Help!! I just bought my 240 DL today and 8 hours later the battery died. I jumped it and took off, When i stopped again and turned it off, it died again. Hopefully i just need a new battery, but if there seems to be an outstanding problem with this model/year in the battery department, please someone let me know. What have i gotten myself into?

It maybe be a loose wire that is preventing the alternator from charging.

When you have the key in the II (accessory) position but the engine off, is the alt light on (along with other lights)? It should be. If not, look for a loose wire at the alt. The thin red has a spade connection and the thicker blue grounds the alt to its mounting bracket.

If the alt light is on in the II position and engine off, does it go off when the engine is started? If not, your brushes are probably bad.

If the alt light goes off when engine is started, suspect a bad battery. If you have a multimeter, check voltages at the battery: engine off (about 12V), engine on (about 14V). If these voltages are okay then your battery is probably not holding a charge.


--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans

Same thing happened to my '90 240 last month. It had 200k miles on the odo.

New brushes in the alternator solved it for me.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

There isn't anything innately wrong with the car (model or year), and that includes the charging system (especially in as relatively new a car as a '90).
It's really very, very likely that you just have a dead battery. The symptoms are classic for a battery that is on its last legs -- it can't hold a charge between being shut down and trying to restart. Consider that the car was probably sitting a long time (not regularly used) as it waited to be bought; coupled with the fact that the battery is quite possibly very old (because the previous owner didn't want to invest in a new battery); this is a recipe for a battery giving up in this typical way.
I think that the most likely thing is that all you need is to replace the battery. Don't panic! Batteries are really consumables -- you really have to replace them every four to six years (depending on how the car is used), and it's not a reason to find fault with your new car.
Enjoy the car, and take a deep breath and relax, and let us welcome you to the world of Volvo ownership -- you really won't regret it.
:-).
[Of course, if your new battery dies, then write us again and we'll know there's a problem.]

Thank you Ken C. It was just the battery, and I love my new car :)