mrj_inc@shaw.ca

Hello. I have a 1990 4Runner 3.0 V6, Auto. I have an overheating problem with my alternator. I have found a ground which is producing quite a bit of resistance - it's two wires actually - (about 8.4 ohm for the larger one and 4.0 ohm for the smaller one), my problem is that I have no idea what these wires are grounding. Basically, the wire bundle that houses the alternator wires - i.e. the + Batt B wire and the wires from the three pronged plug comming out of the regulator - has a small black wire with a brown stripe and has a grey plasitc plug comming out of it, which connects to a small black wire with brown dots on it that goes to a transistor? Resistor? (has an Amperage rating on it, small black square), which is attached to the bracket that holds the ignitor coil and ignitor. The wire then travels to ground right on the left front fender wall, and goes to ground on the engine block (there's also a bracket which is supposed to hold the spark plug wire). Anyway, I have no idea what this is supposed to do, but the ground on the engine block is giving me 8.4 Ohms for the larger wire and 4.0 Ohms for the smaller wire.

My first question is: WHAT DOES THIS STUPID THING DO? And my second question is: Would this provide enough resistance to completely drain my battery and eat my alternator (alternator number 4 and battery number 5 by the way) for lunch?

Thanks, Mike.

So after some further investigation, I have found that the "said" wire belongs to the Radio Condenser Transistor and is called the Radio Condenser Wire. This wire grounds, specifically, to the body of the truck and to the side of the engine block. Any ideas as to whether or not this could cause a large enough load on the system to burn up the alternator? And what exactly does this wire and transistor do on this particular truck?

P.s. If this isn't a very good explaination, I can take a picture.

mrj_inc@shaw.ca

Bump............