I installed an altenator in my friends 89 dx CRX. All went well until I was putting the nut back on the little black boot thing on top of the alternator ( I think it might be a ground) when I turned the wrench it hit some metal and sparked because I forgot to disconnect the battery so I disconnected the battery and finished tightening it. I got everyhting together and went to crank up the car and nothing comes on at all not even the interior dome light. I checked all the connections and fuses and they all appear to be good anyone have any suggestions?

thanks
Matt

 

Did u check the fuse box under the hood? There are a couple really big fuses under there that don't look like normal ones.

 

yeah I suggets lookin @ the ones under the hood in a black box on the pass. side shock tower... They are sorta hard to get out...

Blaze

 

no I did not check those do I just pull them out and look at them like I would the little ones?

thanks
Matt

 

you'll be able to see through the plastic covering the actual fuse its probably one of the big ones held down by two screws.

 

You should be able to see if they are burnt without pulling them, there are like little windows on them.

 

those are called fusible links and yes you probably blew one. the whole elec system shut down right?

 

yea the whole electrical shut down but I looked at all three of the big fuses in the engine compartment and all of them look good. Any other suggestions?

tanks
Matt

 

ok i rechecked the fuses and the big 60 amp fuses was blown. where can i get another one of those?
thanks
Matt

 

any auto parts store should carry them.
I feel your pain...my alternator siezed and broke the belt.
I went to work on it but one of the bolts was rounded off
already...(maybe by the former owner) gave up and called
a garage......$400-500.00 to replace it parts and labor.
I found a wrecked Si for $400.00 and will swap out the
whole drive train....Mo power

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by insomniac791 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when I turned the wrench it hit some metal and sparked because I forgot to disconnect the battery</TD></TR></TABLE>
...one of the most basic car maintenace rules...
At least your ok and hopefully you learned.

 

well the saga continues.
I used the fuse out of my CRX and put it in his we went out rideing around and everything was fine then the battery light started randomly comeing on and off then on the way home the head lights light got dimmer and dimmer and finally the car shut off and we had to push it the rest of the way home(about a mile). I checked the belt and it is adjusted right all the connections look good and all the fuses are ok? Any suggestions I am stumped.
thanks
Matt

 

maybe you have a bad alternator, get it tested
remember new does not mean good (leared that the hard way)

 

damn i would not want to push a car a mile

 

well we had the alt tested and it tested good so I guess we are going to put it back in and hope for the best. Any other suggestions that i should check?

Thnks
Matt

 

if ur alternator light in coming on, that means its not charging, or you could have a really bad connection, chances are you might have ruined the wire when you shorted it out. Even tho the fuse blew it takes alot to blow a 60 amp fuse. My guess is the wire isn't any good or the connection is bad. The lights getting dimmer was the car loosing the last bit of your battery, chances are its dead right now right?
anyways, look at the wire, if the covering is alittle melted or the connection is blacken get a new alternater wire.
try that

 

Here's an interesting tidbit...

An alternator can 'test out' OK but it can still trigger the battery light. I can't figure that one out for the life of me, but I replaced my alternator with a rebuilt unit about 3 months ago. The first one I put in had a very high output - 14.5 volts at idle according to AutoMeter - but the battery light would not go out. Disregarding a lingering desire to kill the battery light, and suspecting internal circuitry was messed somehow, I went back to the store and they 'tested' it for me. I already knew it WORKED so to testing an alternator that works... after basically sitting there for 30 minutes and demanding to try an alternator that wouldn't trigger my battery light, they finally caved and got me another one, assuring me the same thing would happen. I installed it, voila - battery light gone, the alternator charges fine, roughly 14 volts at idle.

I know it's a long story but it just goes to show you, the electronics might not like the alternator even though it checks out 'fine'.

 

how do i replace the alternator wire?

thanks for the help guys
anymore suggestions
later
Matt

 

anyone

 

if the lights is on, and everything including fuse checks out ok, then just get another alternator.
Obviously your alternator is busted, it happens a lot, when a alternator is remanufacutred, it is usually because the inside, which is made up of copper wires is usually damaged,
they take a wire brush and clean the inside making the connections clear.

 

also...(dont know this is help to you but) i replaced an alternator and the shop made sure to tell me that i shouldnt install a new alternator with a dead battery. So make sure your battery has full charge when installing a new alternator

 

they checked it at the autopart strore and they told me the alternator checked out good and store policy says if they check out good they can not give us another one???
thanks
matt

 

thats odd start up your car and measure how much power you are getting
should be 14 volts when car is running