Did I Ruin my Alternator ? (accidentally grounded alt cable).

[prayforsurf0]

Hey guys,

One of the cables from the alternator (the one that is held down with a nut) was in my way from getting to a bolt, so I removed the nut and alternator cable. When I was going to put the cable back I accidentally grounded the end of the cable on some metal and heard a loud pop. Once everything was back together the car started fine, but my battery light was on and the gauge was not showing a full charge (approx halfway to where it usually indicated full charge).

I thought I killed my battery so I tried another one that I know is good, but I had the same issue... car started, but gauge indicates half charge, battery light on.
I also checked the 30A fuse under the hood that is labeled generator/voltage regulator in the owners manual, but the fuse is fine.

Did I blow my alternator ?

 

[1998Exp]

Sounds like you blew the mega-fuse. That's the large, 175A fuse that's mounted on the outside of the power distribution box, and looks like a piece of metal. When this fuse is blown the alternator is disconnected from the battery, so it can't charge.

 

[prayforsurf0]

Sounds like you blew the mega-fuse. That's the large, 175A fuse that's mounted on the outside of the power distribution box, and looks like a piece of metal. When this fuse is blown the alternator is disconnected from the battery, so it can't charge.

Oh. I wasn't aware of a second fuse on the same circuit, and it just looks like a piece of metal ? Hm. Its getting dark out, but I ran out to take a look and snap of picture to verify that I'm looking at the correct thing. Those two curved metal plates held down by a nut are fuses ?

 

[1998Exp]

[/QUOTE]
Take a close look at the your own photo. You'll notice "175A" stamped on the piece between the two nuts. Take that out and check with a meter (or some other way) that it's electrically intact. Oh, and one more thing: when working on anything electrical, disconnect the battery - ground cable first!

 

[prayforsurf0]

Take a close look at the your own photo. You'll notice "175A" stamped on the piece between the two nuts. Take that out and check with a meter (or some other way) that it's electrically intact. Oh, and one more thing: when working on anything electrical, disconnect the battery - ground cable first![/QUOTE]

Right. Thank you !

 

[RandomNerd2000]

You most likely blew the mega fuse, we had a mechanic do that at one point, and he let us leave, well things went great up until a point, and that point was when the battery died