1992 Eagle Talon Alternator Replacement
Diagnosis: The diagnosis was easy:
- The smell of shorted electrical equipment while driving,
- Battery, coolant and emergency brake lights illuminated on the dashboard,
- Battery that slowly went dead but worked when recharged,
- Inch to inch-and-a-half sparks shooting out of the alternator, above and behind the oil filter.
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Disconnect the negative lead from the battery (10mm wrench).
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Remove the alternator tension lock bolt (12mm wrench).
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Remove the alternator tension bolt (12mm wrench).
pics - Remove the splash guard underneath the car (12mm wrench).
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Remove the alternator belt. Note--if you haven't removed the tension bolt, you may not be able to get the belt loose enough to slide over the pulleys.
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Remove the wiring harnesses (8mm and 10mm wrenches). The upper harness is held in place with a plastic connector. I had to use a screwdriver to pry it loose, but if you use a screwdriver, be carefull that you don't break the connector. One lead in the lower harness is held in place with a 10mm nut and the plastic connector for the lower harness is held in place with an 8mm nut.
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Remove the alternator pivot bolt (from underneath the car--12mm wrench).
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Now, remove the alternator. If your car is like mine, the alternator will freely pivot around the engine mount point
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where the pivot bolt used to be, but it doesn't feel like the alternator can be removed yet. Trust me, it can. Just get underneath the car, pivot the alternator as if you were tightening and loosening tension on the belt while pushing the alternator towards the top of the engine. If you watch the mount point on the engine block, you should see the alternator slowly walking up the mount, then it will pop free. Lift the alternator over the oil filter and (if they are in the way) the wiring harnesses. That's it--the old alternator has now been removed!
- Installing the new alternator is exactly the same, but in reverse order. The only tricky part when reinstalling is orienting the splash guard. Do your self a favor and pay attention when you remove it--drawings or photographs with a digital camera are helpful. Hint: the large surface is mounted vertically, parallel to the wheel. The short surface that you would expect to go behind the wheel (well, I did, anyway...) mounts just behind the nose.
