that you just have to experience sometimes to be conscience and careful not to ever do again, no matter how dumb they are. This is one of those things...

So I was tightening down my positive battery terminal connector, the connector doesn't fit well and I was trying to get it reasonably tight and I wasn't paying attention while I was turning the wrench all the way to the right and POW!
I contacted the wrench to the top of the banjo bolt on the fuel filter!

OK now lets look at this, what is the worst thing that you can add electricity to, hmm... how about the fuel system.

My car didn't explode so I count myself lucky, that could have been very bad.

So after I nominate myself for the "******* Of The Day Award" (since I didn't win the Darwin Award), and a note to self to never ever do that again -a couple days later I notice that the car isn't starting as easily, I start thinking that maybe it's the battery.

And of coarse I didn't do anything about it, and a few days after that my dash (and all) lights start dimming on the ride home at night and my gauges go to zero and my car dies. I go get another battery from home and drive it back and blame it on a faulty connection because of a hacked up piece of red bull can that I put in, to make the terminal connection tighter.

Two days later driving home at night, same thing happens.

But it couldn't be the alternator... the thing only has 70,000 miles on it.

Took it out, and up to Advance Auto and had it tested. Employee says "that's strange" at idle it only produces 8 volts at normal speed it produces about 15.

Started thinking about banjo bolt experience, so on Fri I ordered a new alternator.

I am kinda stressing about this because I am going to the track on the 4th and hope this is the only problem, the only thing that I fried.

Do you think that this could be the only problem, is it possible that I could have fried anything else in addition? Just thinking ahead since I have to drive 4 hrs. to the track and it would really suck if have a similar problem.

Feel free to flame, I almost flamed myself (literally).

And I've experienced this so you don't have to -be careful when wrenching on or around the battery. Bad things can happen.

Thanks again for the help.
Chris

 

Was the car running when you shorted the positive terminal and the fuel filter?


I think you just had a case of bad luck with timing...

 

No, gratefully, worse things might of happened then. Car was sitting on jack stands, I was connecting power so I could bleed the brakes.

 

metal note- ALWAYS connect the negative last!

this applies for just about any DC circuit

 

Noted, good addition to the post.

 

I can't imagine this would apply in your case, but are all your ground connections tight? I had one of the grounds coming from the alternator to the fuse box loose and had your exact same problem.

 

I'll check them to make sure, the alternator didn't test well, but it could be a combination of issues. Good sugestion, thanks.

 

i don't know too much about electrical systems and such, but couldn't you have just "fried" your alternator?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slammed_93_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i don't know too much about electrical systems and such, but couldn't you have just "fried" your alternator?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's the only thing I can think of...

Worked fine 'til POW!

But I could have also fried another component that I am unaware of in the electrical/recharging system.

I hope it's just the alternator because I already ordered one...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sscguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can't imagine this would apply in your case, but are all your ground connections tight? I had one of the grounds coming from the alternator to the fuse box loose and had your exact same problem. </TD></TR></TABLE>

your alt grounds through is chassis.. there is no separate ground wire..

but there is a rather larger (about 10-8ga) wire that carries the B+ that runs from the alt to the fuse box.

 

from what I have read low voltage @ idle and to much at hi RPM sounds like a voltage regulator(inside alt). I'm really curious if the guy at Advance Auto did a load test to see what the max current the amp was putting out..


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C5 EH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That's the only thing I can think of...

Worked fine 'til POW!

But I could have also fried another component that I am unaware of in the electrical/recharging system.

I hope it's just the alternator because I already ordered one...</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BrianZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

your alt grounds through is chassis.. there is no separate ground wire..

but there is a rather larger (about 10-8ga) wire that carries the B+ that runs from the alt to the fuse box. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ground or not, that's the wire I'm talking about.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BrianZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm really curious if the guy at Advance Auto did a load test to see what the max current the amp was putting out.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

He did, my memory is kinda hazy but I think that when it was at normal operation it would go to a green(wich is the good region I guess) shaded region of the guage I think that it was about 15 volts but then when he put a load on it, the needle would drop to about 8 volts. I could have it backwards but he did say "this is strange" like it was something ab normal that he hasn't seen before.

And of course I stood there like a monkey scratching it's head because I don't know anything about alternators and I have never seen one tested before.

So if he did a load test and the voltage dropped to 8 then does that mean that the voltage reg inside the alt. is bad?