alternator replacement question
alternator replacement question Ok so I was in the middle of doing the alternator swap and i got hung up for what seemed like an hour on the bolt that holds the "excitor" wire on. This bolt would not just come off without turning the entire wire around in circles with it. It seemed as if there was a nut on top that should just loosen off and bam done... but i guess it was so rusted or idk... i tried for over an hour and finally kept turning the bolt on the old alternator and the entire bolt come out of the old alternator.... so then i have the old bolt still with the excitor wire attached still hanging... tried for another hour to separate the top nut from the rest of the bolt to get the wire off... but to no avail.... it was STUCK.... so this was what i did... i took the entire bolt off the new alternator and put the entire old bolt from the old alternator... with wire still attached on the new alternator.... guess my question is how the hell was i supposed to get that wire off without doing all this... and secondly... will my new alternator be okay with the "old" bolt in it holding the excitor wire..... i started it up and drove it and everything seems fine but just want to make sure i didnt screw something up here... although it did take me like 5 hours which to me was insane... it is finally done.. just want to ensure that what i did by switching the bolts was ok... THANKS
ok I had terminology mixed up I believe... power wire is the one on back of alternator and excitor is up top? well whatever is what the one on the back is the one in reference in the post... sorry if it confused anyone.. i'm a newb
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,623
Likes: 2,541
From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Yes, the exciter/field wire is the one on top, that uses the push-in style connector. The wire that connects to the back with a nut is the charge wire.
Sounds like you just swapped the output posts from one alternator to the next. That should be fine, as long as it's installed tight. If it was rust and corrosion that caused the nut to seize though, conductivity might not be perfect. But if everything seems to charge fine then I wouldn't be too worried about it.
Sounds like you just swapped the output posts from one alternator to the next. That should be fine, as long as it's installed tight. If it was rust and corrosion that caused the nut to seize though, conductivity might not be perfect. But if everything seems to charge fine then I wouldn't be too worried about it.
*update* now after driving the car to work today there is some issues... this is a new alternator and for some reason the voltage is jumping all over the place.... I start the car and it is showing 13-14 range.... but after putting it in reverse the gauge dips into the "red" area... about 9 on the gauge... with the CHECK GAGES light flashing at me..... when i push on the gas the volts jump back up to 13-14 range but as soon as i'm idling it dips into the "red" what is going on???? I have never checked the battery could this be bad too? I'm just really frustrated that I'm having worse problems after putting a new alternator in now... before the alternator was working but would surge and flicker the lights so I decided to replace it... now its just worse than before..
sounds like your original alt wasnt bad. It seems from what you are describing that you have a bad ground somewhere. Make sure your negative cable is in good condition and connected to the car in the right places. There should also be ground straps from the engine to the body, these all have to be in good working condition.
