Hi John,

Long time since I have seen your posts on the board.
You are getting like the fingers on my hand. They can only separate so far but they are still welcome to be there.

As far as life expectancy you should know as well as anyone about the life on the 240s will have to be similar.
That is, until you calculate more gadgets for creature comforts. Heated mirrors &seats, alarms, navigation Al communications and of course the steering wheels for those Snow White East Coasters.
I don’t know who’s alternators are being use on the newer Volvos but if their slip rings are the same diameter as the Bosch one on the 240 you are up there enough to warrant a look into any brush wear.

If they are using ones like on a Honda vehicle, like a Nippon Denso.
I have seen them go a bit farther than I expected.
The explanation is mainly because of their slip rings being a lot smaller in diameter.
There is a natural thing about the amount of surface areas running under those carbon brushes or the amount of copper mixed into them.
Carbon brush making is a science of hard to soft unto itself IMHO.

You don’t want them run too long, short . Arcing can occur and that can damage the solid state regulators they reside in.
If you start noticing your headlights winking or flickering after start ups or load changes, that’s a number one heads up.
The best reason for a dash mounted voltmeter.
I’m still partial to the analog ones myself. Because they wave at you. 👀


There is a high five for you being on the Brickboard!

Phil