Alternator died... then I revived it... :-D

[WolfpackTLC]

Ok, before you start in on me.. YES, I know the name of the site...

That being said...

I killed my 80's alternator Friday afternoon in a 4ft deep mudhole. I wasn't mudding, it was just a mudhole w/ no way around it and I had 8 rigs behind me...

I went through as slowly as possible w/o sinking down... got through fine, with a slight hiccup from the cruiser. No problems thus far, and it's about 5pm.

Around 7pm, I'm climbing a harder trail and my alternator warning light pops on... Crap. I switch to my 2nd battery and lug it back to camp when I proceed to diagnose the problem.

The poor thing got soaked in mud that splashed up into the bonnet then onto the alternator itself. Hmph.

I go to bed and wake up around 7am and pull the alternator out and proceed to dunk it into a bucket of clean water... the thing instantly turns the water a dark, murky brown. WOW. I empty out the first and do the same, and then I hose it down w/ some carb cleaner, and blow it out w/ an air gun...

Slap it back in, and VIOLA! Charging @ 14.4 volts again! Woo hoo!

Now for my questions...

1. Did I harm and lubrication that was/was not present in the alternator?
2. Is that the " correct " method for cleaning mud, etc. off the brushes?
3. Is there anything else I should watch out for?

On an unrelated note....

I just finished rinsing out the engine bay and using some engine cleaner on my rig... now it won't start. I didn't SOAK the motor, just a quick rinse. It cranks, but won't catch... I've dried out the cap, rotor, wires, and coil.... any thoughts?


Jason

 

[semlin]

assuming nothing was hot when you washed it I would say you got water on a hot wire or into a connector and blew a fuse. maybe the EFI fuse.

 

[WolfpackTLC]

All the fuses check out ok.... Darn it.....

 

[concretejungle]

pics? (from a jealous person who didn't get to go, again!)

 

[semlin]

EFI relay?

 

[WolfpackTLC]

UPDATE:

The rig turns over, and it's getting FUEL... you can smell it coming out of the tailpipe...

It's not flooded.. YET....

So I'm guessing it's a spark issue.

I've dried out the cap and rotor... as well as the plug wires.... it's showing a CEL, but I obviously can't drive it anywhere to check it...

Any thoughts?

J

 

[CruisinGA]

have you checked for spark? Hold a spark plug up close to the block and turn the motor over. If you do not get a spark then try the wire from the coil.

 

[boydmick]

Also check there is no water in the spark pulg bore. It will ground out the plug to the head.
Compressed air or a shop vac (reversed to blow) work well.

 

[mabrodis]

Regarding the alternator dunking. Mine did pretty much exactly that, only I didn't have as big of mud hole I 'had' to go through. But mine wouldn't charge, I drove home about 2 hours on the battery (daytime thankfully, with friends driving behind me). Next morning I pulled the alternator out, took it to a shop, it tested fine, put it back in, and everything has worked perfect since. I have a new set of brushes for it but haven't put them in yet. I'm sure in my case it was water/mud that got in there, after a night it dried out and worked fine. So if I had just attempted to start the vehicle in the morning, I would have known all of that, instead I choose the more labor intensive approach of removing it for no reason...

About it not starting, definetly check the spark, a engine only needs gas and spark to run, spark is actually easier to test than gas, but if you're sure on the gas, then pull a plug (or use a old one you have laying around, and just pull the wire) and test the spark. Check all the fuses first though, since you may find something there.

Good Luck...