Simply a poor alternator connection (loose, corroded, compromised / wire strand breakage) COULD be the whole culprit.

Battery and engine ground connections primo? Battery ever load tested?

 

I read up on that yesterday and found that maybe it wasn't tightened down as much as it should have been when I installed it..

Ground connections are fine. I bought the battery back in January, so I have not had it tested.. thinking I should now just in case. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Resistance in that particular connection (which is pictured) would be the problem. A small amount of resistance + high current flow = lots of heat.

Perhaps it wasn't tightened properly when the alternator was replaced?

It's hard to make much out from the picture, but you'll probably need to get the B+ terminal on the car loom professionally reterminated. The alternator B+ terminal (which it bolts to) will also need to be cleaned up to a nice flat surface with shiny metal.

When reassembling, use some form of electrical connector dielectric grease on the connection to help keep water out. (There should also be a protective rubber cap over that terminal to limit water ingress - have you got one on there?)

As Max said check all your other connections as well. (Battery terminals, chassis earths to engine and battery negative.) If there's any corrosion on them clean it up, put some grease on them and tighten them back up.

 

Thanks for the quick reply!

Here's another photo for you. Thanks for all the info, I will definitely make sure to do all of that. One more quick question if you don't mind and please excuse my ignorance, as I don't have a ton of knowledge on these subjects but what did you mean by "you'll probably need to get the B+ terminal on the car loom professionally reterminated"?

Also, would the extra heat on this connection just cause all the other things to happen, such as radio cutting off and ABS as well? Even though I believe those are on two different circuits or whatever? I'm not sure, just checking..

Someone helping me with my car seems to think it might be the fuse box or something to that effect. My dad [works on a lot of cars] seems to think it's something simpler like my battery or battery cable, etc.. Just getting a lot of different options but what you guys so far have told me seems to be simple and right on. I definitely appreciate the help. Car problems stress me out lol.

 

That's a better picture.

It's not anything like I thought you'd described when you wrote

....on the B+ Terminal there is a lot of charring and 'molten-ish' metal and such.

I had visions of the ring terminal from the wiring loom (the one that is bolted onto the B+ terminal on the alternator) being a melted mess. It actually looks okay?

From memory, that nut that is still on the B+ terminal tightens down and holds the insulator in place that has charred. Perhaps that nut is also loose- that means you might have trouble tightening the actually ring terminal down with the second nut (hopefully that makes sense?) You don't want to tighten it too tight though as it is only a plastic insulator and could break - especially now it's been over heated!

The nut itself that is burnt looking could probably do with cleaning up. You want to make sure there is a clean flat surface on all those bits so that they bolt together and give maximum surface contact and reduce any resistance. If you can get a wire brush onto the thread and clean that up as well it might help.

PS: Found a pic and some torque information on those nuts (you probably haven't got a torque wrench though?)

Edit: There may be other issues, but fix this one up first and go from there.

 

That's a better picture.

It's not anything like I thought you'd described when you wrote

I had visions of the ring terminal from the wiring loom (the one that is bolted onto the B+ terminal on the alternator) being a melted mess. It actually looks okay?

From memory, that nut that is still on the B+ terminal tightens down and holds the insulator in place that has charred. Perhaps that nut is also loose- that means you might have trouble tightening the actually ring terminal down with the second nut (hopefully that makes sense?) You don't want to tighten it too tight though as it is only a plastic insulator and could break - especially now it's been over heated!

The nut itself that is burnt looking could probably do with cleaning up. You want to make sure there is a clean flat surface on all those bits so that they bolt together and give maximum surface contact and reduce any resistance. If you can get a wire brush onto the thread and clean that up as well it might help.

PS: Found a pic and some torque information on those nuts (you probably haven't got a torque wrench though?)

Edit: There may be other issues, but fix this one up first and go from there.

Ah, okay understood now, about the B+ terminal. Yeah, surprisingly everything is fine except for what you mentioned - the nut/underneath that on the alternator, need to clean that up that whole mess.

Thanks for the pic! I do not have one but I know someone who may, so that is promising.

This may be a dumb question, but when you look at that last pic I posted of the terminal and black plastic surrounding it, you'll notice there are two slots - one at the top and one at the bottom [of the black plastic].. is the ring terminal wire supposed to sit in either one of those slots? Because the way the wiring is currently, I don't believe it fits and also it doesn't seem to stretch far enough if that makes sense..

 

The type of damage you display is indicative of a loose connection and heat buildup..

Since the ring terminal is not damaged, I would summarize that it was tight, and the bad connection is on the internal section of the stud..

The black plastic is an insulator, and should be replaced to avert any future problems..

If you have the expertise and the alternator is no longer warrantied, repair before putting back in service.. If still under warranty get a replacement... ASAP...
The other conditions are a result of this bad connection...

.... Philip

 

Thanks for the info 2013GV! Now that I know that is part of the problem, how do I go about connecting the ring terminal without it making contact with the plastic?

 

Here's a video I made explaining more things I found, hopefully this will help a little more. I really appreciate all the help and time so far from everyone. Been a tremendous help in this annoying experience lol.

2001 Suzuki XL-7 Alternator Problems - YouTube

 

Just watched your video, much better idea of what happened..

I would (because I am anal), strip the nut and insulator off, remove the back cover and clean the main stud (shiny), check internal connection condition for heat stress.

On reinstall, place a flat washer on the nut(shim), invert the main power wire so that the bulky connection is facing away from alternator, apply dielectric grease and tighten the nut securely. Replace the field wire connection...

 

UPDATE: Exchanged the month-old alternator with no problem. Check the photos to see the difference in the nut & plastic height.. new one is way better. So that's good.

Installed it, got the car running, drove it to get the battery/voltage tested.
Voltage was at 13.4
Voltage Reg: FAILED test

Everything else was good. So looks like I'm going to try getting yet another alternator [3rd one] and see how that goes.

 

14.2 to 14.8 volts at 2000 rpm and 20 Deg C is the normal range for alt output Volts, add 0.1 V every 5 deg above, subtract for below.

was that test with a fully charged battery? 13.4 sounds like its trying to charge a flat battery, unusual for a reg to fail only partially (but I have seen it) they usually don't put anything out, or go ballistic and boil the battery.

 

was that test with a fully charged battery? 13.4 sounds like its trying to charge a flat battery

They were my thoughts too.

Did they rev the engine a bit when testing?

 

Could be possible, had to jump it and then drove it for about 30 mins on the highway, 2500 to 3000 RPMs the whole time. Then got it tested.

I actually might not get another alternator, the problem may be my wire/cable connected to the terminal going to the battery. Going to check that for corrosion and such and see what state it is in.

 

If your battery was dead flat then it will take some time to charge- your alternator's current output at idle revs won't be anywhere close to the 110 Amps (?) maximum rating. The battery will be sucking a lot of current so the idle voltage will be lower due to the high current drain.

Have you got a multimeter? Try checking it yourself at idle and then with the revs held at about 2000RPM - see what the voltages are. You should see the voltage start climbing once the revs are held at 2000RPM.

PS: Make sure you have all the accessories (head lights, aircon, heater fan) off when checking the voltages.

 

AND...alternators will never fully charge a flat battery because of the way the regulators work. As a battery charges, the terminal voltage rises, and the regulator shuts down the output. unfortunately batteries actually need a steady high current to undertake the chemical conversion internally to fully charge them. (approx 1/10 of the A/H rate for 24 hrs) Alternators will supply 100A easily, but only if the load is there to use it, you will find the amps drop off rapidly as the volts come up and they will usually only supply 1 or 2 amps into the battery during normal driving.
Old style Generators used a current regulator to limit max current and had a voltage cutout to switch the generator out of circuit if it wasn't spinning fast enough.

What you have done by driving for 30 mins is "surface charged" the battery which means it will spin the car over nicely for the next 24-48 hrs, but leave it for 3 or so days and it will be flat again. Not an issue if you drive it daily, but you would need to do a trip of about 100 miles to bring it up to any decent state of charge.
Stick it on a battery charger for 24 hours, then test it again and I think you will find the alternator is ok. A basic test is start the car, turn headlights on and measure Volts at battery, should be 12.6 ish or higher, if you rev the car and the volts come up above 13, then its charging, albeit slowly, and the alternator is ok. fully charged shutoff volts is 14.2 to 14.8, anything above 13 with a flat battery is ok.

 

Very valuable info murcod and 2013GV! Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

So, another quick update here. Drove it a bit this morning.. was planning on going and picking up a battery charger, and after about 20 mins of driving the alternator belt started squealing [which I am more than familiar with after 3 years of squealing belts from this car - just recently learned how to properly tension them, etc]. Luckily I was close to home, parked it, opened the hood and the belt has a tear in it.. which is surprising to me. Usually they last a lot longer than that. So now, that's my new problem to deal with and removing and re-tensioning the AC belt is a pain with the fan in the way.

The funny thing is that my last alternator, the bad one from the last month, I never heard any squealing, had the tension just right, no problems.

I actually checked the belt tension before I drove it today, just to be sure. Didn't seem too loose or too tight. It is a little cooler here today [and rainy] than yesterday though, so maybe when I drove and it heated up, it expanded and loosened after driving for 20 mins? Or some kind of alignment is slightly off with the pulleys..? Who knows..

So, I won't be able to change it and figure it out until tomorrow. It's actually raining here in the northern California for once and I live in an apartment complex, so no garage or anything, just a parking lot. Blah.

 

New alternator, new pulley, old belt and a flat battery. Recipe for increased belt loading and new wear patterns and obviously its failed. Check the alternator pulley for any sharp dags on the pulley before you fit a new belt. I tend to do the belts when I change any pulley, especially with ribbed belts, so easy to kill one unfortunately.

 

Last update probably: Changed the belt this morning. Got the battery actually charged. Then drove to get it retested.

Volts: 14.2
PASSED everything this time around.

A lot of what everyone said here was verified by other people that I talked to who knew about cars, so that was awesome. Seems it was just a bad alternator and a flat battery. I appreciate all the help and info from everyone, I learned a lot!

 

: Changed the belt this morning. Got the battery actually charged. Then drove to get it retested.

Volts: 14.2
PASSED everything this time around.

was there any doubt?

<snip> Seems it was just a bad alternator and a flat battery. I appreciate all the help and info from everyone, I learned a lot!

Glad we could help and that you learned something in the process

 

Not being picky, but this comment indicates you were less than confident in our combined knowledge and skill.

A lot of what everyone said here was verified by other people that I talked to who knew about cars,

Wonder why your other people were not able to properly advise in the first instance...

.... Philip

 

Not being picky, but this comment indicates you were less than confident in our combined knowledge and skill.

Wonder why your other people were not able to properly advise in the first instance...

.... Philip

I may not have put it the right way, but that is not what I meant at all. I followed all of the advice in the forum over my dad's, bosses and stepdad's advice lol. They don't know much when it comes to electronic problems and the stuff that happened to my car.. and they also are across the country trying to help me over the phone..

What I meant was that when relaying what has happened to guys at auto stores and such, they said the same as most on here. I was just able to get confirmation is all I apologize for the confusion.