after i took my car to the track my alternator mysteriously blew and i replaced it with one out of an 88 t2... and now that one blew i dont know wats going on? wat could it be?

 

i have this no name battery on it that ive been wanting to replace but never got around to it any ideas on wat it could be i have msd 8.5 mm wires, hid's and wired some foglights to my side markers but i highly doubt it could be that.....its an s4 na gxl

 

what about some type of alternator upgrade? ive been reading about FD upgrade?also about improper grounds? the one by the drivers side strut tower? would that be related to my issue?

 

Well since no one better chimed in... Get your battery tested at an auto parts store, it's free b/c they wanna sell you stuff. They test alts too for that matter. A stock alternator shouldn't have these problems, so figure out what's wrong before you upgrade ***** nilly. There are a lot of bad alts out there, so you easily could have gotten 2 lousy alts. I dunno. Grounds might weaken the power you get, but wouldn't cause failure. Plus that'd be the battery or etc. ground, not alt ground, since the alternator is bolted and grounded straight to the engine without any cable.

Besides that, hmm, the charging system is the alternator, wires and battery, so the great majority of the time any problem is the alternator or battery. And alts are pretty shady, so often if two blow in a row then your really did get two bad apples in a row. Or you have a bad battery. Best of luck figuring it out.

 

Definitely check the battery.

But I'd look at an upgraded alternator as well. I went through 4 used FC alternators back in the day, on a perfectly good battery and charging system, simply because FC alternators are at this point old and worn out. You can have your alternator rebuilt at a local shop and upgraded (with a warranty) or you can basically bolt on an FD alternator from a parts store once you swap the pulley and make a minor wiring change (see the FAQ).

 

What are the traits of a blown alternator? Your alternator?

 

i changed the battery, and the ground kept bouncing off the battery! i tightened it on pretty good and it started it up it mustve been the battery how odd tho...

 

Go and see if you can easily pull the battery terminal off with your hand, even though you tightened it. If you can then it may be time for a new terminal.

 

i will do that asap