QuestionHello,
I was driving and the battery light came on I stopped at Autozone and they checked the charging system and told me the alternator was bad. I went home and checked the battery and the green fuse link was melted. Can you please tell me what I need to check for? If I need to remove the alternator could you please tell me how that is done and if I need any special tools.
1999 300m with a 3.5
AnswerHi Scott,
If they checked the alternator by measuring at the battery, it would of course look bad with that link blown. If you have a voltmeter you could check the voltage at the red wire of the alternator instead and see what that shows with the engine running. Let me know if there is no voltage reading coming out of the alternator.It could be the link failed on its own, so do try this just in case. No special tools but a bid of dismantling (the radiator support crossmember has to be removed).
Here are the steps:
remove the negative battery cable from the jump post on the strut tower
remove the upper radiator support and relocate (this is the part that goes across the body on top of the radiator)
loosen the lower mounting bolt of the alternator but don't remove it
loosen pivot bolt of the alternator but don't remove it
loosen belt adjustment bolt
Remove alternator/power steering drive belt(loosen tensioner pulley lock nut, raise vehicle, remove two push clips holding lower air shield to engine cradle, remove airshield. loosen tensioner adjusting bolt until belt can be removed)
remove bracket
remove lower mounting bolt
remove pivot bolt
remove alternator
disconnect the plug on alternator
disconnect the battery wire and nut
Install is the reverse
Torques: 8mm alternator mounting bolt 30 ft-lbs
10mm " " " 40 "
10mm " pivot bolt 40 "
This instruction is from the '99 3.2/3.5 manual
Roland
