Rebuilt Alt. = Almost fried starter! Why?????
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 427
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From: Cary Illinois
Rebuilt Alt. = Almost fried starter! Why?????
So I rebuilt the original starter for my 68 vert 327/350. PITA! I then installed the alternator and crossed my fingers...
When I reconneted the battery cutoff, I first noticed that the clock had stopped working and I seemed to have no power to anything
About a split second later, I heard a sizzle and a pop followed by a puff of smoke from the starter
I immediately disconnected the battery and checked out the starter. The black wire was smoking hot and I had burnt off the insulation (bubba had just put electrical tape around a spliced starter wire.
I replaced my (obviously) badly rebuilt alternator with a replacement and the car fired right up with no noticeable problems. The question - what did I do to the rebuilt alternator that caused the starter to almost burn up??? Secondly, are there any potential lingering problems I caused by trying to play mechanic again
When I reconneted the battery cutoff, I first noticed that the clock had stopped working and I seemed to have no power to anything
About a split second later, I heard a sizzle and a pop followed by a puff of smoke from the starter
I immediately disconnected the battery and checked out the starter. The black wire was smoking hot and I had burnt off the insulation (bubba had just put electrical tape around a spliced starter wire.I replaced my (obviously) badly rebuilt alternator with a replacement and the car fired right up with no noticeable problems. The question - what did I do to the rebuilt alternator that caused the starter to almost burn up??? Secondly, are there any potential lingering problems I caused by trying to play mechanic again
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,345
Likes: 3
The hot wire from the starter to the alternator frying indicates that you had a short in your alternator. I would guess that when rebuilding your alternator you misoriented some of the leads from the windings or regulator to the diodes and caused a dead short. I don't know if a '68 has an internal regulator so the regulator wiring may not apply.
You should be able to check this by taking the checking the resistance from each of the alternator connections to ground BEFORE connecting any of the car wiring.
You may also want to check the condition of the wires that go through the amp gage as that short probably overloaded and roasted that paralell circuit between the starter and alternator.
You should be able to check this by taking the checking the resistance from each of the alternator connections to ground BEFORE connecting any of the car wiring.
You may also want to check the condition of the wires that go through the amp gage as that short probably overloaded and roasted that paralell circuit between the starter and alternator.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 122
From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Originally Posted by StickShiftCorvette
The hot wire from the starter to the alternator frying indicates that you had a short in your alternator. I would guess that when rebuilding your alternator you misoriented some of the leads from the windings or regulator to the diodes and caused a dead short. I don't know if a '68 has an internal regulator so the regulator wiring may not apply.
You should be able to check this by taking the checking the resistance from each of the alternator connections to ground BEFORE connecting any of the car wiring.
You may also want to check the condition of the wires that go through the amp gage as that short probably overloaded and roasted that paralell circuit between the starter and alternator.
You should be able to check this by taking the checking the resistance from each of the alternator connections to ground BEFORE connecting any of the car wiring.
You may also want to check the condition of the wires that go through the amp gage as that short probably overloaded and roasted that paralell circuit between the starter and alternator.
