The battery light on my 94 855 turbo came on briefly the other day and the owner's manual states this is a sign that the "generator" is bad. I started pricing rebuilt alternators and most quotes are in the $200 range. So, has anyone rebuilt their alternator? How'd you do it? THanks.

You can do the whole thing youself. The only thing you may have to sub out is getting a new slip ring put on or getting yours turned. You only have to do that if it's grooved or burnt. You can get brushes and bearing on the web or at most supply stores. But if a local shop can do it for $100-150 why wast your time. Regulator and bearings will run you $75.
You can check the brushes. maybe thats all you need. You can take the whole thing to a local parts house (Kragens etc.) and they will test it for free. Who knows. Might be something else like a bad ground cable or a funky battery.

Thanks, but I was thinking about rebuilding it myself. Anyone do this? I do think the bearings are out due to a moaning noise on cold mornings that comes from that area. I've read that you can use a gear puller to remove the bearings. Will this work on this alternator?

How many miles do you have on your car?

When my alternator bearings failed they made a squeaking noise all the time.

It is quite common for an alternator to make noise just after starting. It is working quite hard to replenish the electricity used to start the car. The noise will be worse on a damp morning. I have never owned a car with an alternator that did not make more noise after the car was started.

A local indie that I respect told me that often the brushes get gummed up before they are worn out. The brush holders can be cleaned and reinstalled. If that corrects the problem, you can go a bit longer without a rebuild. If you look at the brushes, they should never be shorter than they are wide.

Be careful when working on the alternator, you can ruin other components in the process.

Clicked a different ad, searched, and got this:

http://www.newandusedvolvoparts.com/
PART NUMBER SEARCH RESULTS WITH PRICES

Vehicle: 1994 Volvo 850
Part: Voltage Regulator
 
Note:  1 197 311 234
 
  Product   Brand   Retail   Our Price
  Voltage Regulator   Bosch    $108.00   $63.88

The brushes and regulator are an integrated unit.

Good luck. You can do this job.
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(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)

Just for kicks, I clicked through the ad at the top of the page and found this part:

http://catalog.alloemvolvoparts.com/
Vehicle: 1994 Volvo 850
Part: Voltage Regulator
  1 197 311 234
  Fits
   To view shopping cart contents, click the View Cart link above.
  Product   Brand   List   Price   Core   Qty  

  Voltage Regulator
F4010-58078   Bosch    $108.00   61.60    

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(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)

You might be able to get the bearing out with a puller, though you'd need some kind of a press for re-insertion. But the bearing may not be a problem. Unhook the accessory belt and spin the alternator shaft. If it spins freely, it's OK. The problem would then be only the brushes and voltage regulator.
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(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)

The alternator on the car is just a bosch unit that is used on many other vehicles. Any good alternator repair shop should be able to repair it easily.
I had the voltage regulator go out on mine and the dealer wanted $400 for a remanufactured one and of course they send mine in. and use it again. What a crock. Found a good alternator repair shop that did repaired it $123.00 total.

Usually the problem is the brushes/voltage regulator unit that bolts onto the back of the alternator, about $50 for the part. (I've done this with my 745T.) If the bearings are a problem, an autoelectric shop can usually turn this job around in 24-48hrs for $100.
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(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)

The 850s alternator is NOT as easy brush/regulator replacement as on the older cars as things have changed............"not your dads Volvo anymore".

You're best to just bite the bullit and buy an OEM Volvo reman replacement alternator for your 850.