Two different starters for D24 NA / T?

[745 TurboGreasel]

You might open it up and look at the contacts in the solenoid, and the brushes, often the starter can be fixed up, and the aftermarket ones regularly seem to last about a year.
Id rather have an OE with some new parts than a new one from China.

[volvo-dennis]

Well, this morning, temp about 3- degrees celsius, on my way to work. The darn' thing would not start. So did some measurements this evening, after charging the battery.

The battery was about fully charged, and I used a "battey tester" to test the battery. Type in the size of the battery, and the thing load-tests the battery. The result was "Passed", and an estimated capacity was at 90%.

After that, I did a test on the alternator. It is the original Bosch 55A, and it produced right about 60 amps, at 14 volts = passed!

Finally this day, I tested how many amps the starter pulls while cranking. The result was surprising, "only" 235 amps. Specs say that max amp while cranking is just about 300 amp on a direct-drive type. BUT! When I did the crank test, suddenly the voltage dropped to just 8 volts (measured at battery connectors).

I think my "new" half-year old battery is playing tricks on me.. It is the same size as one from a gasser.

As far as I know, the Volvo 700/900's came with two battery sizes. The gasser type, and "small truck" one = almost twice the size. Is it possible my 740 is fitted with the wrong starter? I mean if it's possible that the vehicles with gasser a battery, is supposed to be fitted with a gear-reduction starter? And the ones with the larger battery is fitted with the direct-drive type? The gear-reduction is supposed to pull about half the amps as the direct-drive. Just a thought...

Then I think mine has the wrong combo: Large direct-drive and gasser battery!

Which model of battery are your US volvo's equipped with?

Dennis

[745 TurboGreasel]

Whatever random battery I stick in there.

That's a pretty common battery/ tester failure when the battery is suffering reduced capacity and high resting voltage, the tester doesn't actually load it down that much, then extrapolates from how much it did drop. Zap it 2x in a row , or hit is with a real 300A carbon pile tester, and it will fail.

The high resting voltage then fools the alternator , which undercharges the battery, weakening it further in a vicious cycle.

[ngoma]

Originally Posted by volvo-dennis

Which model of battery are your US volvo's equipped with?

Not sure what it came with but I have been well-served by good quality H8 series battery. They are high capacity, correct dimensions and terminal orientation, and readily available because they are used in many modern luxury sports cars (BMW X5 AWD, Jaguar S-Type, Audi A8 Quattro, Audi A6 Quattro, Volvo XC90 AWD).

[volvo-dennis]

Problem is solved. I changed the battery, and now it works as it should. The engine fires up almost immediately, even in 6- degrees celsius.

These old diesel engines really need sufficient starter-cranking-rpm!