Hi,

Three days ago all of a sudden the car would not start. So I though after 7 years it was time for a new battery. Installed a new one and the car started right up but I noticed that all the lights on the dash were dimly lit and only would go off if I reved the engine past 2500. I though may be time for a new voltage regulator? The next morning I took the car for an oil change and when I got home I left it idling in the driveway for 5 minutes while I feteched something. When I got back the car was idling very roughly. I turned it off and it would not start back up. The battery was showing 11.6 V. When I try to start the car it makes the calssical solenoid noise but won't turn over. All the lights go very dim and battery voltage drops to below 2V. The tach jumps to about 500 RPM almost every time. A couple of times it sweeped to 6000 rpm and back to zero!!! I used my other car to jump start the Volvo but it took 3 tries until it started and it was running really roughly even with the other car still hooked up. A minute after I disconnected the jumper cable, the Volvo died and would not start back. I would appreciate any advice. I tried to expalin all the symptoms but please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks so much in advance.