battery cable came loose and was arking caused a melt down of the little plastic "battery terminal" piece that connects to the back of the alternator between the laternator and the battery cable.

could this arking cause the kia to act like it's running out of gas??...

and ...is this piece just an insolated stand off?
can I just put an insolated bushing or such and connect the battery cable to the terminal on the alternator with out that stupid little piece???

cant get that piece here by itself ...they want to replace the entire alternator but my alternator is fine <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />
I just need that little piece...or to eliminate it

kia techs are total dweebs <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

A loose connection couls cause any number of problems and damage electronics.

If you are talking about the plastic shield where the charging cable connects to the alternator it is only a shield.

There is an insulator where the stud (connection) goes through the alternator housing and that insulator must be in place.

The shield is only there to provide protection so that a tool or a foreign object does not short the battery connection.

This

If you can't figure out a way to fix that bushing you are gonna have to replace the alternator. Sounds like it's intermittently shorting to ground. That would explain the engine momentarily stumbling. And that short may blow the voltage regulator in the alternator.

Alternator = $306
so...can I replace this piece with a bushing???
or just connect to the back of the part that is still good??


the cable came loose enough to allow it to move and short out causing it to ark and melt the plastic piece <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Well, you'll have to take the alternator apart and see if you can adapt a bushing from something else.

Here's a place that sells Sportage alternators much cheaper. http://www.speedycarparts.com

They are rebuilt units but much cheaper than new.

The piece you are indicating as melted is a shield and does not have to be there for the alternator to properly operate. If the cause of this problem was a loose connection of the charging lead, the loose connection would ark and cause heating which would melt the plastic shield.

There is an insulator, which is critical, in the alternator housing that the charging stud passes through, if this insulator is un-damaged and you can tighten the nuts, do not over tighten, under and on top of the charging lead the charging system should work properly.

If the insulator around the charging stud is damaged it must be replaced. It may be necessary to remove the alternator and take it to an alternator repair shop, because they may have a generic part to repair your alternator.

cool...yep that piece is all that was damaged
this is what I did...just want to make sure it'll be ok
the rest of the alternator is fine and this seems to be working...and no more "out of gas chug"
just dont want to fry anything

Yikes! As long as you can get that melted bolt out and the insulator behind it isn't damaged you should be OK. But there are alot of indications of shorting to ground, especially on the left side.

I fear you may not be able to get that bolt out. Or even if you do the insulator might be trashed too. And I wonder how the voltage regulator survived this. Maybe it just looks worse than it really is.

Oh-my-gosh, you are lucky, I would insulate the bare end in the picture so nothing can short to it and you should be ok.