DeTomaso Mailing List: April 99, Message #241

Hi guys,

Driving mom's '65 Buick on Easter Sunday, suddenly all the smoke escaped from 
the alternator and it seized up solid. :<(

I pulled it and changed it out today.  While doing so, I noticed something 
strange.  It had a positive terminal, a two-wire terminal in the center, and 
a ground post, same as any other alternator I've dealt with.  The strange 
thing is, the ground post had NEVER been hooked up (not the original 
alternator.)

Huh?  When I installed the new alternator, I decided that discretion was the 
better part of valor, and fabbed up a ground wire to connect the ground post 
on the back of the alternator to the chassis of the car.  Was this a waste of 
time, or a Good Thing?  How was the alternator grounded before, through the 
case?  Could the missing ground have contributed to the escaping smoke?

TIA!

Mike