4 alternators in 3,000 miles

[dt00th]

Lo people i've had the same problem with alternators and mud killing them on my 4.0l 3 door .
The problem is loctation, its to low but here in the United Kingdom the problem has been solved by Jeep .The alternator was moved because of the steering box one postion is below the a/c unit the other position is next to number 1 spark plug with the a/c unit below this was fitted to the "Limited" edition cherokee.
so it might be better to try and locate a bracket form uk or ask stealership about it .

 

[Oizarod115]

this is why we pressure wash our jeeps undercarriage and MAKE SURE to get the alternator sprayed out. within a day of any mud. its a bad idea to leave that stuff in there. even for a few hours.

 

[langer1]

You might want to check the ballast resister. I had the same problem on my 88. I would cover that thing with mud every weekend. Over about 4 months I went through 4 alternators and 2 batties. If the ballast get caked mud in the connections, the alt. will cause a backward charge loop, at least that is what the shop said. It is the little white brick thing with two wires on it. I believe that it is somewhere near the airbox, mounted on the fender. Other than that I did start washing my alt. after I went mudding. goog luck.

Someone really feed you a line, glad they fixed it but the feedback thing was just a line of BS.

 

[5-90]

Someone really feed you a line, glad they fixed it but the feedback thing was just a line of BS.

It's somewhat possible (but very unlikely!!) for a ballast resistor to create a "ground loop" when wet or contaminated, if the resistance element is not potted against water. You'd need for the contaminant to be able to hit the mounting screw AND the resistance element, and it needs to be something that won't dry up with a small amount of heat - but it's theoretically possible. I used to run into that on old Chryslers all the time (it was more possible with them - due to the construction of the resistor.)

I don't recall whether XJ FPBR's are potted or not, but the resistance element is BELOW the mounting screw, meaning gravity would work against something like that. I'm inclined to think the mech was full of crap also - because it would be a rarity on our rigs (and you'd probably not get enough fuel if that happened anyhow - either delivery of volume or delivery of pressure would suffer from the "voltage leak.")

5-90

 

[PosiDave]

I went through 2 altenators in a 2 day period. my problem. I went mudding without that stock little underguard on my jeep. but the mud is probably the cause. if not i would suggest getting a new kind of altenator.

 

[schmels3]

I'm back, tightened up the belt last night (it was quite loose and still is'nt that tight, but the adjuster on the ps pump is all the way out). My friend came over tonight to drop me off and give me a jump, still no luck. Sounds like i'm going to be taking it off again. But before I do, do you think that it might be the battery? When I noticed it wasnt putting out any voltage I brought it into autozone to test it. They hooked up their tester and as soon as they turned their tester on my heep died. Alternator or battery?

 

[langer1]

Well the batters dead for sure and a bad battery can blow a alternator but not a fuel pump resistor