[Sandy1985]

have a few questions i hope you guys can help me with...

i was having a lot of trouble with squeeling at low revs, so i narrowed it down to the alternator, so i took it off to see if i could identify what was wrong with it. it felt like ther was grit grinding inside it, so i took off the plastic end and sprayed with wd40 for a whole and tryed to work free all the logger, i then greased it up and stuck it back on...

it solved the problem..

BUT when i was puting it back on i sheared what i think was the EARTH off, was this what caused my alternator to melt?

i know using wd40 was probably a bit daft but i have put up with the noise for months now and its really annoying not to mention embarassing...

any how i ran it fine for about 60 miles until tonight when my radio started to flick on and off the my rev counter switched off then my speedo switched off!! so i pulled over and switched the engine off, then when i tryed to restart it was making an immobiliser noise, rappid ticking but no engine turn.

my questions are, 1. what additional dammage could be caused?
2. how much would a scrappies charge for an alternator
3. and what caused it? earth? flammable liquid? both?
4. should a new alternator mend my car?

thanks for reading this marathon post and any help with my problem..

 

[sheddist]

the "grinding" you mention is likely to be the bearings. WD40 will not cure this.

There is usually not an earth wire to an alternator. The thick wire is the output which goes ot the battery.

If you break something inside the alternator then it is quite possible that

- One or more of the outputs have shorted to earth - meltdown
- The regulator has failed - high voltage - meltdown
- You have disturbed insulation resulting i a short circuit - meltdown

Replace it beforethe rest of your electrics are cooked.

 

[Sandy1985]

thanks for your speedy reply mate, the wire i sheared off was a thin wire i think it might have been yellow and green if this makes any difference? thats why i presumed it to be earth, trip to scrappies the morra for me then,

 

[empsburna]

an earth would have to be a bit bigger than a thin yellow and green wire :err:

 

[Sandy1985]

oops, any ideas what this wire is then? i was only guessing, my electrical knowledge is very poor, volts and currents scare me..

 

[E_T_V]

The thin wire would have been for feeding the ignition warning light on the dash.

 

[Sandy1985]

The thin wire would have been for feeding the ignition warning light on the dash.

so disconnecting this wouldnt have done the dammage?

the plastic part of the alt is melted btw...??

 

[E_T_V]

Nope I don't think so. I'd be checking the wiring from the alternator to the battery for shorting to earth somewhere along its length to create that much heat.

 

[Sandy1985]

thanks again guys for all the help, i will let you's know how i get on..

 

[Phil]

The alternators ground (earth) for your information is the same as the engines ground, as they are both attached.

 

[ashmicro]

The alternator on my wedge 214SEi melted due to bearing failure. At the time I bought a new alternator as the car was only 18 months old, but £15 quid ought to get you one from a scrappy.