d.bright

Hey All,

A couple of weeks ago I put in a new radio on my wifes '06 GT, soon after I got a CE PO340 code, and was told that I need to replace my alternator by the fine folks here on this forum.

SO, just got the alternator in today, about an hour ago I installed it, and then this happens:

I go to hook up the battery, positive first, then negative, and sparks start flying from the negative cable (where it makes contact with the battery)! I immediately pulled the wire back and didn't try to reconnect it.

I pulled the new alternator back out, and looked over all the connections, and everything is TIGHT.

The only mistake I think I made was I didn't tighten down the positive side all the way before connecting the negative, so it was loose. Would this have caused a large spark? I really don't want to end up frying anything, and my wife needs her car for work tomorrow. What should I do!?

Thanks

2005Redfire6

Thats normal.... Mine sparks whenever I rub it on the battery terminal, but its nothing bad if it sparks on first contact with the connector.

d.bright

This thread started as a result of this thread:

https://mustangforums.com/forum/2005...ket-radio.html

wayne is telling me that I should do a DMM resistance test first, is there really any sure way to tell that my battery isn't going to blow up when I connect it?

wayne613

Another thread fer it, eh? I assume since you say you think you might just be paranoid, that it´s probably the most likely suspect here then.

You will get some sparks. If you really aren't certain as to your work, just temporarily hold it for a few seconds, that should be all it should take if you do have a short to make that frame ground wire hotter than Megan Fox.

Loaning your DMM out? I'd sooner loan someone my only alarm clock for work, just soooo wouldn't happen.

d.bright

So I gathered up the courage, and went back out and tried to reconnect the negative cable, and this time I made sure the positive was tight before hand. I connected the negative, and NO sparks! I'm gonna put the intake back on now and connect everything and see if it starts up, my next thought is I possibly blew a fuse earlier when the sparks were flying, keeping my fingers crossed!

wayne613

If something was actually FUBAR, then the fuseable link likely gave as the replaced alternator/wiring for it was the cause. Test with DMM tomorrow before going anywhere with it, measure voltage before starting, and then while running. Should be a significant difference (1v+ DC when car is idling) if the new alternator is setup to do it's job.

d.bright

Wayne, no need to test tomorrow, she's up and running without any issues! I really think that not having the pos cable tightened down was the problem. I also re-connected the wires at the alternator (the 3-wire plug and the pos lead). I just got back from a 4 mile test drive and stopped/started it a couple of times on the way. No problems at all, in fact the car seems to be more responsive which is interesting... I made sure I had full load on and still no problems (lights, radio, A/C). I guess this is just a case of me freaking out at the sparks having never really seen that in all my years working on cars.

Also, your heat-test was used, no heat from the leads after putting them on.

Thanks for all the help guys!

wayne613

Yep, if you made it more than a mile or two then you should be good to go (no codes).

Glad to hear it.

d.bright

Also a side note, to anyone who replaces their alternator, you have to take off the throttle body (probably common knowledge), just make sure when you put it back on you clean the gasket and sealing surfaces, my wife complained of a "rolling idle" yesterday where the car would go up and down about 300rpms at idle. Come to find out, the gasket had folded over just a little and was letting more air in behind the throttle body flaps.

ALSO, a bit of good news, since we got the car in June, one of the things I didn't like about the car (but dismissed as being normal) was how there was a "dead-zone" in the throttle, for about the first 10% of travel of the pedal. Well, seems like I cured that too, the TB had a bunch of grime built up that was causing the flaps (have no idea what they are called) to stick a little, so my guess is that until I put enough pressure on the pedal, they would stay stuck until they "popped out"... car is much more responsive now.

wayne613

Good to hear it helped more than expected.

Perhaps I could hire you to fix my own WOT lean issues. Not the same as you were getting, no fluctuations or hesitation, but still annoying me to the point of wanting to tear off my CAI and stomp on it for about 20 minutes.