Ok,,here it goes.

I was on my way to work on Tuesday morning at 0 dark thirty and a squealing noise bagan.. I pulled over and it went away. About a quarter mile up the road it overheated so I knew I broke a belt.

WRONG,,

The pulley on the alternator broke on the shaft. No warning,,, Least the belt was a new one,, and it was there intact.

SO,,I get my buddy who owns a garage to get me an alternator. The original was a 117 amp. He didn't have a listing for a 117 so he got me a 96 amp. I bolted that bad boy in and hooked it up. And as soon as I connected the battery,,,

ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE,,,

Wires sizzling , arcing, smoke everywhere. I ripped the terminal off the pos side and sat there in disbelief as to what I had just witnessed.

I just wanted to kill something,,
Yea you all know the feeling.

SO,, I want to know every ones opinions on just how bad you think it is. What fried? and what I am gonna need to replace.

All this and I was just getting ready to spend a pile of cash on stuff from a few people here.

So what do ya'll think ?

 

There's no way I'm going to be able to tell you which wire burnt...

What you need to figure out is WHY...

The only thing I can think of is that you shorted out the positive post on the alternator...

Why you left it hooked up long enough to smoke is beyond me.

 

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It was IMMEDIATE,,,the "smoking" Soon as I connected the positive battery terminal.

I've replaced literally hundreds of alts in my life,,,NEVER had this happen.



Any more ideas?

 

Where did the smoke come from? I'd have a hard time believing wires instantly started smoking unless it was a direct short on itty bitty wires.

Have you attempted to isolate the issue? I'd start by unhooking the alternator wires and trying to hook the battery back up. If it doesn't start fireworks again then you can assume there's a serious issue with the alternator out of the box. If it does then there's an issue elsewhere or the first firework show was so devastating that a harness is already toast and melted together somewhere.

Again, the only issue I can think of is if the positive post is grounded to the alternator case. Or the person that built the alternator came to work drunk that day.

At the very least, pull it back off and take it up to the store and have it tested.

 

I agree with low range sounds like your alt has some internal issues, maybe it internally got knocked or something and a primary wire is now touching they case or ground, but it shouldn't backfeed to the battery I wouldn't think...

 

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The heavy gauge wire to the ALT post burnt clear thru. Burnt the end off it too. The black "plug" thing,,,(fusable link ?) that connects to the alt was melted,,, it happened so fast,,Also the 2 smaller wires on that "plug" melted off it as well.

I am really hoping I didn't fry the ECM , starter, and everything else downstream of the battery.

I will pull it off and have it checked, Also I guess I'm gonna have to pull the starter too. Is there any to check the ECM with a volt meter?

AT the most it gonna cost me WAY more than it is worth to fix it,,, but on the other side I really love my Jeep. ANd really wanna get it back on the road. I shudder the thought of installing a complete harness,, But If I have to I will.

Keep the info coming. I need ammo to work with.

 

You can check if your elm is fried by jumping the battery and try to start it (jumping it just so you don't kill the battery from not having an alt). If it starts and fires then everything else should be ok

 

Just wondering why you didn't shut off the motor when you saw the alternator was not turning (you did lift the hood didn't you?). It's probably time to take some photos of the carnage, gather what evidence you can, and contact the warranty department of the rebuilder.

 

I'll give you 300 bucks for the Jeep.

 

Should bought mine for $350 I sold last night

 

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Hehhehheh,,

NOPE,,,

It's worth WAY more than that if I decide to part it out.

Sorry,,,

 

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To be honest,,I didn't notice the alt gauge,,I was lookn at traffic in
n the early AM darkness. Noticed the temp gauge goin up and pulled over. Then,, Pulled in a safe spot,,,I flipped the hood and noticed the pully on the alt was busted. Only went a hundred yards or so.

All tha carnage didn't happen till I replaced the alt.

But ya,,I think someone else may be payn for this one for a change.

 

Gah! I asked you what you were going to do with it a day or so ago. I needed the door and fender off of it.

 

OK,,,

1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I take alt off,, have it tested

2 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,same with starter

3 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, TRY and start the vehicle with no battery connected to check the ECM?

Is this right?

IF wiring did fry by chance,,, farther than the alt wiring,, how would I know without opening every loom and checking them all?

 

Check ecm by jumping the battery- your only jumping it so that you don't kill the battery since it won't have an alt running to charge it

And to check the full harness, ill see if I can find the diagram but essentially take an ohm meter and stick one end on the device (lets say 12v + on the map sensor) and the other end on its respective slot on the ecm end...if you have continuity, its most likely ok