HAVING A BAD DAY :( any help ? please?

[F 150Cobra]

a friend of mine Chris.. recomended me to become a member here

nway here is my problem

i was cruising to the drag strip at 40 mph.. slow cruising.. and all of a suddon ive got a strong smell of electrical burning.. :S so i looked at my dash and the little red battery light came on.. and the voltage was WAY low just under the N of normal.. i manage to drive it home.. but i dont have a clue whats going on .. :S its a brand new 100 AMP single wire Powermaster alternator.. any one got any suggestions for me? thanks..

 

[Skandocious]

This guy's my buddy from Aruba, met him on FTE, his name is Jurgen. He's a friend of mine so you know... Give him hell

 

[surewhynot]

I am not sure how the wiring is on your truck, but it is possible that a fusible link burnt making the smell. Do you have a chiltons or haynes manual where you can look at a wiring diagram and see where they are located?

Also, is it possible that one of the wires on the alt. layed on something hot and melted causing a short?

These are the things that popped into my mind. We have some great techs here that will be able to help you out more. By the way, welcome to FTF!

Edit: My condolences on having Chris for a friend!

 

[F 150Cobra]

nope i have a new alt.. a single wire alt..( 1 wire to the starter relay and 1 to the volt meter from the truck ) and it doesnt have a fuseble link.. i installed a new 8 guage wire for it, but i cheked all of the wires.. and everything looked good.. so i dunno what went wrong.. i need a volt meter.. to chek the alt.. if the alt still charges good.. or its something else ..


haha i know chris is not ok upthere if you know what i mean hahaha kidding bud

 

[mrfixit]

The first problem is Chris wasnt standing in front of your "cruise" 8)

If you installed this to replace any other alternator than a pre-existing 1 wire, your problem is likely downstream from there. Since you smelled it, odds are it was either IN the car or so big outside you couldn't miss it opening the hood. One thing for certain; Burnt wiring insulation retains that smell, and should be able to nose it out.

 

[surewhynot]

I'm not real good with electrical problems. We have some pro's here, but unfortunately they usually aren't night owls. They may not be on until the morning.

EDIT: Theres one of the good guys right above me. lol I didn't know he was still online.

 

[Skandocious]

The first problem is Chris wasnt standing in front of your naked body 8)

Tom he's a new user... Can't you leave him alone at least for a few days? I want him all to myself!

EDIT: Nevermind, Jurgen probably likes it.

 

[F 150Cobra]

haha thanks guys.. mr fixit.. im going to take the alt off.. smell it see if it smells burnt on the inside.. and then rechek ALL wires.. i will post again tomorow now im going to sleep.. its late here 1.36Am.. thanks tough everyone


and Mr.fixit if chris was standing infront of me.. i would HIT THE BRAKES.. becuase ive heard that crap is hard to take out of bumper hahhhaha see you guys tomorrow.. and chris you know its a joke!

 

[F 150Cobra]

What is the difference between a one wire and a three wire setup?

( i have the one wire setup )

the difference is the way the alternator is switched on. With one wire operation the alternator internaly senses its rotation and switchec it selfs on.
with three wire operation an external wire switches on the alternator. three wire vehicle is as your vehicle original manufacture inteded and assures that the alternator is switched on anytime the engine is running...

THIS IS HOW ITS CONNECTED

IT DOESNT NEED THAT WIRE ANYMORE SO I DISCONECTED FROM THE STARTER RELAY ALSO TO PREVENT SHORTS

NEW WIRE GOING TO THE STARTER RELAY

NOTE: Its been working FINE for 3 weeks untill yesterday

 

[mrfixit]

OK, couple of questions:

1. Where is the in-line circuit protection for the line going to the relay?

2. What kind of battery are you using? sealed? OPTIMA, preferably?

With an always-on alternator (most are NOT "always on", btw; most are controlled by some sort of regulator, internal or external. This keeps from overburdening the engine unintentionally and further wearing the components of the alternator) You are not only supplying more amps to the system but potentially overloading components, battery included. an older standard battery can be cooked by one of these without that circuit protector.

 

[F 150Cobra]

1. there is none.. i didnt know wich kind of fuse to get.. i was doing research .. i think a 100 Amp fuse is ok ?

2. AC Delco model 65-7mf i think its sealed ( this one http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=230171131333

do you think my battery has gone bad? my brother told me that maybee a cell has burnd



im going to take apart the alt.. what should i look for?

 

[F 150Cobra]

BAD NEWS its the alternator. it smells burnd.. i didnt open it up yet.. i dont know if i should since its only 3 weeks old :S

 

[F 150Cobra]

ok i opend the alternator and found this it looks like its burnt.. dont it? and now what? what should it do now ?

 

[blacksnapon]

Its been a while since I've rebuilt a gm alt, but here goes. The black thing on lower left is the regulator, the part circled is (I believe, part of the stator)

 

[F 150Cobra]

but its not and Gm alt.. here it is look at it this is the one i bought

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=PWM-8-57101&N=700+115&autoview=sku

 

[blacksnapon]

Yep, its exactly the same as a gm. Someone else may manufacture it now, but I'll bet you gm parts will fit.

 

[Skandocious]

On that summitracing link it lists that the alternator is compatible with Ford and Merc engines...

 

[blacksnapon]

Go to www.ask.com, type in "rebuilding gm alternators" then go to the 5th or 6th one down, then see if that looks familiar.

 

[Skandocious]

I don't doubt your knowledge here Vince, clearly you're more qualified than me.

But even if that alternator is of GM design, then why did summit list it as being a Ford/Mercury alternator? Next question, assuming it is a GM design alternator, would it still work on a Ford 351w?

 

[Andyman8282]

ok i opend the alternator and found this it looks like its burnt.. dont it? and now what? what should it do now ?

I'd say you need to make a trip to the autoparts store. I'd say return that piece-of-garbage alternator, but you've already opened it