alternator trouble

[BWCastle]

Hello all, first and formost, this being my first post i'd like to say that i'm thoroughly impressed with the organization and knowledge this site has to offer, and i'm eager to find all of helpfull information offered to make my Z project just that much easier. with that said, i'll get down to brass tacks...

I just installed a rebuilt 50a alternator, well after starting the car i proceded to check the engine just to make sure all was well, and i noticed the "A" terminal on the alternator was sparking, so i cut the power and inspected alternator only to find that the plastic around the "A" terminal was completely melted and the wire leading to it was totaly fried. now i have no idea as of yet what damage has occoured to the alternator, and i dont want to go replacing the wire, starting it up, only to have the same thing happen again. so i'm stumped. what could have caused the alternator to spark like that? and what do i need to do to attend to this problem so as not to have it happen the next go round. any feedback will be greatly appriciated. thanks...

[Ed]

welcome to the club. Hopefully you can get all your answers here. I am not an expert on alternators but since the problem started with the alternator my guess would be maybe you have the wrong alternator or it was connected wrong. Hopefully you didn't fry a bunch of wires. Good luck.