Just got back from a great vacation trip with my wife. The Volvo performed very well on the trip from NJ to Burlington Vermont and back via Lake George and Middlebury. I did have some noise coming from the rear of the car, I've attributed it to tire noise in the past, but on this trip it seemed louder. It sounds like the car has snow tires on it. When you take a corner or slow down quickly the volume and pitch of the noise changes. It rained on the way home and the noise just about disappeared. I've heard of tires that had belts that shifted, causing noise. Is it something I should be worried about, or just let it ride? The tires have about 40K on them, Bridgestone Potenzas. and they still look great. Somewhere in the back of my mind is the possibility that the noise is rear wheel bearings, the rear has about 340K on it and has never been touched, save for a fluid change to synthetic at about 280K. The other problem came on the way home; when it started raining, I turned on the a/c, the wipers and the headlights. The voltmeter dropped to just below 12 volts from a high of about 15 and stayed there. I shut off all of the accessories and the volts never came back up. The alternator has about 130K on it. Time for new brushes? Thanks!
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For the rear end noise, the first thought is the driveshaft center support bearing, as they start to fail, they growl at a rate proportionate to speed and get a bit louder on deceleration.

At 130K miles, the alternator probably needs a brush/regulator replacement, especially if the output was as high as 15V before it dropped to 12V. Be for warned though, the diode plate can also fail so consider a rebuilt alternator.

jorrell
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92 245 291K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

The snow tire noice is often wheel bearings IME.
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240s: 2 drivers and some parts cars

Is there a way to check the bearings?
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A new voltage regulator might not be a bad idea. Keep the old one for a backup? I just made a long trip in a 745T and the difference in how it handled and sounded with and without the extra people/luggage weight and weather differences was enough to keep me on alert for anything potentially amiss. Even though you have 200 series, the 700/900 FAQ might be a good source for reference because of similarities in much the same way as the best reference for a 700/900 driver might well be the Bentley manual written for the 200.