The alternator on my Ford Windstar mini-van was SPARKING!?

Question

The alternator went out on me & I made arrangements to have it repaired at the mechanic's. My mechanic said to charge it with a trickle charger & that should give it enough oomph to drive it 6 miles to his shop. Well, we charged it & when my husband started it, (he left the hood up) I could see there were huge sparks jumping out of the alternator & it was smoking horribly so he shut it off immediately. My friend says to just make sure the battery is charged & drive it the 6 miles to the mechanics even though it is sparking & smoking like it is. Is that sound advice? It doesn't sound like a good idea to me... Should I have it towed, instead?

Answer 1

Just take the plug and the wire off the alternator then drive it.

Answer 2

six miles,takeoff and go.as long as nothing flammable under the hood let it burn ,nothing to hurt as you  will replace it,if you want remove the battery wire going to the alternator  

Answer 3

i dont agree with the mechanic.

First of all you have a lot of electronics on the car and those sparks can send ''spikes'' into the electronics and ruin something.

Changing an alternator is not  rocket science. Cant you get a neighbor to help you change it? You dont need that mechanic for this one.

Answer 4

Listen to the Professionals here, definately tow it. It's not worth risking other things going bad due to spikes. A 6 mile tow bill is only 50 bucks, if you have Triple A its free.

Answer 5

If your battery is fully charged, you can unplug the connector from the

alternator and then drive it to the shop.  Unplug the alternator before

starting your vehicle.  Remember, all the electrical components will

discharge your battery without the alternator hooked up.  Leave the

radio, a/c, fan etc. off.  You will be able to drive to your mechanic's

shop if it is only 6 miles away.

Answer 6

Sounds like there was an electrical short inside the alternator.  That can be bad for the battery and could start a fire.  If you were REALLY careful you could have removed the positive battery lead from the alternator and insulated it VERY WELL then drove the car to the shop.  Make sure to disconnect the battery BEFORE removing the alternator lead.  If that lead touches the body or engine it will do the same thing as is happening inside the alternator.  

Answer 7

"Alternator Bearings/Bushings Are Gone/Bad" Take the Alternator Off and take it to the Shop! "Sparks like that, it may be Damaged? Might want to just buy a New One"

Answer 8

Have it towed an alternator that is damaged like that may damage other things in your systems like the battery or worse yet your computer (very costly)...just go ahead and tow the truck...Good Luck

Answer 9

If the alternator is sparking & smoking then no you really shouldn't drive it. You'll just end up with a burnt out vehicle.

Sounds like the alternator has a loose wire in there somewhere which is touching bare metal (hence the sparks)

Better be safe than sorry & get it towed.

Answer 10

yea listen to them it isnt thiers so drive it let it burn