Came out this a.m. to go to work, & battery so low the engine would not turn over. No prior problems. Original "special" (as in huge, Canadian winter pkg) battery, but of course the car just recently passed the 50,000 mile warranty drop dead line. Dealer 100+ miles away. I plan to disconnect the battery cables, buy a charger, and slow charge it for a couple days, then head for the dealer, who has graciously allowed me an appointment next Tuesday. Any suggestions for what/where to simplify diagnoses in the meantime? Any caveats, other than trying to remember where I put the radio antitheft code? Thanks

After charging and driving about 30 miles, car to indy mech. Battery passes all tests, as does alternator. Started today with no problems after letting it sit for two days.
While starting to disconnect the battery to attach the charger, I noticed that the positive connector was just loose enough to rotate on the post with a bit of finger pressure. No real corrosion, but I used the terminal& connector brush all the way round before reconnecting after charging, & tightened well when replacing the batt. Intermittant "check engine" light hasn't been seen since, either.
QUAERE: What are the chances that just a bit of looseness in the positive terminal was sufficient to cause intermittent failure to charge, and that that was what the "check engine" light was trying to tell me?

After charging and driving about 30 miles, car to indy mech. Battery passes all tests, as does alternator. Started today with no problems after letting it sit for two days.
While starting to disconnect the battery to attach the charger, I noticed that the positive connector was just loose enough to rotate on the post with a bit of finger pressure. No real corrosion, but I used the terminal& connector brush all the way round before reconnecting after charging, & tightened well when replacing the batt. Intermittant "check engine" light hasn't been seen since, either.
QUAERE: What are the chances that just a bit of looseness in the positive terminal was sufficient to cause intermittent failure to charge, and that that was what the "check engine" light was trying to tell me?

I had the battery go dead in my '98 S70 overnight after about 10000 miles. I jumped the battery from my other car and drove another 40000 miles before trading for another Volvo without the incident happening again. Strange!!!
Eddie

Appreciate all the disturbing info re short-lived batteries. Actually, I had been assuming that the primary problem was not the battery, but some sort of drain on the system. Any suggestions on how to check out that hypothesis? I don't mind savng a day of driving to the dealer if it really is a battery-only problem. There's an Interstate battery dealer two blocks from my office, who is always happy to sell me a battery and amused as hell when it turns out that the battery was not the problem (BTDT!).

My first failed after 2 1/2 years, replaced (gratis) under warranty. Then 2 1/2 years later, exactly the same symptoms, car wouldn't turn over. It was Saturday afternoon at 4PM, so Interstate battery wasn't possible. I bought a new Volvo battery, and it turned out NOT to be the battery but rather the ignition switch. I'd give odds of about 66% that it's the battery, worth a gamble if you need to drive an hour or two to the dealer. How much is your time worth?

Volvo dealer, BTW, had a huge stack of fresh batteries, so this is pretty common.

The battery dealer should be able to check out the alternator easily enough.

-Punxsutawney Phil

98s (I belivev Phil has a 98) had a problem with ignition switches.
Should have been fixed by model year 99. The TSB (3301) says it
affected 6000 98s. My money is still on the battery. Hey, Volvo
break-down pool, who wants a square?

10-4872-6...This is the part number from "Canadian Tire" if you are in Canada. It is longer than the original but the same height and width. It fits the tray perfectly and has much more CCA than the original...Plus Candian Tire's warranty and large network is hard to beat.

Bru,

That occurred to me last month. I am now on my 3RD battery. The first battery
went in August 2000 ( roughly 3 years after I brought the vehicle ).

I totally agreed with the other Volvo owners that it is not worth your time to drive the 100 miles to your Volvo dealership. Go to your local automotive shop
and drop an Interstate battery into your Volvo !!

Given the choice, I would have put an Interstate battery into my '98 S70 too, but I needed the S70 for some personal reasons, so I had no choice but to tow it back to Volvo and get a brand new Volvo battery installed for a low price. That is after my Dad gave the service manager hell.

Now I know ... In 2 to 2.5 years from now ( if I haven't traded in my Volvo for a BMW 5-Series by then ), I will installed an Interstate battery in my Volvo, as I know Volvo battery won't last for more than 2.5 years.

---
Kenny
2001 Nissan Pathfinder SE; 1998 Volvo S70 GLE

My OEM battery is 5 years old and still doing OK, but I inderstand that when it dies it does is suddenly. So should I change it now without waiting or wait until it dies to get a new one?
Thanks in advance.

We have a 95 850 and 98 S70 and both batteries failed by year 4.
Pretty common. My dealer replaces them with Interstate. I'd just
pick one up from a local supplier. The dealer is going to charge
you more then most auto supply stores and probably won't pro-rate
it much, if at all. There are two sizes that fit. You probably
want the larger one for your climate.

You will need to reset the clock and radio code and radio presets.
Other then that, no big deal.

My battery went somewhere between year 2 and year 3. Volvo is known to have pretty shabby batteries from what I read. Don't quite understand your course of action, if it is battery, why are you driving 100+ miles to dealer? Even if it is covered under warranty, not worth the effort and time. They are just going to replace it with another weak Volvo battery. My $.02: go and buy one for $100 and save yourself the time.

--
98 V70 AWD, IPD ECU, 'R' Emblem, K&N, Volvo Strut Bar, Dunlop SP5000, IPD Sport Spring

Maybe time for a new battery. As for the radio code go to any dealer with
your VIN #, the can get you your code.

Seems premature...my 1996 850 battery went 5 years or so. I dropped in an Interstate and itsa killa! Read the latest consumer report battery evals - pretty non-technical....but interesting nontheless.
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4