Hi everyone-
I have a dead '86 245 and the biggest (and last) exam of my life coming up, so I need to solicit diagnoses on why my Volvo won't run. I was driving along, minding my own business, when the idiot lights started glowing dimly (all of them). I blew this off, as I do most things, and kept driving. This went on for a couple days. I then parked the car one day for 5 minutes, tried to start it again, and got nothing. I jumped it, drove it for about 150 yards, and it died again. It's now sitting in my driveway, awaiting my next move. Please help me narrow down my top 3 suspicions:

1. Battery
2. Voltage regulator
3. Alternator

Thanks in advance,
Kurt

Thanks, everyone. I popped the hood last night, saw that the ground wire was plugged in, but nudged it just to be sure. It had actually come loose, and was just sitting there barely attached. I plugged it back in, charged the battery, and seem to have everything in working order for a total cost of 5 minutes and $0.00.

Maybe someone mentioned this (no time to read all), but my first look would be at the black wire that grounds the alternator case to the engine block.

I'm going to check that first after work, then check to see where my voltage regulator is and if I can just change that.

This Happened to my sister. A new alternator did the trick. Plan about 1 to 2 hours.

Sounds suspiciously like a failed regulator/brush assembly -- probably worn brushes, you can replace those seperately (requires some soldering) if you really want. It's the difference between about a $3 brush set and a $20 regulator, plus some work.

Or just grab another alternator (preferably looking like it was a recent rebuild) from the pick'n'pull, that's what, $15?

Bram

I will bet the cup of coffee that I'm drinking now (do you like it black? good!) that you just need to replace the brushes/voltage regulator assembly. If you can use a screw driver, you can do this, and the part is only about $60. Click here for the procedure and diagnosis, which are the same in a 200 series car. Ignore the instructions for soldering out the brushes - you want to replace the entire unit.

More than likely, your battery can be recharged to a full charge. Can have this done at a parts store e.g. AutoZone.

Alternator

Yup, mine did the same thing with the idiot lights coming on for a few days, then stranded my boyfriend on the side of the highway. It was the alternator.

Check the wiring to the alternator, expecially the ground wire, since the alternator does not ground through its bracket. Also, pull the brushes out of the back of the alternator and see if they are worn down to nubs. Your failure mode does not really sound like either of these problems, but wires and brushes are cheaper than a new alternator.

Thanks for the quick responses, everybody. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but very helpful.

Don't forget - You'll need to charge the battery. YOur alternator, once fixed, cannot recharge a fully dead battery, which you most likely have.

Any idea how much time I might invest in doing this? I'm competent for most repairs, and it doesn't look too tough to replace an alternator, but looks can be deceiving. I figure I can donate about 2 hours to this job, otherwise I'm going to drag it to a mechanic.

"I figure I can donate about 2 hours to this job, otherwise I'm going to drag it to a mechanic."

Should take you all of ten minutes to replace the voltage regulator (comes with new brushes). I seriously doubt that you need to replace the alternator - see my post above entitled "Brushes."

I'm pretty sure this car has an external voltage regulator (bolted to the firewall, no brushes). How can I check to see if this is the culprit?

Original equipment should have been internal on that year -- does it look like an aftermarket item? You may need to post more detail. Even if there is an external voltage regulator, the alternator will still have brushes that would be the source of the problem. Their mount will still be the same, unless you have something really strange bolted on there.

Also check the condition of the little red wire that goes to the alternator. I'm always confused by auto electric systems, but that's a frequent source of problems, especially for that year.

--
'81 GLT 245 W/245K; '83 DL 175K