ok i installed a new alternator on march 13th on my 1991 honda civic we just went on a road trip and when i got back i had to change my oxygen sensor due to it failing i change that and start my car up and now on the top of my alternator the bolted electrical line not the plug caught on fire and just immediately starts to glow when the engine is running what could be causing this? how do i fix it?What causes the bolt for the electrical line on the alternator to catch on fire?you've got too much current running through that cable. Sounds like something wasn't grounded properly.What causes the bolt for the electrical line on the alternator to catch on fire?It could be that the bolt is touching a live wire .What causes the bolt for the electrical line on the alternator to catch on fire?When anything electrical catches on fire, it's usually because of a short, or too much current on the wire. Electrical shorts can happen because of many reasons, the most common being damage to the wire's insulation, which allows anything metal to take some of the current from the hot wire.
I'd check the wire, and look for areas that might be shorting out to anything metal, and I'd also check other sections of the alternator for any damage, burn spots, or melted metal/plastic.
Know that if a wire catches on fire, or shorts out, you're probably going to want to replace at least the section that had the problem, otherwise it could easily happen again, since the insulation would be heavily damaged in that area.
Also check your grounding system.
