132 replies to this topic

[--Aaron--]

Black Betty, on 24 September 2009 - 12:13 PM, said:

Aaron glad you got it all sorted out I went through 3 alternators in less than a year. Finally found out the p/s pump was leaking on to the alternator and killing it. If you have a 98 make sure to go and check it. If you've been cleaning grime off the alternator (i know you would ) its most likely a p/s leak. Just a heads up if the p/s pump leaks it will kill the alternator quick.

Haha, it's not all sorted out yet. Next thing to be replaced is my battery to alternator cable which will take place next week sometime and then going to upgrade the battery grounds in the near future.

Thanks for the tip, I'll double check for sure.

[850Jannessa]

[Black Betty]

--Aaron--, on 24 September 2009 - 12:20 PM, said:

Haha, it's not all sorted out yet. Next thing to be replaced is my battery to alternator cable which will take place next week sometime and then going to upgrade the battery grounds in the near future.

Thanks for the tip, I'll double check for sure.

yeah I guess I posted too early. When I had all my accessories running except the a/c on the R (damn a/c) it was somewhere around 13.2 volts it would fluctuate between 13.7-13.2

[Dave 54]

One thing to remeber Aaron is that the volt gauge is tied into the entire system and is monitoring all load AT THAT CURRENT TIME. It will fluctuate depending on what you are running. If you want the most accuarte reading then run it straight to your alt.

[--Aaron--]

Black Betty, on 24 September 2009 - 04:21 PM, said:

yeah I guess I posted too early. When I had all my accessories running except the a/c on the R (damn a/c) it was somewhere around 13.2 volts it would fluctuate between 13.7-13.2

Yeah, during the day time when I don't have any accessories going I see about 14.4 with the motor cold upon first firing up and ~20 min. later it's down around 13.8.

At night time w/ just my lights on it will hit about 13.5 and fade down to 12.8, it gets even lower than that when my cooling fan kicks on or if I'm running my A/C.

This is far far far under spec. for a brand new alternator and battery. So we replace shit......got that new B+ cable on, while it did make a difference it wasn't the solution. I'm going to try the battery to alternator + cable next. I want to get the grounds regardless at some point.

I did test the battery to a few other chassis grounds and got the same readings on my multi meter but that's not to say there's not under lying corrosion.

[Spanky]

850Jannessa, on 24 September 2009 - 03:59 PM, said:

Ya I would be scared shitless to meet her also
Cute pic hun.

I am just messing with you Aaron

[tbgC70]

very informative writeup/pictures aaron, thanks a lot. sorry your problems arent completely solved, but do keep us updated.

im having somewhat similar problems (low battery after sitting overnight, headlights dim when brakes are pressed) im going to check these problem areas immediately after work, hopefully it will be a quick fix.

[--Aaron--]

Thanks alot, I'm not too sure if the problem is solved or not. Volvo says my car is performing to spec and that there is nothing to worry about although I feel the charging system could be doing better.

Overnight the battery retains a full charge, 14.4 roughly.........running w/ no accs on it will get about 14.2 and with lights running I see about 13.8, w/ lights and A/C about 13.5.

So as I said, Volvo considers this in spec but I'm still a little on edge about it.

[Chilled Man]

--Aaron--, on 11 October 2009 - 12:14 AM, said:

Thanks alot, I'm not too sure if the problem is solved or not. Volvo says my car is performing to spec and that there is nothing to worry about although I feel the charging system could be doing better.

Overnight the battery retains a full charge, 14.4 roughly.........running w/ no accs on it will get about 14.2 and with lights running I see about 13.8, w/ lights and A/C about 13.5.

So as I said, Volvo considers this in spec but I'm still a little on edge about it.

[brick8]

Black Betty, on 24 September 2009 - 12:13 PM, said:

Aaron glad you got it all sorted out I went through 3 alternators in less than a year. Finally found out the p/s pump was leaking on to the alternator and killing it. If you have a 98 make sure to go and check it. If you've been cleaning grime off the alternator (i know you would ) its most likely a p/s leak. Just a heads up if the p/s pump leaks it will kill the alternator quick.

I am having issues with the charging system on my 2000 v70. I bought the B cable and plan to install it this weekend. Just curious, what harm would there be in removing the ends of the old B cable and then just routing the new one on its own path without messing with all the other wires?

[Modus]

brick8, on 16 October 2009 - 01:30 AM, said:

I am having issues with the charging system on my 2000 v70. I bought the B cable and plan to install it this weekend. Just curious, what harm would there be in removing the ends of the old B cable and then just routing the new one on its own path without messing with all the other wires?

No harm, just a red power wire going to no where. Usually routing wires is contended to be works of art. This is why stereo installers get so much money. J/K

Aaron let me know when your ready for this ground. I'm almost certain it will help with the electron flow.

[--Aaron--]

Modus, on 16 October 2009 - 04:11 AM, said:

No harm, just a red power wire going to no where. Usually routing wires is contended to be works of art. This is why stereo installers get so much money. J/K

Aaron let me know when your ready for this ground. I'm almost certain it will help with the electron flow.

Ready when you are, as I said I really appreciate the deal you're offering.

Will this cable split into two as the stock ground harness does? Or will one connection to ground be sufficient?

brick8, on 16 October 2009 - 01:30 AM, said:

I am having issues with the charging system on my 2000 v70. I bought the B cable and plan to install it this weekend. Just curious, what harm would there be in removing the ends of the old B cable and then just routing the new one on its own path without messing with all the other wires?

Just as Modus said, there will be no harm in doing that, just another wire running out of place in the engine bay which will not affect functionality.

Replacing the cable in the harness is very challenging to be honest but it keeps it out of sight and where it should be. You can reference my pictures in this thread if you wish as I put them there to halp.

Best of luck to you.

[Modus]

--Aaron--, on 16 October 2009 - 04:33 PM, said:

Ready when you are, as I said I really appreciate the deal you're offering.

Will this cable split into two as the stock ground harness does? Or will one connection to ground be sufficient?

The split, One goes to your chassis and the other to your starter. The cable I made would be used for your chassis, this is what I did for mine. You said your going to get a new terminal? This cable will simply fit into the hole of the terminal and then bolt the lug down to where your original ground point is. As for your starter cable, you will have to cut off the original terminal and then mate it with the new terminal.

[--Aaron--]

Alright, so thanks to Dave for helping run a few tests on my charging system we nailed it to the remaining original positive cables. That being battery to starter and alternator to starter. I will be replacing both as I have a 1 volt drop across those. Apparently Volvo says a new cable should be installed when seeing a drop over .1 and I'm way past that.

Also, no idea how I missed this but my positive wire clamp to the battery gets mutherflocking hot!!!! So that's a symptom as well that I skipped over somehow....

Stay tuned.....

Modus, on 19 October 2009 - 07:04 AM, said:

The split, One goes to your chassis and the other to your starter. The cable I made would be used for your chassis, this is what I did for mine. You said your going to get a new terminal? This cable will simply fit into the hole of the terminal and then bolt the lug down to where your original ground point is. As for your starter cable, you will have to cut off the original terminal and then mate it with the new terminal.

I was under the impression that the split in the ground harness went to the chassis and subframe/trans. area? I've been in that area quite a few times for this and that and swear that ground goes somewhere around the trans......

[brick8]

How did you get the b+ cable out of the fuse box. I have removed the battery and have removed the nut that holds the lug into the fuse box but I can't figure out how to the cable out of the fuse box without using a lot of force.

--Aaron--, on 16 October 2009 - 04:33 PM, said:

Ready when you are, as I said I really appreciate the deal you're offering.

Will this cable split into two as the stock ground harness does? Or will one connection to ground be sufficient?



Just as Modus said, there will be no harm in doing that, just another wire running out of place in the engine bay which will not affect functionality.

Replacing the cable in the harness is very challenging to be honest but it keeps it out of sight and where it should be. You can reference my pictures in this thread if you wish as I put them there to halp.

Best of luck to you.

[--Aaron--]

brick8, on 24 October 2009 - 04:41 PM, said:

How did you get the b+ cable out of the fuse box. I have removed the battery and have removed the nut that holds the lug into the fuse box but I can't figure out how to the cable out of the fuse box without using a lot of force.

Getting it out of the fuse box is a bit tricky.....

I removed that large rubber gromet from the underside of the fuse box, there's little snap clip things which hold the fuse holding portions in the box....unsnap those and they'll wiggle out of the way a little bit.

From there you should be able to manipulate the cable out, have lots of patience getting the rubber gromet back in, it is a pain.

[brick8]

Thanks, that worked. Unfortunately, I got it in and still no change in the voltage.

--Aaron--, on 24 October 2009 - 05:20 PM, said:

Getting it out of the fuse box is a bit tricky.....

I removed that large rubber gromet from the underside of the fuse box, there's little snap clip things which hold the fuse holding portions in the box....unsnap those and they'll wiggle out of the way a little bit.

From there you should be able to manipulate the cable out, have lots of patience getting the rubber gromet back in, it is a pain.

[--Aaron--]

brick8, on 24 October 2009 - 05:45 PM, said:

Thanks, that worked. Unfortunately, I got it in and still no change in the voltage.

Perform a voltage drop test.......that will reveal your issue.

[--Aaron--]

Well, I finally got to a spot where I could pay some needed attention to the car.....nothing major but was needed none the less. I put a fresh Volvo oil filter on along with the usual Castrol Edge Full Synthetic 10w30, finally got to correctly tighten my downpipe nuts after the new gasket went on a week or so ago and in related news..........

I ordered a new Volvo battery to starter cable from DW and will be replacing that within the next few days. *fingers crossed*

For anyone wondering this cable runs ~60 bucks and totalled 68 to my door. They do stock this item.

I have a feeling I have done damage to my brand new Volvo battery as well. Instead of 13.8 at night it is now dropping to 13 and staying put for the most part, but obviously that is a little low....if that is the case then after the new cable goes in it looks like I'll be crying to Lehman Volvo to do some sort of sweet exchange deal.

I hope this cable solves things, it most def. should. That sucker gets hawttttttt after running for a while.

[64pvolvo1800]

--Aaron--, on 30 October 2009 - 01:56 PM, said:

Well, I finally got to a spot where I could pay some needed attention to the car.....nothing major but was needed none the less. I put a fresh Volvo oil filter on along with the usual Castrol Edge Full Synthetic 10w30, finally got to correctly tighten my downpipe nuts after the new gasket went on a week or so ago and in related news..........

I ordered a new Volvo battery to starter cable from DW and will be replacing that within the next few days. *fingers crossed*

For anyone wondering this cable runs ~60 bucks and totalled 68 to my door. They do stock this item.

I have a feeling I have done damage to my brand new Volvo battery as well. Instead of 13.8 at night it is now dropping to 13 and staying put for the most part, but obviously that is a little low....if that is the case then after the new cable goes in it looks like I'll be crying to Lehman Volvo to do some sort of sweet exchange deal.

I hope this cable solves things, it most def. should. That sucker gets hawttttttt after running for a while.

Heat= resistance, R= voltage drop, Vd= current, Current= Heat.
You found your problem Aaron.