132 replies to this topic

[--Aaron--]

Thanks man, that wire laughed at the tin snips I was using.

[Dave 54]

Modus, on 14 November 2009 - 07:56 AM, said:

The best way for a clean cut for thick small stranded cable is to use an anvil cutter. The same for what you use in the garden for clipping branches. For next time

Like this. (That's how I cut my 2 AWG)

I have those, I was just too busy with my 3 year old and he was to impatient to ask if I had anything else . Told him after the fact there was a set out there .

[misa]

I have the same problem with voltage drop at positive side when engine is warm of about 0.6v.

My question is....is it possible to add one more cable directly from b+ at alternator to positive battery terminal...to leave the factory cable at it's place and to add one directly from alternator b+ to positive battery terminal?

[--Aaron--]

misa, on 21 November 2009 - 11:42 PM, said:

I have the same problem with voltage drop at positive side when engine is warm of about 0.6v.

My question is....is it possible to add one more cable directly from b+ at alternator to positive battery terminal...to leave the factory cable at it's place and to add one directly from alternator b+ to positive battery terminal?

PM replied.

[misa]

Well...time for update:

Thanks to Aaron,my problem with charging system is solved!

What i did was...i just added one more cable from positive battery terminal(at extra connection at top of the positive battery cable connection)to starter and leave the old one(stock) cable attached.

Before...on cold engine i got 14v without load and 13.8 with load.
After 30 min of driving i got 13.6 without load and 13.4 with load.

Know...i got 14.2 constantly without load and 13.9v-14v with load.

Mission completed!

[--Aaron--]

misa, on 25 November 2009 - 12:19 AM, said:

Well...time for update:

Thanks to Aaron,my problem with charging system is solved!

What i did was...i just added one more cable from positive battery terminal(at extra connection at top of the positive battery cable connection)to starter and leave the old one(stock) cable attached.

Before...on cold engine i got 14v without load and 13.8 with load.
After 30 min of driving i got 13.6 without load and 13.4 with load.

Know...i got 14.2 constantly without load and 13.9v-14v with load.

Mission completed!

Excellent! So glad this experience is seeming to help others!

Well, thanks to Modus I now have a very well put together upgraded ground harness for my main battery ground.

He did a super job on it! It consists of 2 AWG welding cable, wrapped in nylon cable wrap. He also included mil spec shrink tube to prevent all the moisture I can from getting to the connection.

I need to source a nice ground terminal and then this setup will be going in the car!

Again, thanks so much for the extremely generous offer to help out a fellow Volvo owner.

[--Aaron--]

Going in Monday........pretty cable........

[Modus]

It is a pretty cable. Glad to help out.

[--Aaron--]

Well, the new cable is in........

Modus and I were talking and decided it's best to use one chassis ground location as compared to the stock duals. I chose the one behind the headlight for ease of access.

First I took before readings, which were very similar to the after readings. (Craftsman Multimeter)

I then sanded down to bare metal all the area my new lug will touch on the chassis and bolted the lug down nice and firm. I then secured the battery terminal which is a lead terminal (excellent conductor) and has a painted exterior to help fight future corrosion.

I would like to make the cable shorter to provide a better fitment at some point. I also have to remove the subframe stock ground wire when I do my PCV......it is just cut tucked behind the battery at the moment.

I will say that my readings before and after were just about the same but after the upgrade I noticed much faster movement on my multimeter.

As always I will update accordingly after the car becomes more comfortable with it's new, healthy ground.

The stock ground wire in the behind the headlight location was very hard and showed light green coloration (corrosion), as did the connections going into the battery terminal.





So now the refreshments go as followed:

New Volvo Alternator
New Volvo Battery
New Volvo B+ Cable (battery to fuse box)
New Volvo + cable (battery to starter)
New lead ground battery terminal and 2 AWG welding cable to chassis

All that's left is the starter to alternator cable, which I will replace because I've already gone this far.

The car is very very close to having a brand new charging system and has been behaving perfectly, as it should since my report after the starter to battery + cable replacement a few posts earlier.

[Dave 54]

Very nice, think this is on my list.

Been watching my volts and have been getting solid 13.8-13.9 with everything on, head/fog lights, radio, blower, etc...now yesturday it stumbled down to like 13.4 held for awhile then jumped back up to 13.8. Rad. fan hadn't engaged so thinking I need to volt drop mine. Since your coming over and got that done already guess what were doing , hope you got a coat haven't broke out the kerosene heaters yet .

[--Aaron--]

Dave 54, on 07 December 2009 - 02:50 PM, said:

Very nice, think this is on my list.

Been watching my volts and have been getting solid 13.8-13.9 with everything on, head/fog lights, radio, blower, etc...now yesturday it stumbled down to like 13.4 held for awhile then jumped back up to 13.8. Rad. fan hadn't engaged so thinking I need to volt drop mine. Since your coming over and got that done already guess what were doing , hope you got a coat haven't broke out the kerosene heaters yet .

We'll have to test yours next time we decide not to drive across town and back again for no reason.

[--Aaron--]

Alright, so I just had the car out for some long distance trips and WOW is the first thing that comes to mind. I was expecting a subtle, small difference but not as big as what I ended up with.

With no load I peg 14.4, no matter what. My cooling fan will make it drop a bit when the high speed engages but it springs right back up to 14.4.

With full load it stays in the neighborhood of 14.1 and 14.3.

The electrical system feels so much stronger, I know my car........very well and this upgrade made a really nice difference. The car just operates so much more crisp, under very light acceleration it feels like the car just wants to go with nothing to stop it.

I did go WOT a time or two and my pulls were, without a doubt stronger than before.

This is not wishful thinking or OMGICHANGEDSOMETHINGZOMG10HPPPPPP. I know my car, especially the charging system.......which I've spent alot of time, money and headache on.

Anyone considering beefing up their grounds DO IT NOW! You will be impressed. Even more so if you replace all the things I have.

I'll keep updating from time to time, just with observations over time and such.

And........as always.........if there's any questions, please feel free.

Thanks again for following this battle and sharing it with me.

[Royalty]

Wow thanks for this. I'll be following your lead very soon.

[Dave 54]

--Aaron--, on 07 December 2009 - 07:11 PM, said:

We'll have to test yours next time we decide not to drive across town and back again for no reason.

[Crito]

I was having voltage probs with my S80 when I bought it. Battery is in trunk on S80 so my terminal connections were pristine but since it was five years old I replaced the battery with a Bosch I got at Pep Boys for $89 with core trade-in -- It's almost identical to the Volvo branded one BTW. That didn't fix the problem though so I was going to replace the voltage regulator and brushes on alternator next -- eEuroParts has the rebuild kit for $100 BTW -- but noticed the wimpy ground straps so decided to try replacing those first. That solved the problem so well I still haven't gotten around to rebuilding the alt.

Here are pics of the lower left strap which is now a wire actually. Runs between trans and frame.





And here's a blurry pic of the upper right strap which goes between motor and frame.



After replacing I smeared some dielectric compound over the connection points to prevent future corrosion. Vaseline would have worked too though.

[Modus]

Vaseline, would work till all the oil from road grime would wash it off.
Spray paint or acrylic is best.


Nice set up Aaron.
You will notice much healthier starts when it's -10 degrees F out as well.


This is why updating corroded wires to larger fresh ones is important.

[--Aaron--]

The improvement was very much noticed last night on my 45 mile trip to work.......much faster response from the charging system w/ full load on it. With full load it hangs right around 14 - 14.1. So, very happy with that!

Royalty, on 07 December 2009 - 09:46 PM, said:

Wow thanks for this. I'll be following your lead very soon.

No problem....it is here to help.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Crito, on 07 December 2009 - 11:38 PM, said:

I was having voltage probs with my S80 when I bought it. Battery is in trunk on S80 so my terminal connections were pristine but since it was five years old I replaced the battery with a Bosch I got at Pep Boys for $89 with core trade-in -- It's almost identical to the Volvo branded one BTW. That didn't fix the problem though so I was going to replace the voltage regulator and brushes on alternator next -- eEuroParts has the rebuild kit for $100 BTW -- but noticed the wimpy ground straps so decided to try replacing those first. That solved the problem so well I still haven't gotten around to rebuilding the alt.

Here are pics of the lower left strap which is now a wire actually. Runs between trans and frame.

And here's a blurry pic of the upper right strap which goes between motor and frame.

After replacing I smeared some dielectric compound over the connection points to prevent future corrosion. Vaseline would have worked too though.

Nice, about a year ago I upgraded my 2 grounding straps as well w/ 4 AWG mobile audio wire. I didn't notice any kind of improvement with them but they're beefier than the dinky stock straps and have blue sheathing which matches my under the hood theme.

Modus, on 08 December 2009 - 03:04 AM, said:

Nice set up Aaron.
You will notice much healthier starts when it's -10 degrees F out as well.

This is why updating corroded wires to larger fresh ones is important.

Thanks man, the setup is all thanks to you!

The car always started lightning fast before with no issues, no matter what the circumstances. That is still the case so that's great.

I have never once had a car with corrosion problems on the main battery cables before so I overlooked this from the get go. Now, I def. am a believer.....you called it close to the beginning of this thread back in Sept. and we now see eye to eye.

Dave 54, on 07 December 2009 - 10:21 PM, said:

[TorqueSteer]

Do you have part numbers by any chance for:

Battery to Starter Cable.
Starter to alternator cable.

I called the dealer and they couldn't find the cables in the computer.

Also any idea of approximate lengths and gauge for each of those cables if we wanted to make our own harness?

Thanks!

[Dave 54]

TorqueSteer, on 08 December 2009 - 03:59 PM, said:

Do you have part numbers by any chance for:

Battery to Starter Cable.
Starter to alternator cable.

I called the dealer and they couldn't find the cables in the computer.

Also any idea of approximate lengths and gauge for each of those cables if we wanted to make our own harness?

Thanks!

DW gots the part no., give them a holler as far as gauge I believe it's 2AWG.

[--Aaron--]

TorqueSteer, on 08 December 2009 - 03:59 PM, said:

Do you have part numbers by any chance for:

Battery to Starter Cable.
Starter to alternator cable.

I called the dealer and they couldn't find the cables in the computer.

Also any idea of approximate lengths and gauge for each of those cables if we wanted to make our own harness?

Thanks!

Shoot, no I do not man. I did get the battery to starter cable from DW though and the estimate for the alt. to starter so they should be able to find them.

I'm pretty sure it's 4 gauge wire........DW would have to confirm that though as I maybe wrong. It's def. either 2 or 4 gauge. And lengths.......the alt. to starter is probably around 2.5/3 ft. and the starter to battery is probably around 4 ft. If you ordered that much total you'd def. be able to route it nice and neat.

I would like to tidy mine up at some point. I was thinking PCV time while all that shit will be out of the way.

If you do get the part no.'s could you please post them in here? Thanks!

Dave 54, on 08 December 2009 - 04:06 PM, said:

DW gots the part no., give them a holler as far as gauge I believe it's 2AWG.

+1 It's def. either 2 or 4......they seem smaller than the 2 awg I just used for my main ground. As I said though I could be mistaken.