.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hello Spook,

I will keep that in mind should the symptom reoccur. So far so good since I had the alternator replaced.

I know exactly where that set of relays is mounted because I had been experiencing a problem with the dim dip relay. The lights on dim would go out after a half hour of driving, leaving one in total darkness. I tracked it down to the relay but I could not find a replacement in Canada.

Voluparts explained to me that Canadian cars had to have daylight running lights in 1992 but American cars did not so the pool of 'Canadian' relays was quite small.

They sold me an American relay and it did 'plug and play.' I don't have daylight running lights now but in all other aspects it is the same.

Those relays were a devil to pull out with their nubs and fastening clips. I filed the nubs off the replacement relay before I finally installed it. I don't think they need anything other than the friction of the contact plugs to keep them in place.

So if it is still running ten years from now it will be much easier to replace the relays!

Once again, thanks for your input.

I am currently working on that'rack' trying to get to headlight relay. Yesterday I took out Relay C after much fiddling with a couple of credit cards. I wonder if that is the overdrive relay. I re-installed it after removing the holding nubs on the relay so that I can get it out without a major fight today.
Thanks again for useful information.

I am taking out relay C and its companion next to it so that I can get to relay A. Having troubles with the headlights extinguishing on low beat after about a half hour of night driving.

I recall reading about the difficulty of unplugging relays in your car. Knowing nothing about any physical retention nubs, I was thinking that part of the problem may be that the socket's electrical contacts, on the high current side of the relay, have had the typical oxidation that comes with age and moisture, overheating and melting or burning the plastic insulation.

This is a particular 240 problem, occurring to most every one in the headlight relay, and the symptom is just as you now describe: the lights go out after some use as the poor, high-resistance terminal connections heat up with use. However, this same symptom in the low beams could result as a consequence of failing solder joints in the Bulb Failure Warning Sensor.

Not sure if you can get a view of the backside of that panel. It just reminds me of my quick glances into 7/9 cars in the junkyards: every one I recall had the ashtray fuse panel already pulled (but not purchased) by salvage hunters looking for one that wasn't burned. Perhaps the 960 was improved.

Lights going out sounds like a scary scenario; worse than having an unexpected expensive overnight stay. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about in the 240 version of the headlight relay. No nubs to squeeze, and yet, very difficult to unplug.



--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Free advice is sometimes worth what you pay for it.

Hello Art,

The relays on my car were in excellent shape when I finally extracted them from the mounting circuit board. No signs of burning or oxidation.

I filed the 'nub' off the new relay when I installed it so that it could be pulled without the struggle I had to go through with the old one. I left the clips in place but the relay can now be pulled straight up and out with some jiggling. The friction of the connecting plugs is sufficient to keep it in place. It was really overkill on Volvo's part to fit them with clips I think. We shall see if I keep the car for a while.

I will check my 240 however!

Bob

you could buy a whole new (old) 240 for a thousand and it even might have a working alternator.. sorry for your loss..
--
'91 244 205k auto

This car is not worth a thousand dollars! I also have a 240 GLT and a 940. . . but they were unavailable to me. I did think of renting a car but it was a Sunday and nothing was available in that neck of the woods. A set of circumstances that made everything more costly. But I did meet some great people. The tow truck driver was really a pleasure to meet and he was very careful to make sure nothing untoward happened to what is not a very expensive car. I was impressed. Taxi driver was very courteous and helpful as well. Not all bad. Just expensive!

Too bad your car couldn't have been taken to a good automotive electrical shop.

When my daughter's 754 GLE had its alternator go dead in upstate Michigan - the AAA guy took her to his shop, let her call us on his phone, (her cell phone was plugged in to charge and went DEAD as the battery died in her car!) and took her to a hotel.

On Sunday, he had his friend, who owned an auto electrical shop, open his shop and since he had no brushes for a Volvo, he ground down some other brushes and had her on her way by noon!

$50 dollar job!

Talk about some kind folks!

When she got home a couple of months later I had the brushes examined by a Volvo tech and he said the brushes looked like Volvo brushes.

Just carry a spare VoltReg ----- $50

Guess I won't need it for this car but I do have a 940 that hasn't experienced alternator failure. Not a bad thought for fifty dollars.

I only wish the car had decided to do this to me a week before or a week after this trip to Victoria.

Canadian Tire kept the old alternator as a core to be returned to Lordco, its supplier. I guess it would have been even more expensive if I had demanded the old one be returned to me. I was at their mercy at that point in time and just wanted to get home.

Changing brushes would have been within my competence. I heard from the garage manager that there is a tricky bolt to replace and that the electrical connector had been changed by a modification some years before and they had to deal with that as well.

I will look into finding one of these indicators that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter holder. But in a way it is all over now. I appreciate all of the responses I have received over this issue.

The odds are high that your alt "failure" was related to the brushes that are part of the Regulator unit got too short and the alt failed to "generate"

This assumes that your 900 has a Bosch Alt.
The Reg/Brush unit is easily removed from the rear of the Alt --- there are 2 screws/bolts -- it pulls right out and should be the first thing to check when the Alt fails to charge. It will be obvious if the brushes are too short...sometimes one gets so short if pops out of the holder. The entire Reg/Brush Unit New should be less than $80 on-demand at a service station

I know this because in my 240 the Alt failed on the highway for that very reason.
The brush just wore down past the point of no return durng a 3 hour drive at 70mph. The car ran until the battery died. The dash light never came on.

Checking the brush length is one of those Preventive maintenance items --- just like the 60K Timing Belt change ---
50K on the alt check the length by pulling out the reg/brush unit.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/Volvo-parts/940/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&year=1992&m=4&e=914&t=5&b=5&d=34&v=84&keywords=Alternator

https://www.brickboard.com/RWD/volvo/1470276/denso_alternator_brush_set_replacement_pictorial.html
--
Any twenty minute job is just a broken bolt away from a three day ordeal

Superb. I just wish I had been at home when the alternator failed.

I hope he kept the failed alt, because it's now a "spare".

At $600 for the replacement, the idea of a "core charge' seems to be included in the price.

Lots of android (or iOS for Apple phones) based battery monitoring apps + device available on the web. It displays cranking amp, charging voltage during idle, high RPM and so on. Install one on the car.

Amarin.

I am sorry to hear that an alternator failure cost you that much and I feel your pain. An unsettling experience for sure. Does the alternator light come on with the rest of the dash lights before starting the car?

I think adding a voltmeter to the car would be good idea.

When I added dashcams to our two 940's I did not want to give up the cigarette socket to charge my phone. I went to Amazon and found a device that contained not only two USB sockets but also a small digital display that indicated the electrical system's voltage.

Since the ashtray isn't used in any of our cars I was able to drill a hole in the ashtray face with a speed bore of the correct size. I then used a die grinder with a cutting wheel to remove portions of the ashtray structure. It was a tight fit but I got the socket to fit in the space.

Randy
--
Any twenty minute job is just a broken bolt away from a three day ordeal

Good Afternoon

Sorry for your loss. After suffering similar setbacks w a failed alternator in parts unknown I've found that a fully charged battery can get you about 60 miles during the day to get you home if you're anywhere near a Walmart, AutoZone, Advance or shop that will sell you a battery. On one occasion, we purchased two batteries that just got us home.

You can also try giving the alternator a few lovetaps to try to dislodge a stuck brush. Lastly, I have a plug in voltmeter w two USB ports that will enable you to keep an eye on charging voltage and provide aux power.

Try one of these:. Dual USB Ports 3.1A Car Cigarette Lighter Charger 12V/24V Digital LED Voltmeter

Thank you for the simple fully charged battery suggestion. I know of a time when I should have went this way. Would have saved me $$$$$$$$.

I just ordered two of them from ebay for a little over ten dollars Canadian. Thanks again for the tip.

They seem to come in two varieties, one of which has a shorter shank and won't engage the cigarette lighter power contact. The longer one is the one I referenced. They make great Xmas gifts

Marty

I unfortunately got the short version. It works on the 960 and the 240 but won't fully engage on the 940 thanks to the panel arrangements. The protruding side of the panel is too close to the cigarette lighter.

Back to the drawing board.

The same mechanism which seems to prevent me from checking the alternator brushes (or at least the service record) eventually works to keep me from checking the voltmeters all our cars have now. What I'm saying, is a voltmeter won't keep you apprised of the charging situation unless you have a pilot's habits, but at least when the radio begins to sound distorted, the voltmeter will let you know right away what the issue is before the fuel pump no longer works. AMHIK

Next project for me: a circuit to flash the otherwise useless "service" lamp when the system voltage falls below 13. Shouldn't be too hard. In fact, I've learned if I can think of it, someone else has already done it.

The failure of the battery charging has been by far the most frequent cause of drama on the road since we began driving nothing but old Volvos.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

Your thought on buying a battery to get home is a good one. I was towed to a Canadian Tire outlet which is a large hardware chain in Canada and I almost always buy my batteries from them. Too bad the manager there did not offer that suggestion to me or that the light bulb failed to go on in my head. I probably could have got back home with another battery.

I will see if I can find the plug in cigarette lighter charger. Another good idea.

Thank you.

This happened to me with my Daughters 93 240 a number of years ago when she was coming home from school one weekend. The alternator light came one part way home so I loaded a spare charged battery I had into my car and headed out to meet her. We figured out an exit to meet at and when we both got there I determined the alternator was not charging so I swapped in the spare charged battery.

We still had about 40 miles to go to get home and the sun was about to set so I told her to leave the parking lights on and stay right behind me. We got home without any further drama and I replaced the regulator / brush the next day and recharged her battery overnight.

That was about 6 or 7 years ago now and her alt light has started flickering so the next time she is home I will put another regulator brush combination and all should be fine. If that doesn't fix it I have a couple of new unused alternators I got on ebay for a very reasonable price that I can swap in.
Dan