Hey the positive cable from the battery was jammed next to the exhaust manifold so when it heated up it burnt right through the wire and i guess grounded the wires inside the cable. So my car shut itself off. So after we pried the cable from the exhaust manifold i tried starting the car. WEll it didnt start so is it just a bad cable or alternator. I'm going to go get it checked at schucks but wanted your guys opinion.

 

Hmmm. Thats a kinda bed situation, just do your best at trouble shooting, try not to buy thing that you do not need. I learned the hard way, in the past.

 

I'd just rip out the alternator and have it tested. If its good, replace the wires, if its bad, get a new one :P I've gone through 2 alternators, first one was bad out of box, sometimes i hate kragen's and their damn rebuilds.....

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, don't go for rebuilt alternators or water pumps. You'll be much happier with a brand new one.

 

ya i had it tested and it came out fine, the battery to. But for some reason the alternator wont charge the batter. Anybody have any clue whats going on with my car?

 

Camaro junkie:

I used to have a big problem with rebuilds also...but ya know what? If i can get it tested there, and if they are willing to give me a decent warranty, i'll take it.

hollow:

if all your connections are clean (clean your battery ports), all screws are tight, i'd check the wire in the back of the alternator connecting to the battery, make sure its still good.

 

It's all fun and games until the alternator starts a fire.

 

Well, if the alternator just randomly blows up with no warning, ok, sorry, i was wrong....but i haven't heard of flames without any warning signs first.

 

Just to be clear I'm not trying to be rude. This is just my experience with rebuilds. It was the second one in the car that did not live out it's one year warranty (compared to 10 years on the original). There were no warning signs as far as I could tell (unless you consider smoke). My point is that my faith in rebuilt alternators (and water pumps for that mattered) is pretty damaged.

It does make for a good story though!

 

Umm......yeah, i actually do consider smoke a BIG warning sign....lol Ever hear of "where theres smoke theres fire"? Thats actually what my camaro was doing, it would start up fine, but there would be smoke. I took the risk or starting it a few times with the hood popped so i could locate smoke....saw alternator, removed alternator.

LoL Yeah, i bet it would make a good story....especially if you can embelish the truth a bit....like....make it so you were on the highway, going 90, with a few people in the car....almost get hit...but somehow using your godlike driving skills, you stay alive :P

 

I've had to replace my "pep boys special" alternator, with the lifetime warranty, 4 times- I bought the original in 1996. They seem to last about 2 years, on average. The last one- woah... wait... this story is from 1998! Wow. Hm. Can't be. Anyway... (I gotta go look for my receipts) last alternator that bit the dust was throwing out sparks. It was that common rear bearing failure that affects all the 85-86 alternators...

Check the two-pin connector going to the back of the alternator. One wire is brown; this tells the alternator to "start charging!" Do you have a full gauges dash, or the idiot light dash?