Hey guys, I just swapped out my alternator, and something is very wrong. Here is what happened:

My alternator was not charging the battery, but the car ran absolutely perfectly (I just charged the battery after driving it). But I eventually got fed up with doing that, so i swapped the alternator. Now the car won't start.

I turn the key to the "on" position, and everything seems fine- lights go on, vent fan runs, etc. Then I turn the key to "start" and everything goes dead. I can't even turn the lights on. Then it waits about a minute or two, and resets. I can then turn on the lights and whatnot, but if I try to start the car, the same thing happens.

I'm wondering if the problem is related to the plug on the alternator. I obviously know where the big red wire goes on the alternator, but the plug that goes in the side has two wires- red and brown. The plug can go in either way, and I didn't remember which direction it was when I pulled it off the car. But, i tried both locations and the same thing happens.

Either way, this has to be related somehow to the alternator, since everything was perfect before I touched the darn thing.

So, does anybody know what I did wrong? The symptom is that the electrical system shuts itself off for a set period of time and then turns itself back on.

I hate me!

 

Update: I noticed that the little red wire in the connector seems to be loose, and may not be connecting properly.... what is the purpose of this wire, and could it be my culprit?

I'm just surprised that one little wire could disable the entire electrical system. I figured it would just prevent the alt from charging.

 

the plug should only go one way, but your motor should run or at least crank without the alternator!!!the thin wires only run your charge warning light. Check for any wires or plugs you may have accidently knocked or trapped when swapping out. Good luck

 

The red wire supplies the reference voltage for the regulator. The brown wire provides the power to the field windings through the charge light or the choke heater relay if you have a carb. The alternator won't work with either of those missing.

 

I'm not sure why my plug will fit in both ways, but there are two posts in the male version of the plug (built into the alternator), labeled 1 and 2. I believe the post marked "1" is closest to the bottom of the engine and the post marked "2" is closer to the top... do you know which one goes where?

 

The locking tab on the plug is probably broken off, letting you plug it in either way.

Terminal 1 is the field wire, terminal 2 is the regulator wire.

 

Once again, Apeiron comes through to save the day. I'll give it a shot as soon as it gets light out, but that sounds like my problem.

 

Check with a testlight directly across the battery when this happens.. Something is giving way to the high current of the starter. I've seen batteries do just like that. If it's not the battery then check all wiring for good connection between battery and starter. This is not alternator related, it's a coincidence.

 

if it resets after a minute oor two, sounds like a circuit breaker overload. may have a short in your starter circuit that makes the breaker pop.

 

We have circuit breakers in our cars?? I thought we only had fuses and fusible links.

Anyway, your symptoms sound exactly like a bad connection on battery terminals. Did you tighten them well? Are they perfectly clean? You might chuckle at this, underestimating the power of electricity but it happened to many of us, exactly the way you describe.

Hope that's your problem. It can be corrected easily.
Lou