After a short drive in my 1988 F250 (302 engine) I saw smoke from under the hood. upon opening the hood I saw that the lower plug into the alterator was melting and smoking. I pulled it loose, and it stopped.

I figured the alternator must be bad, so I got a new one. In the box was a note saying that this very thing has been happening allot, and they do not know why. They said to replace the plug itself (which I have to do now anyway), and coat it with dialectric grease.

My problem is that my local ford dealer says that they don't have the plug, and that they'd have to order the whole harness. They suggested a local (good) parts store, but they didn't have it.

Anyone know of a source for these? It is a 3wire plug

Thanks
Dan

 

You might try casperselectronics.com for the plug

 

There is a Ford TSB on this very subject. It even mentions a part number for a kit to fix the harness. Looks like you could order the kit and be on your way.


Ford TSB 96214, applies to F150 through F350, model years 1986 through 1994
(The TSB also applies to numerous other car and truck models)

ISSUE:
When a generator fails, there are a few failure modes that may cause heat to be produced at the wiring harness-to-generator connector. This excess heat may damage the female terminals on the wiring harness, resulting in increased resistance. The increased resistance produces more heat. When the generator is replaced, the resistance produced by a damaged connector may damage the new generator and could result in a repeat repair, including installation of another generator. High resistance (caused by a damaged connector) will not go away until the damaged connector is replaced.

ACTION:
Visually inspect the harness-to-generator connector for damage (heat, corrosion, distortion and cracking) before installing a new generator. Install the Generator Wiring Harness Connector Kit (E5AZ-14305-AA) if the harness-to-generator connector is damaged.

The Generator Wiring Harness Connector Kit (E5AZ-14305-AA) contains the following:

^ One (1) Red Wire Butt Connector
^ Two (2) Yellow Wire Butt Connectors
^ One (1) Wire Connector Assembly
^ One (1) Instruction Sheet (I.S. 6849)

 

We had this problem with a work truck. 88 F250, 460. Bought the new alternator and replacement plug at CarQuest.

 

Thanks very much guys. I'll order the kit right now.


Dan

 

Just called the ford dealer. They say it only fits a crown victoria, and they want $75.00 for the kit with no return if it isn't right. I'm sure they aren't really paying too much attention. I'll call another dealrer to see what they say.

Seems like it'd be a $15.00 item at most.

 

This is an old problem with the second generation Ford alternators. All the parts stores I deal with carry this plug one brand I remeber is Pico. They make this replacement plug for about $9.00. And when I change one I solder and shrink wrap the connections no butt connectors for this. And Ford has been sued for cars burning complete up over this very connection. The third generation alternators do not use this plug for the battery feed. And you can retrofit a third gen to a second gen system with very little effort.

 

Got it.

For future reference the Ford part# is also Borg-Warner PT780. It was less than $10.00 at a local parts place.

 

94, two alternator fires and 3 alternator failures, 6 alternators total. Replaced it with a newer style internal cooled with a power lug style positive connector and have had no problems since.

 

Tectron1 did the 3 gen conversion. These alternaters will fit in the brackets and all you have to do is redo the the big plug to a lug type connection. and then I believe the smaller wire in that plug is the S connection needs spade connector put on it and then plugged into the S connector on the new alt. The two big wires in that connector are the B+ wires and actually tie back togather a little further back in the harness. The only thing you need to watch is the fact that the 3g alt is capable of producing more amps and you might want a little heavier wire back to the Battery.

 

Yep thats it.

I never had any noticable problems with wire size, But I have replaced everything with 2G welding wire recently because I had it laying around.

 

I know this is an OLD, OLD thread but i wanna bring this back up to the top for future reference for anyone dealing with this. it just happened to me and i almost saw my truck go up in flames. the entire harness from the alternator to the solenoid was damaged.

my fix is to install a 3G alternator with appropiate wiring, fusing and connectors.

i would REALLY appreciate it, if this could be made a stickey or somehow be made into a stickey by editing...this is a common and serious problem.

 

I have a 91 F150 4 x 4 6 cyl, replaced 4 alternators because of fires, replacing alternator and connector each time over the past 6 years. Thanks for the G3 info.

 

you can get the replacement pigtail from ford for 20 bucks that has the updated plug on it and soder it on

 

ive bought my plugs both of them of the alternator at NAPA