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Old 01-18-2010, 05:11 AM
Urabus Urabus is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Ontario
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Bad ground

hi, recently burnt the wires right off the alternator. Thinking its a bad ground Reattached the wires to the alt and see smoke so disconnected the battery and the alt.

Any idea on where the grounds on the frame are? Before this my 2 headlights(not the high beams) stopped working when I hit bumps sometimes they turn on. My trunk release, car starter, locks on my remote stopped working.

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario need guidance for a good shop or ways to get it fixed. Subaru dealer doesn't seem to know anything about the SVX.

Thank you.
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  #2  
Old 01-18-2010, 05:52 AM
Blacky Blacky is offline
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Location: LSM, Quebec
Posts: 2,534
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Re: Bad ground

There's a ground from the neg. battery post just in front of the battery. I added a 4 gauge ground there and another from the large bolt right in front of the oil dipstick on the side of the a/c compressor to the neg. battery post.
If you think the ground is your problem give it a try.
There's a "How to" for this wiring mod on the forum.
I lived my whole life in Ottawa and now I'm just north of there at Mont Ste. Marie. I do most of my own work on the SVX and the rest I get done at my friends garage in Gracefield for $35.00/hr so there's room for mistake and learning time. If you need Subaru parts in a hurry use Ogilvie Motors, if not they're a lot cheaper online from subaruparts.com

Last edited by Blacky; 01-18-2010 at 05:57 AM.
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  #3  
Old 01-18-2010, 06:15 PM
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Trevor Trevor is offline
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Re: Bad ground

Quote:
Originally Posted by Urabus View Post
hi, recently burnt the wires right off the alternator. Thinking its a bad ground Reattached the wires to the alt and see smoke so disconnected the battery and the alt.

Any idea on where the grounds on the frame are? Before this my 2 headlights(not the high beams) stopped working when I hit bumps sometimes they turn on. My trunk release, car starter, locks on my remote stopped working.

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario need guidance for a good shop or ways to get it fixed. Subaru dealer doesn't seem to know anything about the SVX.

Thank you.
The alternator is connected to ground through its frame and mount to the engine. According to your described issue, a ground fault problem is very unlikely.

If the main positive wire to the alternator has burnt out, this indicates a short circuit to ground towards the end at that wire. As the wire terminates at the alternator, the short is most likely within the alternator. If only the termination is burnt out, the short could be exactly at that point.

The fusible link should have protected the circuit against damage and blown before the wire or terminal, became excessively hot. Something appears wrong. Is everything original, or has the dicey "alternator upgrade" been done by a previous owner?

In the event that the light gauge wires are involved, again the short will most likely involve the alternator and internal voltage regulator. Again fuse protection should have protected the wiring against damage.
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