Recently my 87 T-Bird 3.8 V-6 with 179,000 miles developed an alternator malfunction. I lent my sister the vehicle and while she was driving the alt light went on and the dash did a pinball machine routine. She opened the hood and the thing was smoking black. She had it towed into the shop (a reputable former Ford mechanic)and he changed the alternator to a somewhat different style along with the harness and the two connectors. One of the connectors that he replaced was originally a lug that was on back of the unit. Both seem to be a much heaver gauge. I'm wondering why he changed it to the different style alt and connectors. Back in 1997,79,000 miles ago I changed the alternator with one from a local reputable rebuilder and it's been fine for all of these years. Could there have been a recall?
this happens ....often.
shiznitty, inferior gauge wiring is the main culprit, and when the voltage regulator goes bad, the sometimes catch fire. It did on my '89 Bird.
I got luck though, car lived too.