NHTSA — Electrical System: Alternator/Generator/Regulator Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
16,250 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1996 Volvo 850 electrical problems

electrical problem

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1996 Volvo 850 Owner Comments

problem #2

Mar 152004

850

  • Automatic transmission
  • 32,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle was parked in the garage, once the consumer tried to start it, it would not start. The automobile club came and jumped the vehicle. Consumer proceeded to the dealer, and was told the battery needed to be replaced, and it was replaced. Consumer retrieved the vehicle, and the problem of starting the vehicle recurred. Automoble club came again, and the consumer was told the alternator was defective.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #1

Jun 042003

850 5-cyl

  • miles
The entire alternator wiring harness was melted and destroyed before the fuseable link opened the circuit. This clearly is not an acceptable electrical design. In fact, it is my contention that if my wife had not turned the car off when she did, due to the white smoke from the fan, the wiring harness would have caught on fire. Most likely the resulting fire would have destroyed the car as the melted wiring harness is directly under and around the engineS fuel injection system. Personally inspected the electrical damage, and was appalled by how much of the wiring was fused together. If the safety design (fuseable link) of the fan circuit had worked properly the alternator wiring harness would never have been damaged to the extent I saw and more importantly my wife would never have been in personal danger.I have reported this issue to Volvo America and they contend that a loose fan mount caused this issue. The repair shop was at a lose to explain this position to me as they could not understand how this was relevent to the extensive damage caused as the wiring harness melted down.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

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