Volvo Repair: Battery not Charging, neg terminal, grounding cable

Question
have a 1989 240 DL I love. Yesterday the car died on the highway and the battery was dead. I jumped it, it started right up and when I removed the cables, it would run a few minutes then stop (battery drained). Tried this sevaral times - same result. It acts as if it is not receiving a charge. I think the battery is only a year or two old.

On a perhaps related matter, I added some freon to the compressor several hours prior to the problem. To get to the freon port on the compressor, I had to move around a wire harness and the grounding cable from the neg terminal to the block. I am wondering if I disturbed a part of the circuit and that is the problem. Ground cable does not visibly appear to be broken.

How do you suggest I troubleshoot?


Answer
first would be to check the charging system with a volt meter or a vat40 which is designed to check the alternator and battery.you need to check and see if the alternator is charging.I would also check any cables you may have come in contact with to be sure they are all ok.if it is not charging then I would remove the regulator on the alternator and see how the brushes look.this is the white piece on back of the alternator with the 2 philips screws holding it on.be sure they are not worn out.