Well, I fubar'd today...

Was in a hurry to get my ECM relay for my fogs switched since the old one was bad. Dropped my pliers onto my alternator fuse and cracked the damn thing in pieces since it was already missing the clear cap piece. So stupid me, I try to take it out not realizing it had a bolt through it and SNAP. No more working alternator.

So now I'm waiting on the tow truck so I can take her to the stealership to get fixed. My usual shop can't do the work on that and doesn't have the parts anyway. And I'll be without my truck for a day, hopefully no more.

Lesson learned: NEVER DO STUFF TO MY TRUCK WHEN I'M RUSHING.

 

Sucks and no way to sugar coat it.

 

Oopsies!

 

Sorry to hear about that Heather.

 

Heather HeatherHeather!So!

 

Your usual shop can't do a simple alternator replacement?

If I read that correctly, please do yourself a favor and find a new shop. That's basic driveway stuff.

Even finding a shop that rebuilds alternators/motors/starters, etc is a great plan. Most of them will R&R the part for you and you'll wind up with a better part than most OTC parts house remans.

 

Well, shit happens and then you die.

 

I would have uber'd to parts store before towing it to get fixed.....Take your time on stuff folks! Good luck on repair OP!

 

@Clearwater Bill What I meant to say is that they can't do it in any less time than the stealership. It'd take them an extra day or two over that to get the part, and this is the only vehicle I have, so I'm kind of up against a wall time wise here. Just lucky I have today and tomorrow off work lol

 

What snapped exactly?

 

She said it was the Alternator fuse. It is bolted in place and you have to split the fuse box in half to replace it.

 

That's what I figured, but then she mentioned it would take a day and a half for a shop to get a part. Most autoparts stores will carry fuses of all kinds and it shouldn't take more than a few hours to replace.

 

I'm not following, you broke the alt fuse... replace the fuse yourself? BAM working alternator.
https://youtu.be/LO9UgFbt1tY

 

Thing that sucks is not even the stealership had the damn fuse. So I'm sitting here at home while my truck is still there waiting until they get it in tomorrow morning to replace.

Also, why the hell was the thing bolted in, anyway? Even the tech there has no clue exactly why they do that.

 

And @Sandman614 i would have if I had the correct tools and a bit more knowledge how. But unfortunately I was sitting in front of an Autozone when it happened (yeah, I was that impatient when I bought my new relay that actually needed replacing in the first place)

Oh, and to top it all off, they ordered the wrong relay for me for the fogs. Stupid aftermarket stuff that came on the truck when I bought it used...if it had been OEM at least I could have gotten the right part from the stealership. At any rate, I'll be forgetting about the fogs since I have plans for a new front plate bumper from FabFour anyway. Not like I really used them anyway

 

The cars I've worked on, they've been bolted in. Most likely, a safety precaution.

 

Why? Because a spring loaded electrical terminal cannot handle that high of amperage long term without overheating due to resistance and then causing the terminals to burn and the plastic housings to melt. The surface area of a screwed terminal is much higher, and the pressure between the two parts is far higher and remains that way if it was correctly tightened to begin with. So, in short, it is a far better connection for conducting 100+ amps.

 

The more you know...

Thanks for the info! I guess I learned two things today lol

 

Still without a truck... NOW I'm getting pissed off. They apparently are saying it might even be tomorrow morning before they "can get to it."

I told them the original time estimate was for this morning. The guy I talked to had said they'd have the part today "at 9, 9:30 and we'll be able to get it right in for you." Then I call up when I haven't heard from them at noon today, they say that it'll be done by 4:00 and if they can fit it in any earlier they will try. So now 4:00 has come and gone, I call back up because I haven't heard from them, and now they're telling me that it probably won't be until first thing tomorrow morning? Of course I'm livid at this so I tell the guy that I NEED that truck done yesterday, and tell him the time frames I had already been told. He says they can try to see about getting it done today but it'll be right at the end of the day. And they won't have the courtesy shuttle running then, so I luckily have a friend who can drive down from RENO to get me there. IF I actually hear from them in the next hour and a half.

 

At this rate, I'm going to have my friend bring me there, pick up the part, bringing my tools with me to change the damn thing MYSELF in THEIR parking lot. In about a third of the time they say it'd take.