sucks tonite i had to leave my car at the local gas station because my alternator wire keeps getting cordded and breaks off, and leaves me driving only with my battery..

i have to change the connector once in a while..

what can i do, and where can i go to solve this problem

thanks..

 

If it keeps happening there is probably corrosion down the length of the wire under the insulation. So, if you put a new end on it, it will just get corroded again. You should replace the whole wire, and then spray some battery terminal protector on the exposed ends once you get it put on.

 

i went to mazda last time and they said i had to buy the whole harness with other stuff on there, they just dont sell the alternator connector..

thanks,

 

The wire from the alternator splices to the wire that runs from just below the engine fuse box to the IGNITION SWITCH. That's probably why you would have to buiy the ENGINE HARNESS, and they don't sell that one wire to splice to the original harness wire. See the fsm.

 

I know it sounds funny but glue a penny right next to the terminal and it will eat the penny not the terminal, it works on batteries so it should do the same for the alternator.

 

Thats sucks...I would have sent you a free one to correct this problem for you but unfortunately you have a s4 as they are different from the 89-95 Harness Plugs.

 

Are you talking about the heavy gauge wire that screws onto the alt, or the little plug on the back with 2 wires in it? If its the big plug, cant you just get rid of the factory wire and run a new wire directly from the alt to the battery?

 

im talking about the one you have to slide the ring looking connector in and screw a nut on it..

not the plug looking connector..

 

Just run a new 6 awg wire from the fuse box to the alt

 

The heavy wire can be replace and ran directly to the battery or to the fusebox.

 

Oops, my bad than.

 

i might try that, but it might look funny lol..
which fuse in the fusebox will it hook up too?

can i get a 6 awg wire from radio shack or something?

 

is this ring connector im talking about a ground?

on my turbo timer its reading 11.7-11.8 volts on idle..

isn't it suppose to be atleast 12 volts?

of course when im driving it goes up..

but now it looks like the connector i replace is heating up.. and eventually it will corrode and break off again..

 

Well, you have a multimeter it sounds like. I guess that you did diagnose that the wire is corroded. If not, take the wire out of your car, or leave it in and test the resistance of the wire. If it's 0, you've got a bigger problem on your hands. I just say this as the most basic step that seems not to have made it into the thread. Like fixing your engine that doesn't start, only to find out you don't have gas in the tank.

 

You would follow the factoyr wire run, so why would it look funny???

You would hook it up to the Underhood fuse box, where the alt is currently wired up to.

And you would get the 6 awg wire from most stereo shops.

 

would i have to go under the car to gain access to the underhood fuse box..
cause it looks like its hooked up down below..

 

No. The fuse box is accessible from the driver side shock tower. Check under the hood, or take a look at the factory service manual.

While you are there and making new connections, make sure to cover them all in dielectric grease to prevent this problem in the future.

 

ok.. so which fuse will i want to connect to from the alternator..?

just wrap the wire around the fuse and put it in?

 

Connect it to the exact same place you removed the previous damaged wire. All this is shown in the wiring diagrams in the factory service and Haynes manuals.

That's a joke, right? The old wire had a ring terminal that bolted to the terminal strip at the side of the fuse box. Install a new ring terminal on the new wire (making sure to coat the inside of the crimp area with dielectric grease) and bolt in place of the old.

It doesn't sound like you should be making electrical modifications to your car, based on these questions. Might want to seek out experienced help.

 

lol well i never took a class on this
but i have changed this stupid ring terminal on my alternator many times before.. im just sick of this, seeing the ring terminal (hooked up on the alternator) heat up and melt and corrode, and break off...

1st step is im going to buy some 6 awg wire and some dielectric grease and i'll go on from there..

thanks aaron