Alternator suicide

"Frank Grimes" (FrankGrimes) 10/14/2013 at 13:41 • Filed to: None

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On the way to a job interview my alternator committed suicide and tried to take me and my car with it in a ball of fire. Check out the melted things.

ddavidn > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 13:42

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Yikes! Did/will you make it to the interview at all?

Frank Grimes > ddavidn 10/14/2013 at 13:46

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Yes halfway there I noticed the voltmeter drop and being erratic turned off the stereo heater and headlights and prayed I made it and managed to drive home I figured I made it home on battery power only. I tested the alternator with a multimeter and it was shot but it wasnt until I removed it that I realized the plug was totally melted and the insides of the alternator were completely nuked. Explains the burning smell. Apparently this is common problem and cars have gone up in flames because of too small of charging wires. So I will be doing a later model alternator swap which I hope doesn't take long.

EL_ULY > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 13:51

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dayum, never seen them that bad, where you haulingazz when that happened?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 13:51

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What do you drive?

ddavidn > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 13:52

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I had a car dump most of its coolant out and overheat on the way to an interview. It didn't help my nerves, as I then still had to drive through downtown seattle to locate my interview. Then I was a bundle of nerves, and introduced myself by saying "Hi I'm Derek!"

Derek was the name of my interviewer. :(

They still wanted to hire me, oddly enough...

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > ddavidn 10/14/2013 at 13:55

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Was this the E36?

ddavidn > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/14/2013 at 13:57

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Haha no, it was my dad's Jeep GC. This was before I got my own car.

Remember, I've never had to work on my cooling system... every time I say then I get a feeling of dread and impending doom...

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > ddavidn 10/14/2013 at 13:59

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Frank Grimes > ddavidn 10/14/2013 at 14:21

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YES! For now on I shall call you brother for we have suffered the same. I was actually rather calm for I decided to put it out of my mind since I didn't have time to think about it or look at it. I think I did really well in the interview but have yet to hear back from them. It wasn't until I got home that I realized the extent of the damage.

Frank Grimes > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/14/2013 at 14:22

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1989 Mustang LX 2.3 Auto

Frank Grimes > EL_ULY 10/14/2013 at 14:23

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Well for the car I was driving I would say so I was on I-15 about 70mph.

ddavidn > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 14:24

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That's good! Let us know how both those things pan out. I assume you're replacing your alternator now, since you have it in your hand.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 14:24

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ahh, my sister had that same car with a 4 speed manual, except hers was an 86 notch.

Fun little car that desperately needed a 5th gear lol.

Any thoughts to a bigger better alternator? Giving you said its a common issue? Or is the new replacement one adjusted to not potentially cause fiery death?

Frank Grimes > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/14/2013 at 14:27

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Most 5.0 bros swap to later generation alternators and I will be doing that since this is so common and even stock alternators once you have more than one electrical device on they are out of capacity. I will be using a 1995 mustang alternator I found at LKQ for $40 used but with 6month warranty and add in a fuse and 4gauge power cables I should be sitting pretty with a 130amp alternator for about half of what it would cost to get a new stock one.

EL_ULY > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 14:28

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oh man, i bet it was loud

Frank Grimes > ddavidn 10/14/2013 at 14:29

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Yup the stock alternator is expensive and will be using a used 1995 Mustang one with 130amp output instead of the weak stock 75 amp output.

ddavidn > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 14:33

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Nice, I upgraded mine to a higher output when it died a few months ago. Think I got a bad one, though... not sure about that one.

Frank Grimes > EL_ULY 10/14/2013 at 14:35

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I do remember hearing something but it wasn't very loud. just like a faint whine. I think the bearings are still okay since it spins good I think all the electrics and wiring inside just melted and I do remember smelling something burning but thought it wasn't my car.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 15:04

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Nice!

EL_ULY > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 15:08

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crap, maybe something got in there or was just a sudden suicide like you said. $200 or so for a new alt?

Frank Grimes > EL_ULY 10/14/2013 at 15:50

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They are about $100 for the stock crappy one rebuilt. $40 for a used better version with only 124k miles. hopefully I wont have to use the 6 month warranty. A new one is about $200 for a kit to for the later alternator.

EL_ULY > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 16:07

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o ok not to bad then. I'd go with a used one also, plus a trip to the salvage yard is always a treat when there is time to go.

Frank Grimes > EL_ULY 10/14/2013 at 16:23

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agreed especially when a cute girl offers to give me a ride.

EL_ULY > Frank Grimes 10/14/2013 at 16:31

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lol nice!