burning out!

[speedymacfish]

not sure what the story is with this alternator! On the top there is a bolt with what looks like an earth lead attatched. This lead keeps burning out! at the moment i have a croc clip holding the wire in place, well whats left of it! even the croc clip is slowly melting away! when it melts and leaves a gap in the connection all the lights on the dash come on and the voltage indicator drops? Now i know this happens when the alternator gets wet, but what would be causing it to burn out all the time?

[jaky cakes]

you may have a short in the power out lead or a loose connection on your earth.
loose wires sink ships!!! or was that gather no moss?

[rx-turbo]

not sure what the story is with this alternator! On the top there is a bolt with what looks like an earth lead attatched. This lead keeps burning out! at the moment i have a croc clip holding the wire in place, well whats left of it! even the croc clip is slowly melting away! when it melts and leaves a gap in the connection all the lights on the dash come on and the voltage indicator drops? Now i know this happens when the alternator gets wet, but what would be causing it to burn out all the time?

It sounds like you might have a bad connection on one of the main earth/neutral cables that attach to the engine or chassis, I would start by checking all the large cables leaving the batteries and the other ends where they attach. Disconnect the batteries first!

[NiftyNev]

Is this the original earth lead for the alternator.If not then it may not be a heavier enough gauge.Earth wires will get very hot or melt if not making proper contact or too light a gauge for the job.If you are sure there is no wires shorting on the alternator try a heavier gauge wire.If this still gets hot then check for faults elsewhere.

Neville