23 replies to this topic

[ping23]

car has been sitting three months, i tried to start it and let it warm up to operation temp atleast once a week but after my son was born i got kinda backed up. so when i went to start it it wouldnt start, so i figured it was the battery, ive had it jumped a few times and that would get it going..i bought a batter charger and charged the battery, it was at full charge after 8hours on the charger and i went out and started the car. it started right up..i shut it off, and when i went to start it again after about an 1-3hours, it wouldnt start again, power locks worked, lights worked on dash...i figured battery was shot. i went out today to pull the battery to hook up to charger and it went on and after about 5mins it says full charged. while under the hood i noticed the alternator had an oily spot on it, it looks to be the power steering hose that goes to the pump was dripping down. the entire hose looked wet but the power steering fluid is up to the full line. could my alternator be shot? what is possibly causing the leak. its freezing cold out and about to start raining so i cant really look now, but thursday ill have the car in a garage to be able to try to remedy this. any ideas as to what to check?

pics wont load so the link has them
http://www.30forty50...957#entry196957

[Keaton85]

Can't do much unless you test the system with a DVM. Oil won't kill it, but you should still test the system to find out what's going on.

[Dan A]

Doesn't add up.  Your alternator has nothing (directly) to do with starting your car.  You said the battery was showing fully charged after five minutes.  So on that logic your alternator is charging the battery fine.  I would have the battery load tested first.

[ping23]

nothing is adding up..it starts up the first time after being charged by the charger, not the alternator..dont i have to pull the alternator to test the system?

[Keaton85]

No...

Start car, and test with a volt meter.

[ping23]

where do i test that at? the battery or the alternator?

and a DVM is a digital multimeter?

oh sorry i see you already answered that

[Keaton85]

All this info is everywhere if you google it.

Install battery
Start or jump vehicle
Let idle
While still running test voltage at battery
It should read 13.5-14.5 volts

If you are only getting say 12v or so then it's not charging.

[ping23]

yea i already googled it and thats what ehow or something said to do

thanks man

[Keaton85]

no problem, I just wanted to state that you can google it, so you knew that it's a basic task. Nothing really Volvo specific for the testing procedure.

If you do get a poor reading then you can start testing things like voltage drop over your cables. If the cables are fine then you will likely have a bad voltage regulator which can be changed out with the alt. in the vehicle. Used it fine as they don't fail to often and they are not difficult to replace.

[ping23]

how do i test voltage of the cables?

[Keaton85]

http://www.excelauto...h.d/altvdt.html

that's the basics...

Just start with what your alternator is putting out first , and then go from there....

[ping23]

alright..i also read that if i start the car then pull a battery cable(positive or negative dont remember) and if it still runs the alternator is fine, but i also read dont ever pull a battery cable while car is running bc it can monkey up the computer

[Keaton85]

Get a volt meter and you won't have to mess with it. You can pull the cable but you should really know what your charging voltage is....

[ping23]

k..will be done tomorrow..thanks again.

[ping23]

and which cable can i pull, positive or negative?

[Keaton85]

Either...

[ping23]

well i took the battery off the charger and started the car, i disconnected the negative terminal and it kept running..i dont have a multimeter, getting one tomorrow, but does that mean my alternator is prob still ok?

also i put my radio code in three times wrong, now it says off..will that ever let me try again?

[lotus4s]

FWIW, it's never a good idea to remove the battery cables with the engine running on an ECM based management system particularly on a Volvo. Everything is computer controlled and screwing with the grounds could potentially damage any number of sensors, modules, etc...

Take the battery out and have it load tested at your nearest auto parts store. If you can drive the car there even better, they will check the alternator for you as well.

[ping23]

damn it..see thats what i read also, to not disconnect b/c of the computer but its too late now..

[Keaton85]

still don't know unless you really have a good voltage reading.

As for the radio, you have to leave the key in number 2 position for 2 hours and it will clear and let the code be entered again. It doesnt need to be running, just in the on position

don't worry, it will be fine, just not something to do all the time. Ive done it to 99s without issue....