My Volvo P1800 in Workshop

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Some problems are better to be solved by the professional. So, I sent my Volvo P1800 to a nearby workshop to get it sorted two days ago.

Run by a young man, which is very friendly. I told him the problems, what I hope to achieve and he seems to know what I am talking about. That is good.

Basically, what I wanted to solve are:

1. Battery and alternator issue – The car is draining battery power when I switched on the air conditioner. If air cond is OFF, then the voltage of the battery is OK. The mechanic said the air cond fan used in the car is Mercedes fan, which might be drawing too much current.
2. Car gauges. This is the electronic issue. All gauges in the car are NOT working. They are fuel gauge, oil temperature, water temperature, oil pressure, speedometer, and tachometer (RPM). Critical to me are the fuel gauge, speedo and tacho.

The workshop is good and serious in solving my car’s problems. On the same day, he has removed the alternator from the car and have it tested. The current alternator is delivering 60amp current. So, he is suggesting a higher current alternator. He also found some wiring problems on the car.

Yesterday, he checked some wiring problems of the gauges. He found the existing fuel gauge to be faulty. He replaced it with the used fuel gauge that I bought from ebay, and it is now working! Hooray! No need to change the fuel tank or sender unit! Saved me quite a bit of hassle and money! I paid US$10.50 for the fuel gauge and US$55.99 for the tachometer from ebay.

Today, the mechanic told me that they have removed the radiator fan for repainting work. Yes, I told him to remove it and paint it yellow for me. He cleaned the fan and hub and are ready for painting. Can’t wait to see how bright they shine later!

He also gotten a new alternator that is 80amp and will be testing it on the car. I was hoping for a 95amp version, but hopefully this is enough.