Driving home from - of all things - a regional Ohio Volvo meeting. Car enjoying a fresh oil change, new Bosch plugs, new Bougicord wires, new Bosch distributor cap and rotor. Listening to music. Periodically checking the gauges as I often do (self-fulfilling prophecy?) and all is nominal. All is well in Volvo-land.

Then I hit a bump on the highway. The car dies. Completely. Totally! No dash lights. No interior light. The clock stops. Absolutely nothing. And of course, no starter.

(Of all the on-the-road failures I expected myself to be in, this isn't one of them.)

I had the evil engine wiring harness replaced about six years ago and did not expect any catastrophic electrical failures, so imagine my shock (so to speak) as I coasted to the right shoulder or westbound I-70.

While tens of thousands of pounds of semi-trucks blow by me while on the shoulder of this major highway, I get out and pop the hood. Having absolutely no power to anything, I started at the battery and started wiggling:
Both battery cables on the battery
Negative battery ground connection
25-amp FI fuse
10-amp fuse on top of the coil (which shattered in my hands; I replaced it with a 25-amp spare hoping that that was the problem...nope, but need to be addressed eventually) What's that fuse for anyway?
The main positive cable on the back of the alternator
The evil thin red wire on the back of the alternator
The voltage regulator on the alternator's back

Got back in the car. Clock is working. Interior light is on. Turn key...dash lights on but very dim; volt meter shows 10-volts. Starter would not turn. Battery is beyond dead. (An hour ago, it started perfectly without a single complaint.)

Got someone to jump the battery. Car started but it took several seconds for the engine to fire. Volt meter now reads 16-volts (normally it's at 14 or so) and the needle is vibrating. The parking brake light on the dash is pulsating. Turning on the fog lights or turn-signal causes a dramatic drop of voltage before almost instantly returning to the upper red-zone.

But at least it was running! So I thanked the stranger in the Subaru and drop off.

Ten minutes later, this time on I-675 southbound, I hit another bump.

Guess what? Complete, total, utter, death. Exact same symptoms - nothing in the car work. No electric at all.

Same routine - coasted to shoulder, pop hood, feared for life, wiggled above items, turned key, weak electricity but no start.

After a nice State Trooper jumped me, I cautiously drove home, avoiding as many bumps as possible. Drove the car's front on ramps, shut it off. Tried to restart, had weak electricity and dead battery, but the car itself was alive.


I suspect hitting the bump shook something, causing something to short-circuit somewhere, frying the voltage regulator and killing the battery (which was seven years old anyway, so no big loss). I suspect that evil thin red wire (D+ ?) which I wiggled the most. I'll crawl under the car Sunday (May 18) and take a look.

Luckily, I bought a re-manufactured 240 alternator not long ago. Should I replace just the regulator or the alternator as well, which is original and 24 years old? I have some spare wire and spade connectors to rebuild the D+ and/or the B+ wires. I think the D+ wire goes to the dash light, but where does the B+ wire go? I couldn't find the info in my Bentley. I'll also need a new battery.

I also need to replace that 10-amp fuse holder on top of the coil that shattered. Should I use that waterproof blade fuse holder IPD sells, or another regular white plastic one?

Phew! Sorry for the rant, but I'm sure y'all understand! Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks for reading.

--
Mike F - 1984 244 DL - 279,000 miles
Original engine, transmission, drive train, alternator, starter
Undergoing reconstructive surgery with POR-15