Dying Battery or Dying Alternator?!?

[C70Noob]

Originally Posted by Derek UK

Teach Granny to sucks eggs? Maybe.

Nope, only recently worked out what an egg was

[C70Noob]

Originally Posted by tdidave

I had exactly the same symptoms on my V70 Tdi early last year. It had me scratching my head too because I didn't want to waste money on buying something that wasn't needed. In the end though the battery charge light stayed on, and checking with a multimeter at the battery there was no charge.

I panicked a bit at first because I was in France, and was going to be for several months. I need not have worried though, I checked on Ebay and found a brand new alternator in Germany for £72. It was delivered within two days Express delivery £16.84. Its the same rate for UK. This price was less than some being sold as used. If you need an alternator, maybe give them a try, they may be able to sort you one for your C70. The Ebay link is below.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lichtmasc...TR=1#vi-ilComp

Dave..

Awesome, thanks for the link, I'm going to get one ordered and get our local garage to fit it.
Thanks for the advice.

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by C70Noob

Sorry I can't! I don't have a voltmeter thingy I was just after some thought from people that know more than me.

But after reading people responses I'm pretty sure the alternator is the issue, so I'm off to buy a replacement!

Why not buy a cheap voltmeter first? Or, better still if you have an OBD2 diagnostic port, some sort of cheap Bluetooth diagnostic interface (less than a fiver) with a free app will give you voltage readings... I've checked mine against a calibrated DVM and, surprisingly, it does give accurate readings.

[Derek UK]

A cheap multimeter is a tool box essential but how about one of these. They work well but you don't have to buy one this cheap!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Display-C...4AAOSwkXtcv1gD

[tdidave]

Originally Posted by C70Noob

Awesome, thanks for the link, I'm going to get one ordered and get our local garage to fit it.
Thanks for the advice.

Ok.. just make sure you get the right one for your C70. That particular alternator on the link is for my 1998 V70 Tdi. Hopefully they'll have an alternator for your particular C70.

One last thing though, before you fork out on an alternator I would seriously consider getting yourself a cheap multi-meter as Zebster suggests. Its easy to test if the alternator is charging or not at the battery. Just set your multimeter to DC 20volts and connect the prongs to the + - terminals on the battery. With the engine running you should be getting 14+ volts. Get someone to rev the engine for you and see what readings you get.

Anyway, I wish you luck. Keep us informed of your progress..

Dave..

[Jp003]

Originally Posted by C70Noob

Only had this car for about a month and so far it's been fine (except for that rattle which got sorted), however, 3 days ago as I'm driving I notice the battery light on the dash would periodically go on for a second or two then off again for maybe 5-20 seconds.

Every time the battery light comes on the headlights dimmed and the a/c fan slowed, the battery light then goes off the headlights flash really bright, then fade for a few seconds then dim again when the dash battery light comes on again.

The battery in the car is not the right one anyway, its a 54Ah with 530CCA, for a diesel engine, but according to what I can find it should have a 60Ah 520CCA battery, but suggests an optional 70Ah 600CCA battery.

Any ideas at all? I'm really hoping it's a battery because an alternator will be pricy!

Thanks in advance

Hey all I have a very similar problem. Car drives fine but suddenly the battery light would turn on and then go off. Carried on driving the car and noticed this to usually happen when headlights and fans are running. Started to happen more frequently and now the fans completely cut out for a few seconds before the battery light goes out and fan starts to run again.

I have parked the car for now and just using my Van. Also haven’t done any voltage tests but can tell you I have a Bosch battery on 096 which is 72Ah or more and is a year old and I have a brand new alternator on the car. Less than 2000 miles of use on it.

Pretty sure all my connections are sound and the battery isn’t moving about.

I have a horrible feeling the electronics in the car are failing and it’s going to be dead soon.

I did wonder if it could be a failing relay causing the fault?

Volvo C70 2.3 T5 stage 3 2001

I will plug the Dice in next week and see what voltages the alternator is kicking out. However if it was bad then surly the voltage from it would be bad all the time and not intermittently happening which would suggest a fit of loose connection somewhere!

Will post again after I check battery and alternator and all electrical connections.

JP

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by C70Noob

Sorry I can't! I don't have a voltmeter thingy I was just after some thought from people that know more than me.

But after reading people responses I'm pretty sure the alternator is the issue, so I'm off to buy a replacement!

Fair enough but.....
1. As already mentioned, a multimeter costs from £3, is easy for a beginner to use and understand and can give definitive information in seconds.
2. Those in the know will also know that a whole new alternator is rarely required and there is nothing from your description of the problem which suggests a new alternator is the only fix.

When I had your symptoms, it was worn brushes and in particular one brush which was worn to almost minimum making it lose contact with the slip rings intermittently.


A new genuine Bosch brush pack/regulator for £25 solved the problem, no alternator removal was required and the job was done in minutes. This was 4 years ago and all is still well.

I've even "fixed" alternators with similar symptoms where the problem was a loose nut on the regulator or a poor connection on the main cable coming off the b+ so not an alternator problem at all and solved with a cheap multimeter and a minutes worth of voltage drop testing.

By all means go nuclear and replace the whole thing but my impression from your initial post was that you were concerned about costs and there are few things cheaper than testing first.

Old and new regulator pics.....

[tdidave]

Originally Posted by Jp003

I will plug the Dice in next week and see what voltages the alternator is kicking out. However if it was bad then surly the voltage from it would be bad all the time and not intermittently happening which would suggest a fit of loose connection somewhere!

My alternator was intermittent. It started with the battery warning light coming on occasionally. It seemed ok for a while. After that it started to get to be a daily occurrence, it would come on and go out. Then one morning it came on and stayed on.. no charge all the time.. kaput!

This all happened over a time period of about a month if I remember correctly.

Dave..

[taiwan740]

Woah, woah woah, slow your roll there before loading the parts cannon.

It sounds like a loose ground or a battery connection issue - alternators don't just "go" intermittently like that.

Get or borrow a multimeter, keep it on voltage, and check across the battery and between the positive and all the grounding points (including alternator housing) both with engine off and engine running.

[tdidave]

Originally Posted by taiwan740

Woah, woah woah, slow your roll there before loading the parts cannon.

It sounds like a loose ground or a battery connection issue - alternators don't just "go" intermittently like that.

Get or borrow a multimeter, keep it on voltage, and check across the battery and between the positive and all the grounding points (including alternator housing) both with engine off and engine running.

I agree with everything in your post taiwan740, but the failure of my alternator certainly did begin in an intermittent fashion.

I'm also one of those who will test everything over and over before buying parts, which is so easy to do, but in the end those early symptoms did turn out to be the warnings of a coming failure.

Hopefully C70noob will get to do some tests before splashing the cash.

Dave..