oh great brickboard members - help! Saturday night on the way home, Rover started surging, lost all power and the battery died on the side of rt 81 - 2 hours from home in the middle of a snowstorm. Dear hubby came up to rescue me, ploped in a new battery and off we went. Sunday AM it was fine doing the same 2hr drive, but on the way home again it started the stupid surging stuff, but thankfully I made it home. We took out the voltmeter and tested the battery, it wasn't charging when the car was running.
Ok, easy, the voltage regulator is shot, so we ordered one, replaced it and no dice, same problem. Removed the alternator, took it in to several parts stores to be tested, everyone said it was bad. Tried to replace it with the store model, but the fan/pulleys didn't fit. Go to yet another parts store, ask them to use the impact wrench to put the fan/pulleys back on for another test and the goober askes me the torq specifications - 3 ca-ca's I told him. Not in the mood. Hour drive later we make it to the store that has the 70 amp bosch alternator in stock, replaced that. Nothing. In our travels, a stator wire was mentioned, but no one seemed to know what it was or what it did - except our wonderful neighbor. So, we hooked the stator wire from the plug on the alternator to the battery feed, and YEAH! Rover was running, the battery was charging, life was good.
This morning - 2 volts on the battery while it was hooked up to the car, 5 volts unpluged. !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! No spare battery for the Scout, the other volvo is not registered/inspected, so here I sit, missing yet another day of work, and my f'n car won't run! Help!!!

check your red alternator output lead that runs from the alternator to the batter for continuity with your voltmeter. if you have a b23 engine it will run inder the block and may have been destroyed from heat and time. if you have a b230, it doesn't run under the block, but regardless check your wiring as it is most likely the problem if your new alternator doesn't charge.

remember your spec limits:
insulated side - .2v limit for static test per 100ft of wire
ground side - .1v limit for static test per 100ft of wire

a static test is without any current flowing through it and testing just the wire for continuity. those voltage specs are the resistence of the wire only and if you have a 'OL' or infinite reading (or if you have the $$$ snap on VM like I do it says "OUCH") then you have an open in that wire and it needs to be replaced.

good luck!
Chuck in mpls.
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'87 BMW 325e 180K (used to feed a '84 245, '84 244, '85 744)

From speaking with the powers that be at a Volvo shop, we figured out that the Stator wire that we had connected directly to the battery was drawing current all the time - thus draining the battery. The wire needed to be hooked to an ignition-switched device instead - engine on, juice to the stator wire. SO - now I'm stuck with a dead battery and no clue what wire in the friggin engine bay is switched that I can splice off of to connect to the alternator. Question of the hour~ where is that wire!

Many thanks!
Sarah and Rover 83 245 170k

Found a switched wire in teh rotten wiring harness, hooked up the alternator - YEAH! car ran, battery charged! I left it sit for 2 hours, checked voltage again and it hadn't drained :) Headed on down the road and the car went vroommmmmmblub blub vroommmmmmmblub, vroommmmmmblubblubblubvroommmmm - you get the idea. Went to Rutters, checked the voltage with car running - 14v, car off, 13.5v. Came out of rutters, turned the key and NOTHING! not even a weak crank. Poped the hood, checked the voltage - 13.5v, shut the hood, swore, kicked the tire, sat down pissed off, turned the key and vroommmmm! Normal happy car! Headed down the road, vroommmmmblub blub. Went to the volvo doctor, shut off car, turned key on - nothing but a clickclickclick coming from the passenger side firewall area. Poped the hood, checked the voltage - 13.5v, turned the key - vroommmm, happy car. turned it off. Talked to the volvo dr a bit - he told me good luck (bad sign) headed out to the car - turned the key - vroommmm. But it blub-bleb-blubed the whole way home. Now what!?

Running that wire direct from battery to alternator is a wrong that seemed right at the time.

I think what is missing is the normal pre-exitation current to the alternator's D+ terminal. It's the smaller red wire, and it's sole purpose in life is to tickle the alternator into producing voltage as it first spins up. From then on the alternator is self-exciting. So the neighbor's well-meant "stator wire" works at first as a tickler, but then becomes 1) redundant and 2) a battery drain when engine is shut off. (Bosch technical terms italicized.)

The D+ terminal normally draws the "P-E" current from the warning lights on the instrument panel, when the Key is turned ON. Specifically it's the BATT light and 3 others, which are grounded via that smaller red wire. It comes thru an 8-pin connector on the firewall (right side I believe) and has probably perished somewhere on its way to the Alternator.

I suggest you find that firewall connector, cut the red wire (it's the only one there), and splice in a replacement to run along the right side directly to the alternator D+ terminal.

With the new wire in place, you should see the BATT light with Key ON. If not, post back.

P.S. Sounds like you found the wire I was raving about, but now I think the battery cable connections are crudded up. Maybe at the starter and/or ground ends too.
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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current) — 240s (one V8) — 140s — 122s — since '63.

how exactly could those wires have gotten mixed up in the first place? If you installed a new alternator and put the wires back to where they belong you should not have a problem. There are only 3 wires connected to your alternator.

I would still highly suggest checking your wiring to rule that out as a possiblity. Especially considering you have a b23 engine where the B+ cable runs under the engine. if you need a better explaination of how to to a continuity test, let me know, i'll email it to you.

Good Luck
Chuck in mpls
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'87 BMW 325e 190K (used to feed a '84 245, '84 244, '85 744)

When we started this mess there were only 2 wires hooked to the alternator - the others had rotted off who knows how long ago. Now that I have some misc. wire (from the wire harness with rotted ends - there's a 50/50 chance it was the field wire to begin with) the idiot lights come on when the key's turned - they didn't do that before.

Two wires to the alternator? There should be three: fat red cable to the starter, the little D+ wire, and down below a ground wire. Anyway, it sounds like you're in desparate need of a new wire harness, or at least some new wires. Be sure to check the fat red wire that passes under the engine and goes to the atarter, loss of insulation on that (always hot) wire can lead to an engine fire! But don't open any other wire sheaths unless and until you're prepared to replace whatever you find.
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'81 GLT 245 W/245K; '83 DL 175K