Alternator ground eyelet broken

[JimJoeBob]

Hello everyone. 97 GTS, was removing the alternator due to it deciding to die and upon removal of the ground wire, the eyelet and wire separated. I'm not certain how to go about fixing this. Had this happen to a ground on a motorcycle once but I just used cheap solder and it worked fine, however I don't think that would be the best case here. Any tips? Busted Ground.jpg

[RyanLS.GEN2]

I think in your photo you have the main power lug eye broken off? That stud surrounded by plastic goes to a wire that goes to the fuse box power lug and back to the battery then

[JimJoeBob]

Maybe? I always thought that was a ground. But yes the eyelet snapped. Couldve also been the cause of my alternator taking a dump on me.

[Old School]

If you haven't already, the first thing you should do is disconnect the battery so that wire does not short.

[RyanLS.GEN2]

well yes, with it broken no power was leaving the alternator.

[Old School]

Yes, and the battery on the other end.

[JimJoeBob]

Battery is already disconnected. It was the first thing I did before messing around, I'm just asking how to remedy my current situation.

[dave6666]

Hmm. Seeing as you really can't see much with the alternator in the way, and you say you need a new alternator anyway, have you thought about pulling the alternator off so you can get a better look at what's wrong and how to fix it? Seems like some simple common sense there.

[JimJoeBob]

Hmm. Seeing as you really can't see much with the alternator in the way, and you say you need a new alternator anyway, have you thought about pulling the alternator off so you can get a better look at what's wrong and how to fix it? Seems like some simple common sense there.

Yeah the photo is difficult to see. I'll be pulling the alt soon as I don't have time today, but to explain best I can, the eyelet that is on the stud in the photo has separated from the cable that I'm holding in my hand. I just need to know the best course of action to re-attach the eyelet to the cable.

[Steve M]

You'll need to source a new terminal and crimp it on the wire. You'll need to figure out the wire gauge (I'm guessing 2 or 4 gauge), and go from there. You can source terminals from many different places like this:

https://www.bestboatwire.com/collect...tery-terminals

Crimp it on, and seal it with adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.

The problem is going to be whether or not you have enough slack in the cable to do it. If you don't, you'll need to replace the entire length of cable, unless you want to trust a splice (and I probably wouldn't).

[Steve M]

This thread will give you an idea of how you might tackle the problem: https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...tery-Terminals

Full disclosure: the Harbor Freight hydraulic crimper referenced in that thread does not make an ideal crimp. Later on in that thread, you'll see a picture of one of the crimped terminals I cut apart to verify the quality of the crimp. You'll notice a couple of small "wings" on the crimp - those ideally won't be there. Unfortunately, the tools that will make a better crimp are generally cost prohibitive for one-time use. That said, the crimps I've made with that tool have worked just fine.

If you are going to try to reterminate the wire on the car, you'll end up having to use some sort of hand operated crimping tool. I would not solder that connection, but opinions vary.

[JimJoeBob]

This thread will give you an idea of how you might tackle the problem: https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...tery-Terminals

Full disclosure: the Harbor Freight hydraulic crimper referenced in that thread does not make an ideal crimp. Later on in that thread, you'll see a picture of one of the crimped terminals I cut apart to verify the quality of the crimp. You'll notice a couple of small "wings" on the crimp - those ideally won't be there. Unfortunately, the tools that will make a better crimp are generally cost prohibitive for one-time use. That said, the crimps I've made with that tool have worked just fine.

If you are going to try to reterminate the wire on the car, you'll end up having to use some sort of hand operated crimping tool. I would not solder that connection, but opinions vary.

Thank you so much. I will read through this and see what can be done. Plenty of slack was left on the cable to apply another eyelet to allow it to reach the alternator so I should not have to rerun said cable.

[JimJoeBob]

Attachment 47021

Sorry to revive this thread but I've finally been able to get out and work on the car. After removing the alternator I was able to get a good photo of the power cable that connects to the alternator. As you can see the eyelet is still missing but as advised before I was going to crimp a new eyelet on. However with the cable being curled over I am not sure how to proceed. Any advice on how to reattach the eyelet?

[JimJoeBob]

Attachment 47022

This should be better quality

[01sapphirebob]

Attachments are not showing up.

[Steve M]

I can't see the attachment either, but if there's still a part of the old crimp there, you cut it off, expose a new part of the wire (i.e. remove the insulation), and crimp your new lug on.