Alternator problems, please help
 

Hey guys,

I just replaced my alternator and battery a week ago, with all new belts, and everything was working fine. Today, the idiot lights started coming on while driving. I tested battery voltage while the car is running and it was 11.5. I checked the belt tension (by hand) and it seemed a *little* loose, so I tightened it. I am now at FULL tightness on the belt (it's a 53 7/8" belt) and I am seeing 13.5v on the battery while the car is running, but I looked and noticed that the positive terminal on the alternator was getting REAL hot (enough to melt the rubber booty). Is this a problem with the alternator or should I be looking more deeply at the wiring harness?

The car is a 94 with 91500 miles on it.

Any insight you guys may have would be appreciated! I am down without this problem fixed so pleeease help :)

Jay Ruggles
1994 Black R2

Where did you get the alternator from? I can't help that much but maybe if it's a reman alt. they put the wrong voltage thingy (forgot name) in it.

13.5v is fine but that wire getting hot is not. I always see a lttle over 14v and every once in a while it'll drop to 13.5 so I would expect a new one to atleast push that.

Make sure all your conections are tight.

My bet is that either 1) you reconnected something incorrectly causing that battery terminal to get hot (whatever the electrical term for this is...short, whatever), or 2) your alternator is bad. By bad I'm thinking that maybe it's wired wrong inside, or wound wrong on the internal stuff. Nothing should make your battery terminals hot simply because it's a fire hazard (you _have_ read the little warnings on the battery, right? O2 is a byproduct of the battery being used, which is flammable).

I had the same problem. My alternator is the original but I recently replaced my battery. The old battery I think was shorted inside causing it to die. The short caused the alternator to work harder to keep the battery charged, thus the positive wire started over heating. Once I got the new battery the problem went away. This was about 4 months ago. Last week I moved my new battery to the rear and used 4 AWG wire for the relocation. Today was the first day I fired it up in at least a month and the wire is getting hot again. It may just be temporary because I just wash the engine down and probably got too much water on all the electrical connections. I'm hoping it is only temporary and not the 4AWG wire.

seems like an incorrect install

that or a defect alternator

its supposed to show 14 point something to the battery while the car is running..

Mine isn't getting hot anymore. I let the engine dry, but I also notice that my alternator wire was slightly loose. I took it off and cleaned the connector then tightened it back on. A loose connection can cause heat to build up since the electricity doesn't have as much metal to pass through. Check your wire.