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Offroad trail killed my alternator????

Greetings all,

I just got back from a pretty rocky trail ride, but nothing that I figured would cause any problems later. Well I figured wrong apparently. While on the trail I noticed nothing out of the ordinary (noises, fluids, etc.) After the trail, during the 2 hour drive home, my "check guages" lit up on me. I noticed that my battery indicator was way to the left in the "almost dead" range. I really didn't pay too much attention since I have had problems in the past with my dash wiring. I stopped three times along the way home (with the engine off). On the third stop I was filling up on gas and I could not get her to start up again. Seemed like a dead battery to me... I proceded to check my connections and try again... no luck. I got a jump from a friendly passerby and she started right up. But after I got going again something just wasn't right... My dash lights were extremely dim, my headlights were really dim (almost non-existent), and my blinkers were really really slow (they even stopped working completely eventually). It felt as if even though my engine was running I still had little/no electrical power. Thats not the worst of it... after I noticed all this my engine began to sputter when I wasn't heavy on the gas. It felt as if it would die if I let off the gas or let it idle, and with a "dead battery" I wasn't about to let that happen. I kept playing with the gas to keep the jeep from dying all the way home. This kept getting worse as I got closer to home, and eventually, it stalled (despite my best efforts) in the drive way.

So now I am thinking alternator... I assume that the bumby trail jacked something up. Are there a few things I could check myself before I go drop $300 for a new alternator?? Could a bumpy ride kill an alternator (especially one that is less than 1 1/2 years old)?? I plan on getting it up to autozone to get checked tomorrow (if It will even go after the engine problems earlier).

I am a jeep novice and really dont have the know-how or the tools to do any major work on the jeep myself (i can handle little things). I would consider myself a mechanical novice at best.

Anyone have any advice???

Thanks,

Jimmy

1997 Jeep TJ Stock everything except: 4" susp. lift, 33" ATs, new engine,
Reply to
jmastrom
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Have you checked to see if the belt is there, if it's there, check tention. I had a branch go up in engine bay and knock off belt once.

Reply to
Greg

If the belt is ok, then you have an alternator problem. Possibly water in the alternator. As far as the Jeep stalling, my guess is the fuel pump (electric) wasnt getting the necessary 12 volts and couldnt keep up. Check all of your connection e.g. battery terminals. alternator terminals, etc. If they are all ok, you have a bad alternator.

FYI Sears can do an alternator check for you. (I believe it's free.)

John

Reply to
John

How many miles on the Jeep? It might be coincidence that the alternator went bad while you were on the trail, or it may have been about to fail anyway and the bouncing around pushed it over the edge. One thing to dry is give the alternator a good whack, if the brushes are worn and aren't making good contact with the slip rings a bit of percussive maintenance may temporarily reseat them. You might also check to make sure nothing bounced up behind the alternator and damaged the wiring (unlikely).

When my alternator went bad it behaved EXACTLY like yours, and like yours the Jeep got me back to my driveway and that was IT.

That alternator is about $120 from Autozone, and they aren't that hard to put on.

Jeff DeWitt

Reply to
Jeff DeWitt

Ditto, but why it didn't overheat would be cold weather or good luck. Off roading can knock just about anything loose. If the belt is still there look at wiring connections and let the Autozone guys test it. Off road is maybe not the place for "a mechanical novice at best" but a community college mechanics course, a user manual and a Sears Craftsman tool kit should take care of that. A First Responder course wouldn't be a bad idea either. Every off roading adventure is an excuse to at least look under the hood and under the vehicle for bolts that need tightening. After a while your Jeep should be just as weighed down with tools, spare parts, tow straps and medical kits as everyone else's in this group. Now let's talk about hiking boots, space blankets, water filters and guns...

Cheers,

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

Reply to
L.W.(Bill) Hughes III

It may be uncommon, but I had the same failure a month or so back. In my case it was pretty simple (once I found it): the fuse link between the alternator and battery was open. I got home by tying the ends of the fuse link so that the open ends were forced into contact and when I cut it open after I got home, the link hadn't blown (melted) as expected - it was a mechanical failure where the wire had broken off right at on connector. Best I could tell, the long wire from the alternator had enough play that the motion from getting bounced around (flood zone crossing numerous washouts and gullies). Like I say, not common, but a cheap check.

Reply to
Will Honea

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