Confirm my problem is Alternator related

[svxcess]

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I cannot stress the merits of the Mega-Fuse too much. Read the following article to get a better understanding. Nothing else even comes close for reliable performance and protection.

http://www.littelfuse.com/data/en/Te...s/TB98-003.pdf


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[K_Dub]

Originally Posted by svxcess

Spoke with Christian at Maniac Electric Motors today.

She said that after you ordered your alternator, you called back to see if you could add the wiring upgrade to the order. She said they did not have the ring connectors in stock at the time, but they were expecting them very soon, and she told you this as well.

The ring connectors came in and she sent the wiring upgrade out to you by UPS at no charge, including shipping.

After the upgrade was sent out, you called her back to cancel the order and buy local. She then called UPS and had the order sent back to her.

Anyone can run out of parts at any time for any reason, including Radio Shack. That is the reason the "rain check" concept came into existence.

Buy whatever cable you want. I still think the Knukonceptz cable is superior to anything out there for our purposes.

As far as fusing goes, the Mega-fuse is an essential component. Other types of fuses are too large and cumbersome to fit within the tight confines of our engine bay. The slo-blo capabilities of the Mega-Fusewere designed for high current alternator applications and handle an occasional spike without blowing. Other types of fuses (AFS/ANL) are designed for stereo applications.
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Thank you for getting back to me. I was at the heights of my frustration yesterday. After ordering my knock sensor from my trusty friends at O'Reilly I went in to pick it up and they didn't have it. The clerk said he had no record of an order, and alas the part was no longer available. I was fuming. I suppose that might not have been the best time to call Maniac, but with AT&T loosing its local tower I can seldom make calls from home. So I figured that I'd give them a shout while I was out and get my tracking number.

When I'd called to add the wiring upgrade to my order I was informed that the parts would have to be sent two days after the alternator. When she said Friday, I assumed that they still hadn't been shipped yet. By this point I was running on impulse, not believing a word I'm being told by anyone. I thought April Fools was coming back for a second pass. So I did cancel my wiring order with Maniac. I harbor no bad feelings toward them nor you for the recommendation. I look forward to many years of use with my new alternator.

Despite having two weeks to fix my car I was running out of options for getting to work the next day (today). I even phoned Enterprise about renting a car for the day. The costs were adding up. I went home empty handed but for the supplies I'd accrued over the previous week. I removed the alternator again (getting pretty good at that one), and gave the knock sensor a good cleaning. I also extended the leads to the alt connector and spliced the replacement in with the pigtail supplied. The wiring from the charging post remains stock along with the battery grounds. I buttoned it all up as the sun went down, finishing the last of it by porch light, and fired it up.

She runs. The idle is still bouncing at times, but there is no check engine light. I was able to get to work and back today, stalling only once at my first stoplight about 4 miles in this morning. I'm beginning to suspect that the idle issue may not be related at all, it is a 215K car after all. The driver's front CV joint went bad while sitting too somehow, it didn't even click before. I guess this car just needs to be driven regularly.

I really do appreciate your recommendations, and your patience in re-explaining everything to me. I'm goin' it alone on this and it's tough, even with the help of the forum. I still intend to follow up with a full wiring upgrade, using the parts you've called out and the help of my wiring guru, but if this setup is satisfactory then I will continue to use it for my commute. Work isn't a constant thing for me, so it is imperative that I'm reliable when I am called in. I know everyone's thinking, "well maybe an SVX isn't the right car for you" but that's a load. This is an alternator replacement; it shouldn't take two weeks, right?