Alternator Trouble Part 1

[440 Fanatic]

On the way home from work this evening on the interstate,  my Charger's engine  starts missing erratically and suddenly loads of smoke from the engine bay and that horrible short-circuit wire insulation burning smell hit me !
I got stopped, opened the hood and saw batt feed wire from Alt was red hot and smoking ! As much as I wanted to grab the wire and pull it until it broke, I wasn't stupid enough to add a major burn on top of the situation. I keep a funnel handy as I go through loads of power steering fluid, so I grabbed it and was able to wedge it between the wire and the inner edge of the fender and break it.

Much more to the story which will be in 'part 2',  but I'm in need of knowledge.

I'm currently running a 'round back' 2 field connection alternator with electronic regulator.
I'm having trouble locating one locally.
My question is,  do the slightly later model square back alts have the same mounting locations? Or do they require different brackets?

Thanks,
And more to come on this adventure.

[nascarxx29]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,118557.0.html
Possible defective alt or ammeter could have been the problem pictures of what fried may shed light on the cause.also check bulkhead connection for damage amp gauge can short out like this. 

[440 Fanatic]

The problem was that my Alt experienced an internal short and the bat cooked the feed wire from the alt. In my situation, that was the only possible cause. I bypassed my ammeter many years ago and none of my alternator's charging current goes through the bulkhead connector.
I just need to know if the square-back alts use the same mounting brackets as the 'round-backs'.

Thanks

[Pete in NH]

Hi,

It would be helpful to know what year Charger and engine you have but, in general yes, a square back alternator will mount on the same brackets as an isolated field round back.

[69ChargerGL01]

Im about to change over to the same setup, what amp alternator did you change over to ? Im going from 35 amp to 75 amp,, working now to figure out what I need to do to prevent this exact thing. Do you have a 10 gauge wire between battery and starter relay to protect against this sort of thing ?

[440 Fanatic]

Hi,

It would be helpful to know what year Charger and engine you have but, in general yes, a square back alternator will mount on the same brackets as an isolated field round back.

Just out of curiosity Pete,  why would the year Charger and engine I have been helpful considering the question I asked?

The engine was originally in a 74 dodge truck and it is a 440, my Charger is a 68 that originally came with a 383.
That help any at all concerning whether the round back alts use the same brackets as the square backs?  I suspect it didn't.

And I thank you for your info.

By the way,  I did find a square-back Alt locally that fit nicely and did the rewiring i needed, and all is well now.

[Pete in NH]

I've found it never hurts to ask about car year and engine. You wouldn't believe how often alternators and regulator types get crossed up. You car is a case in point. You have a 68 which originally had a electromechanical regulator and a single field wire alternator. You were asking about a two field wire, electronic regulator system. You had things well in hand on the correct regulator type and alternator match, that isn't always the case.

[440 Fanatic]

I've found it never hurts to ask about car year and engine. You wouldn't believe how often alternators and regulator types get crossed up. You car is a case in point. You have a 68 which originally had a electromechanical regulator and a single field wire alternator. You were asking about a two field wire, electronic regulator system. You had things well in hand on the correct regulator type and alternator match, that isn't always the case.

Pete,  you are right,  it never hurts to ask about the year of car and engine,,  sorry if I implied that it does.
Also, I'm not your average person here when it comes to cars, bikes, or electrical systems.
I started working on all things mechanical , electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and fairy much ALL that a rental store rents to contractors and home owners, as my dad had a rental store,,i had to know how to fix it all and he started me at the very young age of 6.
In addition I graduated in electrical engineering in 1989 at MSU .     Thanks again for the info.