intermittant miss

[krick3tt]

Not sure about this but...it could be a good place to start. From SAV.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wiring-Harness- ... 84&vxp=mtr

Your wires don't look all that firm, based on the picture.

[Brickren]

OK. Got it fixed. Molex connection. Red terminal looked like it over heated. Terminals were black and plastic melted. I pulled all wires from connector and wire brushed. Also filed male end of connector back into shape. Replaced blade side of connection. Now I have 27.6 volts at batteries and 28.7 at molex. Packed molex with dielectric grease. WD 40 alt and a few other areas. Thank you for all advice. Brian

[GRCameron]

I would continue to check all the connections between the alternator and the battery. The 1.1 volt drop you measured amounts to about 38 watts of heat (at full alternator output = 35A) that is going somewhere, possibly another connection (at starter, battery terminals, disconnect switch, chassis ground) or making the wires warm. P (power) = I (current) x E (voltage)

[Brickren]

ok, thank you. I had not considered that. I particularly like the way you figure out how much each going to be generated. Thank you for giving me a couple of leads as to where to look another problem might be laying.being that the terminals were overheated and the connector was, I'm planning on replacing both in the near future. The prices are not unreasonable. And sure beats a fire.

[Jimm391730]

I would suggest that the localized terminal overheating is due to poor crimp connections due to corrosion and/or poor connections between the male and female connectors. I would not worry about the amount of current flowing through them; it is not likely that the terminals overheated due to abnormal high currents as it is that they created poor connections that made the heat. Once the connection starts to go bad they start to create heat; each hot/cool cycle expands and contracts the metal, further loosening the connections and things get bad very quickly at that point.

Dielectric (electrical) grease does two things: it prevents corrosion by excluding oxygen, water, and similar materials and it also helps to spread any localized heating around to cool the hot spots which helps to lengthen the life of the connections. But preventing corrosion is by far the most important aspect. Wheel bearing grease does probably 98% as good a job so better to use it instead of no grease at all.

Replace the terminals with new ones that have good spring, clean surfaces, and do a good job of crimping them. Too much crimp can be as bad as not enough crimp but generally better to have new connections than no connections at all!

[Texas710]

Would you suggest some sort of shrink wrap or electric tape around the crimped part of the connection?

[Jimm391730]

Would you suggest some sort of shrink wrap or electric tape around the crimped part of the connection?

Yes, especially the shrink tubing that is adhesive lined; the adhesive melts and helps to seal the joint between the sleeve and wire as the sleeve shrinks. I have also put just a dab of De-Ox compound (dielectric grease) on the strands that get crimped to help prevent any intrusion of moisture or other material from getting into the crimp between the strands; this helps to seal up the connector end of the crimp. Anything you can do to prevent corrosion and increase the life of the connection is a good thing. An actual soldered connection (when done correctly) is probably the best, but not always practical to accomplish. And even then, heat shrink to seal the gap between the solder joint or crimp and the wire is always an improvement.

[krick3tt]

Great tip.
I had never thought of putting the grease on the wire end before crimping.
Having the proper crimping tool is a plus as well.