HELP PLEASE keep blowing alternater fuse

[overboostedawd]

ok so im blowing my alternater fuze and at 2.77$ each i dont know how many more i can buy. as soon as i hook the battery back up it blows the key does not have to be in or on at all i tyred to run a new wire from the fues to the alternater the on that goes to the battery but that didnt help. so any more ideas would help

is there suposed to be a ground wire coming off the alternater case that gets grounded any were if so any one have a pic thanks

 

[2gGSX]

Try to find a wiring diagram in a Haynes/Chilton/etc. Another (less pleasant) possibility to consider is that there may be a short somewhere.

 

[overboostedawd]

found the diagram but i cant read it for anything. im thinking there is a short i hear a spark some times coming from around were the alternater is. does any one know were the wires on the clip that plugs in to the alternater go i might try to just run new wires in stead of pulling my whole wiring harnes apart to try to fix it .

could the alternater it self be blowing them keeping in mind it blows as soon as i hook the battery up and the key is not in the ingnition

also my windows dont roll down and my oem car alarm is acting wierd it dont chirp like it used to this is for a 91 awd also thanks

 

[overboostedawd]

can any one help me out with this my car is going to be down till i can get it fixed thanks

 

[steve]

Normally the alternator is grounded via the mounting hardware and the only wires are the B+ lead from the stud on the back of the alternator to the alternator fuse and the two wires in the plug.

If the diodes in the alternator or the stator are shorted it will blow the fuse right away
If you leave the B+ wire disconnected from the alternator and insulated from the car and the fuse doesn't blow then it would look like the alternator is shorted.

Steve

 

[overboostedawd]

what wire and do you know were the wires go that are coming out of the clip any other way to tell what wire would be grounding out thanks

 

[overboostedawd]

anyone ? im out working on the car now so anything would help thanks

 

[overboostedawd]

ok pulled all of my fuses out from under the dash and the ones in the engine compartment. i didnt pull the big black box looking things in the fuse box tho. then i put a new b+ wire i gues is what its call going from the alternater to the fuse box. then i put a new ground wire in going from the clip to a good ground and im still blowing fuses

what should i try next anyone know how the starter would have anything to do with this fuse ? its an 80 amp alternater fuse im blowing

i also need to know were the yellow wire coming off the clip goes and what it does im thinking its the problem

 

[steve]

What clip. What ground?

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. Disconnect the wire from the B+ stud at the alternator.
If the fuse doesn't blow (and it shouldn't) then your alternator is bad.

Steve

 

[overboostedawd]

i did unhook that wire and it didnt blow so that means my alternater is bad ? and the clip im talking about it the one that plugs in to the alt it has a yellow and black wire i was asuming the black was ground but now that i think about it i dont know for shure if it is or not

 

[overboostedawd]

ok i just hooked up a test light i hoooked the clamp to +on the battery and touch the light to the alternater B+ bolt were the wire runs up to he fuse and the light cam on like its grounding out this was with the fuse blown i cant cheack with a fuse in being that the fuses pop as soon as its put in and im running out of places to buy the fuses and money alomsot 3 bucks each is adding up fast

 

[overboostedawd]

ok im a dumb ass i just thought about what i said it grounding out and i went and looked at my other tsi and i for got to put the ruber and plastic spacer bolt on to it so it was just grounding it self out on the case of the alternater sorry for wasting your time steve and thanks for the help i have to go throw my wiring harnes back to gether now and solder some wires

 

[steve]

Sorry, I couldn't make this easier for you but it was clear you would have to work through this yourself. I'm glad you figured out using the test light. I was hoping that you would realize that or a multimeter would help you identify that you had a short to ground at the alternator.

Please check the wiring diagram on the wires to the clip. I'd hate for you to find that the black wire on the connector isn't a ground like you assumed and have more problems.

Steve

 

[steve]

I did a quick look at the electrical section of the alternator.
The two wires in the connector are a white wire from the fusable link 4 and a black with white stripe from alternator relay and combo meter. It's not a ground and grounding it is going to cause big problems when you turn the ignition switch on. Possibly blowing the ignition fuse and fuse 11 in the drivers footwell.

Steve

 

[overboostedawd]

yeah i didnt ground the black wire so it should be all good bump started my cuzz the battery was dead and its charging great now thannks for the help if no one would have reply i would have never even figuerd it out till i toke it to the shop.

 

[GTM]

What clip. What ground?

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. Disconnect the wire from the B+ stud at the alternator.
If the fuse doesn't blow (and it shouldn't) then your alternator is bad.

Steve

One more possibility besides shorted diodes that I have seen on DSMs and other cars is the B+ alternator stud works loose and grounds internally and or the insulator breaks allowing the stud to short to the case.

In a real pinch you can make the insulator from a piece of Teflon rod that you drill for the stud size. Leaving the sleeve still on the drill file with rasp to make the insulating head or washers.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[overboostedawd]

gtm thats exactly what happend but i had toke the plastic clip off being that it had cracked and then forgot all about it then when i put the new engine in it just kept blowing the fuse and i finely remberd thats what was wrong with it something so simple and on top of it all my fualt

 

[GTM]

gtm thats exactly what happend but i had toke the plastic clip off being that it had cracked and then forgot all about it then when i put the new engine in it just kept blowing the fuse and i finely remberd thats what was wrong with it something so simple and on top of it all my fualt

Super, glad I helped jog your memory. It's the little things that can jump up and bite you in the backside. Sometimes when I have something that needs attention I'll put piece of masking tape as a flag that I have something to fix before assembly. When you are pulling an engine and ready for stripping it's not the most important thing on your mind. Still there are quiet times to do fiddle work while waiting for parts or machine shop work.

You are over the limit for dumb this week so watch it.

Cheers,
GTM