no charge from alternator after screws found loose

[GSEclipse06]

well i purchased my dsm about two weeks ago. friday night i was being a tool and decided to launch my car. burnt the clutch up a little but what scared me was the oil light came on briefly right after. so i pulled over adn checked, i was low and added but my friend noticed that one of my bolts on my alternator (the larger circle on picture #2) was about to fall out, adn that i was alreayd missing one (approx. where the second circle is, the belt is blocking it in that shot) i tightened the bolt up adn startewd it again adn the pulley for the alternator was seized. my friend realized in my haste to put it back that the housing wheel in the center wasn't properly aligned and the screw didn't fit into one of the grooves. so we loosened it and adjusted the wheel and tightened it back up. when we started it it made a...i guess clicking noise but it spun. i limped hom worrying that maybe i wasn't getting charge but i made it home all lights working ok. today i went to go to advanced for something and upon starting it it made the noise again. i let it warm up for 5 minutes and by the time i got there it pretty much went away. i decided to ask them to have them test the alternator and they told me that it's not producing any voltage at all, which has me stunned. i also found a loose wire (3rd picture) that goes to the plug in the alternator and the guy said it mgiht be a ground thats not connected, causing it not to charge. i just don;'t get why it wouldn't be getting charge, especially all the sudden if i've driven it 350 miles to date and haven't had any other problems. if i spin the center housing back might that help? oh and as you can see in the pics the alternator doesn't look that old either. any advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

[nlzn]

I would think from a rotational standpoint if it was off-center some damage could occur. I tried to do a little research and if you decide to tear it down to take a look here's a really in depth guide with pics.

Alternator Removal (w/Bearing & Brushes)

 

[GSEclipse06]

thanks, i was also going to ask, if anyone has any electrical diagrams so i can try to figure out what the wire to nowhere is, and additionally if it would be easier/possible to remove the alternator from above without pulling the fender liner being that the power steering pump is already removed.

 

[BoostedTalonTS]

Are you sure that that loose wire is not for the power steering pump?

 

[GSEclipse06]

i thoguht about that but it goes to the plug going into the alternator...but its still possible. i can't find any wiring diagrams.

 

[BoostedTalonTS]

For the 1G charging system specifically:

http://www.ecanfix.com/users/manualcd/gift/dsm/1g_charging_starting_system.pdf

 

[pneumo]

There's one wire going to the PS pump. It should have a small 90 degree bend right at the end. It's a female fitting. There's also two other wires in the same ares that go to the two oil pressure senders. Those are all small gage wire. The alt has larger gage wire, 12gage I think, with a ring terminal on the end.

 

[GSEclipse06]

im thinking the wire may go to the oil sender, because i don't have a working oil temp gauge. but it may also be for the PS.

 

[GSEclipse06]

so here's the deal. i boguht my 90 tsi awd and after a few weeks the alt went. i got a new one and in the porocess of reinstalling it, one of the wires broke off the back of the alreayd melted plug. i removed it and re did the wiring on the plug but now i'm not sure what's power and what's ground, on the plug or the wires on the car. the two wires on the car are the same color, but one is thicker than the other. i'm thinking that the thicker wire is power and the thinner is ground, but they both go up into a wiring harnass so i can't really trace them. PS, the plug is messed up and i'm probably better off with a new one but i can't seem to find one that matches what i need, it saeems that even 1gb alt plugs are different.

below is a picture of the plug, can anyone tell me from the positioning which is power and which is ground? thanks.

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[GSEclipse06]

since i cant seem to get an asnwer for my alternator thread. if i cross the wires off the alternator plug (ground and power) will it simply not charge the battery or will it blow shit up? the plug had to come off and new wires saudered on adn there's no difference in color in the wires on the car. thanks.

 

[poconomotorspor]

yea find out fo sho....you dont want to arc your engine into firesss

 

[GSEclipse06]

well i put everything back together this afternoon. i apparently mixed them up becuase when i started it up it sounded like a wrx. no cel or anything, thought maybe a little bad gas from sitting for like a month, but wouldn't go away. turned it off, switched them back up, runs like a dream now...