Hi everyone,
So on my way to work tonight I had one of those annoying "push on" connector wires on the back of the alternator fall off in the '85 Thunderbird causing the amp light to come on. I believe it is called the field wire. Anyhow, like an idiot since I didn't have a flashlight on me and thinking there was only one area it goes, I put it on a grounded spot.
Should have waited until I got a light. I think I either killed the alternator or the voltage regulator. But since I don't know what damage I could have caused doing this I was hoping someone on here could help. I got it hooked into the right spot now, but the light is still on. Guessing I killed something, any thoughts or do you believe the best bet would be to just replace both?
Ain't got much cash so I'm hoping it's just a voltage regulator as they are cheap. And wouldn't normally ask such a question, but I got several hours to kill at work tonight.
Thanks everyone.
The field wire comes from the voltage regulator to control the field current in the alternator. If you grounded it you must have zapped the voltage regulator.
Yep, that's what I did. Fried it good. Thanks for the help softtouch, this place rocks.