Q: Alternator wire burnt
My 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo has a wire connecting from the alternator to something else ( not sure exactly what , but I believe it may be the battery). The problem is the wire keeps burning and even yesterday after getting my oil changed I found out the wire was completely burned through and split in two . I have a guy who keeps telling me that the alternator is overcharging and causing the wire to get to hot which Causes the burning . I’ve spent a lot of money with him but it always seems as the problem still persists after I leave .
My car has 146000 miles.
My car's transmission is unknown to me.
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You may have a failing voltage regulator that could be allowing the alternator to supply too much or too little amperage to the battery resulting in the battery never maintaining a consistent charge as it is designed to. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. When the voltage regulator is not working properly, this may result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. A common sign of this is usually the acid inside the battery boiling causing the battery to swell. You may also smell a bit of smoke due to things potentially getting too hot. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.
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