Hot Wire
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Junior User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 62
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From: Fredericksburg, Va
Hot Wire
I have a 2001 and since i got it in 2001 new i noticed a wire comming off of the alt. It comes from the back top. It is about 6AWG, i think blk with a orange stripe. I niticed it because it stuck so high as it put a dent or cut into my hood fire stop material. Being not the brightest bulb on the tree, yet the longest buring, i figured I would push the wire down so it would clear the hood better, well it is HOT, very hot. Hotter than I believe normal, seeing the post about mileage, seeing all the alt being changed i figure that it may be a problem just waiting to break. With my alt problem i have been checking all my conections, and noticed that all these years the insulation on the wire has almost crystalized from the heat. The wire just seems to be drawing alot of current and may be a cause to the alt problems that come up between 40,000 and 100,000. That and i guess time. Does anyone else notice the hot wire, and if you are going to check it please be carefull, it is hot, and it is not engine heat transfer, the bracket the alt mounts on is cooller than the wire. Thanks again with all the help with the alt problem
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,595
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From: Utah County, UT
Is the heat from the engine or from current load? My 99 has the same setup, but have never noticed the wire being hot, but then, I haven't ever really checked it after running for a while either.
Thread Starter
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Junior User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 62
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From: Fredericksburg, Va
hot wire
I am pretty sre that the heat is not the engine heat being transfered tot the wire, the bracket that holds the alt is not as hot as the wire, i do believe that the heat is from current draw, but why so hot, and why all the time, i am thinking about rewireing it with a 1/0 wire which is about twice the size, i can get a compression lug that will make it all work out, then I will see if the wire will be cooler, larger wire better current rating, just wondered if it was a normal. I do not see why it should be so hot, i mean hot, alot hotter than any thing else on the motor, i mean you touch it you feel pain quickly.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Racine Wi
That wire is the path for charging your battery. You must have something pulling alot of juice in your truck. Do you have an aftermarket stereo system with multiple amps? How old are your batteries? If the wire is as hot as you say, you need to find out how many amps your alternator is pushing to the batteries. You should also check voltage on that wire to make sure your regulator is working properly. The voltage should be in the 13.6-14.2 range (lower voltage means higher amps). The only way to check the amp draw is with a DC amp meter. Most places don't have a DC meter that will go to 150 amps, but if you go to a car audio shop, most will have a meter that will work (they deal with this every day on high powered systems). If you don't have any obvious reason for the high current draw, then I suspect bad battries or bad regulator.
Good luck!
Good luck!
