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puddle blew my alternator?

K

kennzz05

basic dumbass
Location
palm coast fl.
its been raining like mad here today (fl) and the roads are flooding i drove through several puddles that im sure splashed water into my engine compartment, after going through the last one i noticed my voltage gauge was all the way down and check engine light was on so im wondering what the liklyhood is that i fried my alternator? might there be a fuse that popped instead or is it likely that i fried it? thanks in advance for any help
:flame: :helpme:
 
Last edited:
I've been there. went through two alternators already.
first time i was muddin in like axel deep mud, splashing and romping around, next thing i knew my volt guage was dead also, then i killed my battery because of it. so i replaced my alternator and got a new interstate batt.

thought i fixed the problem until i went muddin again, this time more water than mud but only like mid wheel depth. To my horrible luck the exact same thing happened minus the battery.

All i can say is i fried two alternators from mud/water, so i just stay out the mud!
 
I'd say yes.

I don't know exactly why these alternators go out so easily, wish there was a way to bomb proof them cuz now i can't even go in the mud:(

check your manual to see if there is any fuses related to your problem, if not, I'd say alternator.
 
Make sure it's not just water (temporary). If you haven't tried blowing it out with an air compressor first then you might want to try that before you buy a new one. That's happened to me twice, but I know it's only a matter of time before I need a new alt.

Of course, one time for me it was caused by coolant leaking from the water pump into the alt until it died. Had to clean it out a bit that time before blasting it with air....
 
Quick story.
After a day of romping and slopping in the goo at Redbird SRA, my alt. decided to go south on me. I was about an hour from home and the GEN light came on. Volt guage was in the red, way in the red. I decided to see just how far my RedTop would take me. Turned off everything that wasn't necessary. I ended up stopping to eat about 30mins from home. I thought if it wouldn't start, I'd come get it in the morning. I had a ride home, ILLXJ was with me in his XJ. Well, it started and I made it home. The next day, I removed the alt., and it was filthy. Didn't want to take a dirty alt to the parts counter so, I hit it with the garden hose after I had it out and set it in the sun to dry for an hour or two. I then took it to 2 different places, that told be there was nothing wrong with it. On their testers, it was putting out exactly what it was supposed to. So, I took it home, re-installed it and it's been in the Jeep for over a year now with no issues.

You might try cleaning it up with some clean water and see what happens.:dunno:

Hale
 
Haleyes said:
Quick story.
After a day of romping and slopping in the goo at Redbird SRA, my alt. decided to go south on me. I was about an hour from home and the GEN light came on. Volt guage was in the red, way in the red. I decided to see just how far my RedTop would take me. Turned off everything that wasn't necessary. I ended up stopping to eat about 30mins from home. I thought if it wouldn't start, I'd come get it in the morning. I had a ride home, ILLXJ was with me in his XJ. Well, it started and I made it home. The next day, I removed the alt., and it was filthy. Didn't want to take a dirty alt to the parts counter so, I hit it with the garden hose after I had it out and set it in the sun to dry for an hour or two. I then took it to 2 different places, that told be there was nothing wrong with it. On their testers, it was putting out exactly what it was supposed to. So, I took it home, re-installed it and it's been in the Jeep for over a year now with no issues.

You might try cleaning it up with some clean water and see what happens.:dunno:

Hale
Click to expand...

good idea, after i put the first new alternator in, then it went bad. didn't feel like messin around so i warranteed it.
 
mine is pretty clean i dont take in mud and its only bout a year old and my yellow top got me home with lights wipers and radio on so no issues there ill try it in the daylight and blow it out with air b4 spending any money and let yall know the results thanks for the feedback i figured somebody had been in my shoes and might have an answer thats why i love naxja ...ken
 
also maybe look at tightening the belt...water makes it slip off sometimes and kills the voltage...you should be able to wash the alternator in clean water from a hose then blow it out. dirty water will stop it up...somehow I doubt a puddle killed your alternator, perhaps stuck in mud that isn't cleaned out, but theres no reaon a puddle would kill it outright like that...
 
blakebmxr3 said:
I don't know exactly why these alternators go out so easily, wish there was a way to bomb proof them cuz now i can't even go in the mud:(
Click to expand...

Location, Location, Location. Look where it sits....on the bottom of the engine. Common sense would say, that on a vehicle that is built to take some abuse, especially offroad, you'd put whats pretty much essential to keeping your engine running towards the top, that way it would be AWAY from any water you'd be fording.

That, and the location of the air filter box (also in a very low spot) are probably the two things that bug me the most about the design of the XJ/4.0. I always worry about the alt. and air box when i'm splashin through water or playin in the mud.
 
It's not the water that necessarily kills them--it's what's in the water. Water carries dirt into the alt. more easily than it would get there on its own.
 
99XJSPORT06 said:
Location, Location, Location. Look where it sits....on the bottom of the engine. Common sense would say, that on a vehicle that is built to take some abuse, especially offroad, you'd put whats pretty much essential to keeping your engine running towards the top, that way it would be AWAY from any water you'd be fording.

That, and the location of the air filter box (also in a very low spot) are probably the two things that bug me the most about the design of the XJ/4.0. I always worry about the alt. and air box when i'm splashin through water or playin in the mud.
Click to expand...

These things seem funny about this sort of thing I've drowned the alternater in 2 other vehicles (also with low mounted alt.s) with no problems and I'm sure the one on my 99 xj has gotten a good dose of dirty H2O, yet some get ruined by a splash from a puddle. I gues it's true that what is in the water can mean more than the water itself
 
since i have been dealing in depth with redesigning my motorcycles charging system i have learned alot....

our alternators arent sealed very well. the wire is of a low grade, and the brushes are open to the elements... this all means that when mud gets into the works the sand that is in there can wreck havoc. i am sure someone makes a sealed alternator for our jeeps. if not, there are a few steps we can take to seal them ourselves. the biggest issues i see are the brushes and the windings

windings can be coated with a light coat of thermal epoxy. what happens is the sand in the mud becomes sandblasting material, and knocks off the insulation and causes a short. The brushes on the other hand are a bt tougher to fix. Maybe a seal of some kind would help... but right now sand gets cought between the brush and the comunicator creating sandpaper, and also lifts the brush off the comunicator. this keeps the rotor from getting juice.
 
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