Burning smell then Disaster

[Linc97]

My 1997 Continental has had a bad day today. It started with a whine in the passenger side of the engine area at idle and I considered the power steering pump as the culprit since it was coming from that area. However, there was a burning smell coming from that area as well. I proceeded to drive it to my local mechanic's garage for repair. On the journey to the mechanic, the car quit running. No lights, No a/c, No dash lights, no cranking. NOTHING worked on this car! I had enough momentum to pull onto a side street, call a wrecker and have it towed to my mechanic. While waiting for the wrecker to arrive, I opened the hood to examine the source of the burning smell. It was coming from the Alternator that was installed March 2006. Looking at the Alternator the wires appeared burned and had a dark and oily look to them. Ive never seen an alternator burned up, but maybe this one did? And would a burned up alternator create a DOA vehicle where nothing electrical works?
Anybody have an idea on this one?

[MagicRat]

It sounds as if you have an electrical short, which has cooked the wires and probably drained the battery flat.

IMO a new alternator is obviously needed. Make sure the mechanic checks the wiring harness for other damage, electrical shorts, any blown fuseable links.

An alternator can produce a severe internal short, possibly if a brush, wire or armature contacts the alternator housing. If the whine was loud, perhaps a bearing let go and allowed the armature to contact the housing.

IMO it's rare but does happen. Probably your 'new' alternator was actually rebuilt, and rebuilt poorly, where the old bearings were reused or poorly replaced.

[Linc97]

An internal problem with my alternator has caused my electrical issues. The alternator was pumping nearly 22v instead of the normal 14.4 to the battery. no melted wires but the battery may be toast. High performance alternators are pricey on these cars. . .$240 for mine. the alternator was only 2 years old that was defective.