1971 X/C 70 Charging Issue

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by John von Colditz, Aug 24, 2009.

  1. My mom has the above vehicle. Recently, the battery has been dying
    periodically. We are going to replace the battery, but the mechanic has
    said their may be a secondary problem. According to him, this
    particular Volvo has charging issues if it is only driven short
    distances. She is on an island, so most of the distances are small. Two
    questions:

    1) Is the charging issue for this model real?

    2) If it is, how do we deal with it?

    Thanks!

    John
     
    John von Colditz, Aug 24, 2009
    #1
  2. John von Colditz explained on 8/24/2009 :
    I should review my posts a bit better!
     
    John von Colditz, Aug 24, 2009
    #2
  3. John von Colditz

    James Sweet Guest


    That's a potential issue for any car. You have to drive it long enough
    to generate as much power as it required to start the engine. Short
    trips are hard on the engine too as it rarely has a chance to reach full
    operating temperature and moisture and other volatiles tend to collect
    in the oil.

    Another common cause of dead batteries are glove box lights, trunk
    lights, stuff like that if they get stuck on. Any shop and many
    automotive parts stores have equipment to evaluate your charging system,
    and also it is easy to measure for phantom loads with the car off that
    can drain the battery.
     
    James Sweet, Aug 25, 2009
    #3
  4. John von Colditz

    the Mink Guest

    Have you tried a solar charger that sits in the windscreen?
     
    the Mink, Sep 11, 2009
    #4
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