I am having a problem with blowing alternators. I bought the car about two month ago. I had professional installers put a small after market system in the car that was previously in a Hyundai for three years with no problems. (the system may or may not be a factor, but the dealership thinks it is a factor).
Shortly after this, the battery died. Took it to the dealer, who swapped it for a cheap new battery. A few days later, battery died. I thought the system might be a bigger drain, so I bought an Optima red top gel cell. I was in the dealership a week later for a different issue, but they noticed the alternator not charging and replaced it with a new OEM (Delphi). One week later, it fried and stranded me with a discharged battery. Back to the shop where they replaced the alternator with a higher charging one, noting the "stereo" might need more juice than the stocker could make. I thought a drain from the amps would kill the battery, not the alternator. The stereo shop confirmed this theory, saying they had never heard of anything like this and the system is a small one in any event.
Washed the car this afternoon and headed over to the GF's house. "Check Gauges" cuts on. I look down to see the Volts are in the red, ie - another alternator down.
Has anyone experienced this, or something similar? What could account for a charging system problem that is eating up alternators? What am I looking at to have the dealership track down and fix this problem? I am getting annoyed at replacing the same part every week.
HELP!
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Pull the fuse for the stereo and see if the problem continues. If it stops the stereo or it's installation is at fault.

 

check the connector on the alternator.......I thought me alt was shot but turns out the connector was bad. cost me 30 for a conector

 

there's a built in fuse on the exciter (sp) wire. not the power wire but the other wire. replace that and let me know if that works. crap happend to me also.

 

where is the fuse on the exciter wire? i bought a new terminal from the dealership and it came as a connector with four gray wires coming off and my SS only has one (third from the left) i cut the others off and replaced the terminal and got the alternator tested. its bad, but if there is a fuse to check along the way, i want to find it. i think what started the issue is the fact that the power steering pump is leaking all over the terminal and alternator so i replaced that too (PITA!) power steering still leaks and i'm not sure why it seems to leak from the back of the pump, where it mounts to the motor but a friend suggested that there could be a seal/o-ring that i chewed up somehow... is there a seal in the power steering pump where the reservoir meets the pump?

 

its a built in fuse. its probably no more than a few inches up on the wire. its looks to be more flared out.

 

dito
+1

 

The shop found where at some point, the battery leaked (I noticed some corrosion in the battery tray when cleaning the engine) onto the cables. Someone just "spliced them together" and taped it up. Apparently some wiring was making contact and drawing down huge current from the charging system. So, they replaced all the battery cables with OEM and hope that fixes it. If not, I plan on visiting a local shop that offered to help. I should know in a week or less!

 

i repalced about 7 inches of the wire when i replaced the terminal and didnt find anything that looked like a fuse. the part that i got from the dealership (pt1136?) had four long gray wires, three of which i clipped.
also do you know whether or not there is a seal in the power steering pump where the reservoir meets? i dont yet have a manual for this car.

thanks

 

there is a seal between the ps tank and the ps pump its a bitch to fix....big time

i tired 2 times to fix mine then just coughed up the money for the turn one powersteering pump and i am in love with it so i am good to go

 

Got it! all i had to do was put the pump in a vise, open the clip by twisting upward, and holding it while my neighbor tapped it off... simple, right?

 

Can you please tell me where you purchased that connector, i believe that may be the same problem i am having with my LT1. Thanks !

 

The problem seems to have been that somewhere along the line someone had battery acid spill on the cables. They fixed it by splicing the cables together (something making a connection it shouldn't?) and taping it up. The tech found the battery cables making a huge draw. They replaced the OEM cables and alternator. Hasn't blown yet - five days so far. It has taken about a week to lose the alternator each time, so if it lasts the weekend they may have gotten it. The dealership has replaced a lot of parts under their warranty. Between that and modding, the car gets newer every day! lol

 

wow that sucks you went threw that many alt. just to find that. amazing how cars are.