offroad bandit

Im sorry if this has been covered before, i did a quick search for it and didnt really find anything but is it okay to get your alternator wet I hear absolutely not, and i hear its fine as long as you dont turn off the engine in water? crossing a creek tomorrow and this would be very helpful for that haha

5-90

Take a jug of clean water with you, and maybe a can of "no-flash" electrical cleaner.

If the water is dirty, trickle some clean water over the thing (with the engine running, so be careful) to flush it out. Leave it run so it dries out.

If it's fine silt or something, shut down and blow it out with the no-flash. Then restart and let it dry out.

offroad bandit

thanks man!! its a pretty clean clear river but i'll check advanced for that "no-flash" just in case!

Char92dj8

ive dunked mine TONSSSSS of times
if ur really that concerned, maybe bring a extra alt??

Tural

definitely dunked mine before. the engine starts with the battery, so i doubt that even shutting it off can harm anything. just make sure your battery is good, because water reduces alternator current.

offroad bandit

ehh, my recent christmas expenses have reduced my ability to get an extra alt
fail.

5-90

True - but shutting it down right away and letting it cool off on its own means it doesn't get dry - which means the springs behind the brushes (that push them into the comm rings...) rust, get weak, and break.

Then your alternator don't work.

That's why I say to leave it running for a bit (20-30 minutes, if possible, at least) to heat-dry the internals. Especially those damned springs!

Tural

good point. but i was referring to the possibility of an instant alternator failure or the vehicle not starting back up if you dunk it.
figure if you were just in 3ft of water, you will need to drive out of it anyway.

stockard

I still wonder why these auto makers put them so low. Toyota did the same thing with the alt on the 22re

offroad bandit

got postponed today... but going swimming tomorrow for sure! i'll try and get some pics and maybe upload a vid or somethin.