1991 Volvo 240 (245) wagon, California car with 140,00 miles. The "battery" symbol lit up dimly for several days until the engine began to perform erratically and the instrument panel became psychotic. Finally it failed to run at all, with a dead battery. At night of course. When I substituted another battery everything went back to normal, other than not charging, which I verified using a multimeter. Did not notice any odd sounds coming from the alternator area. From You Tube videos I learned that the built in voltage regulator may have failed, specifically the brushes.
Questions:
- Is this about the time/mileage to expect the voltage regulator and/or brushes to fail?
- Is there any other checking I should do?
- Is it reasonable to conclude that only the voltage regulator has failed?
- What is involved in removing and replacing the built in voltage regulator?
- Can it be done without removing the alternator?
- Any helpful hints on that job?
- Is there a way to coax a few more miles out of the alternator/voltage regulator?

I plan to order a new VR from FCP Euro ( (Voltage Regulator (80 AMP) - Bosch 30091 Part #: BOS-30091 $42) with lifetime warranty.
Any helpful advice will be appreciated.