2002 v7 xc alternator

[spag]

My V70's alternator looks to have failed, just before I got home the car became sluggish and several dash lights came on, the car turned into the driveway but couldn't drive up the incline... after shutting it off it wouldn't start again... an hour later the car started and I hooked up a multimeter and could see the voltage steadily dropping.

My Alternator part number is 8622786, it's a Bosch. Are there other alternators that are compatible with my car?

I went to the volvo section of the upull it yard and all of the cars there (2001 s60, 2002 v70, and 2004 s60) had 8676498 bosch alternators in them.

Will this alternator work in my car? I brought one home and they look identical... can i remove the voltage regulator on mine and install it on the this one?

Thank you for your help.

[spag]

Will it hurt the car to try it?

[billr99]

You should be good to use any P2 (i.e. S60, V70, XC70) alternator from MYs '02 thru '07. You should have a 120A now but you can use a 140A or 160A should you be able to find one.

Cheers,

Bill

[spag]

Thank you Bill.

I went ahead and installed it this morning (came from 2004 s60) and the car runs much quieter now, and it seems to have corrected another issue with the text on the inst panel but unfortunately it is not charging the battery.

Any ideas? Bad alternator? Is it worth swapping the regulator? Thanks.

[Astro14]

Was it the alternator- or was it a dying battery?

You can't expect the alternator to charge a dead battery. If you were experiencing voltage issues - that battery was run down. It needs to be fully charged before you can judge performance. If it's more than a few years old, running it down might have killed it...to the point where a new, good alternator won't be able to charge it.

I would charge the battery all the way, then start checking voltages.

If you can get it load tested, that would help.

[spag]

Thank you Astro.

I will try that.

[spag]

Unfortunately not the battery. I fully charged the battery and tested, still draining. For good measure, I removed a known good battery from my wife's volvo and it also would not charge.

Also, my info center usually doesn't work but I did briefly see a message about the charging system requiring servicing and a battery error light comes up on start but goes away after revving.

Any thoughts?

In my mind, it is one of the following:
- Incompatible alternator
- Bad alternator
- Bad regulator
- Bad connection to alternator (nut was a bit oxidized)
- I did something wrong when installing the replacement alternator

It is hard to test these items because it means removing and reinstalling the alternator each time.

[JRL]

Just buy or borrow a multi meter and test away.
Or stop by a shop. everything can be tested in 15 minutes or less
Check out your cables, not usually a problem with P2s but there always can be the exception!

[spag]

Thank you JRL.

I have a multimeter and that is how I know that the battery is not charging.

Is there a way to test the connection to the alternator itself with the multimeter?

[billr99]

Thank you JRL.

I have a multimeter and that is how I know that the battery is not charging.

Is there a way to test the connection to the alternator itself with the multimeter?

If you are checking across the battery posts that is pretty much straight out of the alternator. So if you are not seeing something in the range of 13.8 to 14.2 at the posts, your alternator isn't working.

Just as a question, you hooked the thing up right, yes? That is, battery disconnected, fair size wire and, most importantly, the exciter wire? Also and this is more the mechanical side of the alternator, check your OAP (overdrive pulley) if your alternator is used. According to INA who makes the pulleys, the expected life of the OAP is about the same as the serpentine belt or about 160K kms.

Replacing the alternator is a PITA but they aren't magical so if you aren't seeing voltage, either try another or bite the bullet and get a new rebuild. Autopartsway.ca and RockAuto has 120A rebuilds for around $200 CDN.

Good Luck,

Bill