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  1. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    I have no idea
  2. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    For anyone interested in how this story ended…. Turns out the alternator internally shorted. I guess it became a welding machine until the + battery cable burned in half. Good ‘ol O’Reilley’s put the alternator in their machine & it spit out a big green PASS message. I guess they only test...
  3. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    A little more progress. Confirmed short (after continuity tests) by hooking up - battery terminal to - battery post and connecting a test light between + battery terminal and + battery post. One by one I pulled fuses from inside the truck and then walked around to the front and connected the...
  4. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Thanks for the feedback. Am I likely testing & going about this wrong? I set out to determine if something other than the alternator losing its ground to the engine or an improperly seated terminal on the alternator or finally the failing ground wire from the passenger fender was the cause of...
  5. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Thanks. Yeah I have the replacement bolt to complete that installation. I may run a tap through to clean those aluminum threads. I think that logic mode is continuity with pulses. Something like that. Both provide audible chirps. Still not sure there’s an actual electrical issue or just my...
  6. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    I appreciate all of the feedback and assistance thus far and hope I don't become a nuisance with my questions :) I keep thinking I'm doing this multi-meter testing wrong. In my mind I think any non-grounded wire should be open (hope that's correct term) and not visible by the conductivity test...
  7. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Based on @HotrodZ06 comment I grabbed a multi-meter and "tried" to test conductivity to find a short? I'm probably doing it wrong and don't understand how it's supposed to work. Both + & - battery cables disconnected and alternator is off the truck. I wanted to see if the fusible link between...
  8. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Took the alternator to O'Reilly and it passed their test. I did notice an obvious uneven seating at the base of the terminal stud. But that didn't prevent me from being able to tighten it good prior to the incident. I threaded a nut on by hand and was barely able to slide the edge of a thin...
  9. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Isn't that bolt the primary ground for the alternator?
  10. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    It's my truck. I take full responsibility. But I mentioned "they went heavy on "cheap"!" Was about to pull the alternator to have it tested when I noticed this. The body shop didn't install the bolt from the engine to alternator. Is my understanding correct that the alternator gets its...
  11. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Thanks for the feedback! Typically I think about what changes were made that could've caused a problem. The only electrical modifications made were: (1) cleaning the negative cable terminal to get a connection (wouldn't crank otherwise), (2) unscrewing nut from alternator BAT terminal and...
  12. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Thanks! Yeah, I definitely should go have it tested. I did have that alternator terminal disconnected that morning and I suppose user error could have caused the nut not to be properly seated. Would it be uncommon for the alternator terminal to arc otherwise? Even with a potential bad...
  13. basscat

    Battery wire fire + alternator arcing

    Hello all! Newbie here, 1st post. Learned a ton from this forum already! 1990 Chevy C2500 350TBI Original owner; literally bought it 32 years ago today! Was in a wreck in 2008 that damaged front end. The body shop asked what level of repair I wanted (insurance company totaled it) and I...

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