Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediatley

avu3

Registered
Ok, I am going on my 4th compressor in 6 months.

The first one died about 200 miles after I replaced the compressor. The second one was DOA (got 400 miles out of it)

The third one failed last weekend, 100 miles after another compressor change, with about 4000 miles on it.

My electrical system appears ok, I fixed the damage from the october fire (overcharge) and nothing looks or reads (meter) shorted. I also checked all the engine/under hood grounds.

Anyone think the compressor has anything to do with it? Seems like an odd coincidence, and I remember barry ames had something similar happen (compressor failed on overcharge from alternator.)

Oh, and this latest failure was like 22v at idle and blew battery acid everywhere in the engine compartment... took me 4 hours to clean up...

Scott
 
RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

Oh, and this latest failure was like 22v at idle and blew battery acid everywhere in the engine compartment... took me 4 hours to clean up...

Wow, that is overcharging. I've seen 12V alternators go 18-19V but never 20 plus when overcharging. My '93 went overcharging once with a message center warning. A quick check showed 18 point something volts(at idle). This IMHO is bad enough, but I did not suffer any consequential damages due to the incident. IMHO short periods of nominal overcharging(again 18-19 volts) will do little if any harm, but a higher voltage for sustained periods could wreak all kinds of havoc. Now this is not to say the compressor was done in by overcharging, but in my experience, electric motors do not take kindly to suatained periods of over voltage. Most electronic components will be protected by their own power supply voltage regulator for the solid state components, but incandescent bulbs and motors can be harmed.
 
RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

Your note has me confused but then again I confuse easily. Are you replacing alternators, compressors or both?
 
RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

I put the Cobra alt on mine and had to extend the wires. I bought a new plug with pigtails from the local auto electric guy who said ALWAYS replace that PLUG with alt change because they have a history of failing due to excess heat. (voltage overload I assume) - On the other board Ed96Mark posted a site where one can buy a surge protector. I'd think a surge protector would be an excellent device to hardwire in to these cars. It's a reply to a post from me titled "surge protectors?" I'm scratching my head over that one tho....the unit has alligator clips for the battery connections? Let us know how it goes.
 
RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

Sorry I confused ya'll. I'm replacing both compressors and alternators.

Alternator seems to fail shortly after a compressor failure. I follow alternator could cause compressor, but this is backwards.

And, yeah, 22v was outrageous.

Scott
 
RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

What's really weird is that you'd think you'd be blowing various fuses if there were endemic electrical problems, especially the one to the compressor if that's the culprit.

John
'97 Mark VIII LSC
'96 T-Bird 4.6 LX
 
RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

RE: Anyone else suffered an alternator failure immediat

What's really weird is that you'd think you'd be blowing various fuses if there were endemic electrical problems, especially the one to the compressor if that's the culprit.

Unfortunately the amperage of the fuse will hold the circuit more than long enough to damage motor windings and lamp filaments. A typical 12V bulb will last hundreds of hours at 12 volts but just a few seconds at 24 volts. Its real bright, but just for a little bit.
 
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