Alternator burned today
12-09-2005, 08:42 PM
#1
Alternator burned today
I think one of the bearings in my alt froze today. I was having voltage issues about to get on the freeway. Truck usually runs abour 14.0 volts or so, but was running right around 12 and was making a strange noise. I pulled off and popped the hood, looked, didn't see anything strange but heard a strange noise. Got in and started to drive towards a gas station to stop and check everything out under the light and look back and there is smoke pouring from the back of the truck. I pulled into the gas station and popped the hood again. This time I was greeted with flames shooting out of the alternator. Surprise!
Luckily there was a guy close by with a bottle of Gatorade who came and dumped it on the alt and put the fire out. Alt was still smoking pretty good so I decided to take it out, rolled it over and it was still burning inside. Anyway, I had a gallon of water by that time so I poured the whole thing on the alt and put the fire out. The rotor on the front is frozen solid, and I think most of the internals are probably toast (literally).
I am very lucky that this happened right in front of the gas station and the guy was there with the Gatorade, or I think my truck might have burned today.
So...a couple of afterthoughts. I just increased my shift points a couple days ago, and the alt started acting up right after I spun the motor up to 6300 pulling onto the main street by my house. Has anyone else ever seen bearings freeze after being spun too fast?
I will be investing in a fire extinguisher very shortly. What is the best kind to get for oil and/or electrical fires?
It looked like there was a little bit of oil sitting on the supercharger snout. I couldn't figure out where it came from or if it was even oil, I guess it coule have been burnt Gatorade or something too, but I am wondering if the alt could have caught fire if oil had sprayed into it. Anyone shot oil into a HO alt before?
Anyway, I now know what it feels like to pop the hood and see flames. Scary ****. There was a video that went around awhile ago where some kid had to sit and watch his car burn on the side of the road waiting for the fire dept, I was freaking out thinking that was gonna happen. Phew. Fantastic start to the evening.
Luckily there was a guy close by with a bottle of Gatorade who came and dumped it on the alt and put the fire out. Alt was still smoking pretty good so I decided to take it out, rolled it over and it was still burning inside. Anyway, I had a gallon of water by that time so I poured the whole thing on the alt and put the fire out. The rotor on the front is frozen solid, and I think most of the internals are probably toast (literally).
I am very lucky that this happened right in front of the gas station and the guy was there with the Gatorade, or I think my truck might have burned today.
So...a couple of afterthoughts. I just increased my shift points a couple days ago, and the alt started acting up right after I spun the motor up to 6300 pulling onto the main street by my house. Has anyone else ever seen bearings freeze after being spun too fast?
I will be investing in a fire extinguisher very shortly. What is the best kind to get for oil and/or electrical fires?
It looked like there was a little bit of oil sitting on the supercharger snout. I couldn't figure out where it came from or if it was even oil, I guess it coule have been burnt Gatorade or something too, but I am wondering if the alt could have caught fire if oil had sprayed into it. Anyone shot oil into a HO alt before?
Anyway, I now know what it feels like to pop the hood and see flames. Scary ****. There was a video that went around awhile ago where some kid had to sit and watch his car burn on the side of the road waiting for the fire dept, I was freaking out thinking that was gonna happen. Phew. Fantastic start to the evening.
12-09-2005, 09:21 PM
#2
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Watched my brother roll up to his house in a POS Buick couded by smoke and he opens the hood and fans the flame to trying and finish the car off. No luck. Never watched a funnier thing and yet your issue would make an owner freak out....
freak out....
12-09-2005, 10:12 PM
#3
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Hehe i had my A/C Compressor burn up on my old 92' Bonneville... I thought something was funny when i got a wierd smell when i came home... Pulled into the driveway, put it in park then saw the smoke pouring out of the passenger wheel well! Man im glad i keep a fire extinquisher in the garage lol.
(Just for the record, the car has gone 45000 more miles since that for a total of 155,000!)
(Just for the record, the car has gone 45000 more miles since that for a total of 155,000!)
12-10-2005, 07:19 PM
#5
Originally Posted by hirdlej
My question is, did you buy the guy a new bottle of gatorade? 
I took the alt down to my guy today and he said it was an electrical failure, not a mechanical one. I thin I spun the alt too fast with my 6300 rpm shifts. I may be going to a dual alt setup, this rebuilt 200 amp and a Delco 145 amp. If I do this I will use the Delco for powering the truck and will use the 200 amp for the stereo, put a bigger pulley on it, and hope it works ok. If I do that I will probably be pushing the alts to less than half of their capacity so they won't heat up nearly as much. Will have to run a second battery too, and essentially have two separate electrical circuits in the truck.
12-10-2005, 07:25 PM
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Originally Posted by thunder550
Ha nope he took off before I could do anything.
I took the alt down to my guy today and he said it was an electrical failure, not a mechanical one. I thin I spun the alt too fast with my 6300 rpm shifts. I may be going to a dual alt setup, this rebuilt 200 amp and a Delco 145 amp. If I do this I will use the Delco for powering the truck and will use the 200 amp for the stereo, put a bigger pulley on it, and hope it works ok. If I do that I will probably be pushing the alts to less than half of their capacity so they won't heat up nearly as much. Will have to run a second battery too, and essentially have two separate electrical circuits in the truck.
I took the alt down to my guy today and he said it was an electrical failure, not a mechanical one. I thin I spun the alt too fast with my 6300 rpm shifts. I may be going to a dual alt setup, this rebuilt 200 amp and a Delco 145 amp. If I do this I will use the Delco for powering the truck and will use the 200 amp for the stereo, put a bigger pulley on it, and hope it works ok. If I do that I will probably be pushing the alts to less than half of their capacity so they won't heat up nearly as much. Will have to run a second battery too, and essentially have two separate electrical circuits in the truck.
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12-12-2005, 12:29 AM
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Why not get a capacitor?
Oh yeah my old truck (OBS) had an ho alt, and after beating on it at the track it started to make a terrible noise. I shifted it manually that night, so I'm sure the shift points were higher than normal.
I thought my rockers had loosened up, but it was the alt. No flames or boiling gatorade on a hot dog cooker, but it did throw the pulley about 1/2" foward causing me to loose the belt and intake tube a few days later. I was about a block from school luckily, so I hobbled in on pure crank pulley. 
FYI, your waterpump and fan will spin if you drive fast enough. The air coming through the radiator spins it slowly....don't ask how I know. 
Oh yeah my old truck (OBS) had an ho alt, and after beating on it at the track it started to make a terrible noise. I shifted it manually that night, so I'm sure the shift points were higher than normal.
I thought my rockers had loosened up, but it was the alt. No flames or boiling gatorade on a hot dog cooker, but it did throw the pulley about 1/2" foward causing me to loose the belt and intake tube a few days later. I was about a block from school luckily, so I hobbled in on pure crank pulley. FYI, your waterpump and fan will spin if you drive fast enough. The air coming through the radiator spins it slowly....don't ask how I know.
12-12-2005, 01:07 AM
#9
Originally Posted by vanillagorilla
Why not get a capacitor?
Oh yeah my old truck (OBS) had an ho alt, and after beating on it at the track it started to make a terrible noise. I shifted it manually that night, so I'm sure the shift points were higher than normal. I thought my rockers had loosened up, but it was the alt. No flames or boiling gatorade on a hot dog cooker, but it did throw the pulley about 1/2" foward causing me to loose the belt and intake tube a few days later. I was about a block from school luckily, so I hobbled in on pure crank pulley. FYI, your waterpump and fan will spin if you drive fast enough. The air coming through the radiator spins it slowly....don't ask how I know.
Oh yeah my old truck (OBS) had an ho alt, and after beating on it at the track it started to make a terrible noise. I shifted it manually that night, so I'm sure the shift points were higher than normal.
I thought my rockers had loosened up, but it was the alt. No flames or boiling gatorade on a hot dog cooker, but it did throw the pulley about 1/2" foward causing me to loose the belt and intake tube a few days later. I was about a block from school luckily, so I hobbled in on pure crank pulley. FYI, your waterpump and fan will spin if you drive fast enough. The air coming through the radiator spins it slowly....don't ask how I know. No caps for me, don't need one. I'm gonna drop the shift points back down to 5900....1-2 was at 6300. I had that alt for 2.5 years shifting at 5900 with no problems, so I shouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
And that sounds like a good trick for spinning the water pump, except my clutch fan is no more.
