91 alternaror single red wire super hot!?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 816
Likes: 0
From: Bremerton Wa
St. Jude Donor '04 &'05
91 alternaror single red wire super hot!?
Hey all how hot is the single red wire coming out of your alternator while running? Very close tothe alternator it is to hot too touch for more than a few seconds the furter away you get from it the cooler it gets any ideas?
Thanks all.
Thanks all.
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque New Mexico
Try measuring the resistance between the alternator and the battery. Ideally you shouldn’t have any resistance. Some resistance is acceptable and by some I mean no more than half an ohm. Also, you might check to make sure it is the correct gauge wire.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,532
Likes: 7
From: Lahaina Hi
It's almost ready for the junkyard.
Make sure youget a vett alt from the auto store.
They like to mis match the rotor and dioads to make the alt a 120 amp .
Only the good rebuilders know the diff.
Make sure youget a vett alt from the auto store.
They like to mis match the rotor and dioads to make the alt a 120 amp .
Only the good rebuilders know the diff.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
When you first start the engine the battery will draw a large charging current for a while and taper off. The alternator output wire has a fuseable link and if the current really is too high it will blow just like a fuse. I suspect your hot output wire is normal. When you are driving your car, you are supposed to be inside the car, not holding onto the alternator wire. 
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 10,641
Likes: 13
From: Slidell Louisiana
Since you say that the wire is only hot near the alternator I would attempt the following prior to replacing the entire wire. First is this the stock wire or a replacement of the proper gauge wire? Is the alternator hot? If the alternator is a lot cooler than your wire and your wire is only hot near the terminal I would check for a high resistance connection. The lug attachment to the terminal might be loose or corroded or the lug attachment to the wire may have failed (loose, corrosion, bad soldier joint, etc). I would measure the wires resistance while moving the lug and if it checked out good (low resistance) I would clean the lug and terminal and reinstall.
Good luck
Mike
Good luck
Mike
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 816
Likes: 0
From: Bremerton Wa
St. Jude Donor '04 &'05
Originally Posted by jfb
When you first start the engine the battery will draw a large charging current for a while and taper off. The alternator output wire has a fuseable link and if the current really is too high it will blow just like a fuse. I suspect your hot output wire is normal. When you are driving your car, you are supposed to be inside the car, not holding onto the alternator wire.
