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My new alternator is not charging the battery. It's a little complicated as I am a novice and might have caused the problem myself! Here it goes with the facts:
I have replaced my alternator (Autozone) 2 times, as I thought the 1st one was faulty. I have replaced the alternator bushings, Belts, Crankshaft Pulley Vibration Dampener, ground wire to block and an adjustment bracket bolt. I am confident all the wires to the new alternator are installed at the proper positions and securely tightened. I believe all was working correctly until I did a dumb thing. I was attempting to remove (Faulty light indicator bulb) from under the dash. The ignition switch was switched on to provide a little light behind the dash. I was using a small metal probe to do the task, and it seems that I touched something that caused sparks (short circuit). Well I removed the bulb, but quickly noticed that all my gauges in the instrument cluster are no longer working. The only gauge that even moves (erratically) is the speedometer. All the idiot lights are still working and the directional signals and horn still work properly. It still starts and operates, but only off the charged battery. While the engine is on, the alternator light is on and is dim and flickering unless I engage the overdrive button and it becomes bright. Note: My overdrive was and still does not work - Needs part that installs under the dash. Lastly, I pulled all the fuses out in the fuse box and under the hood, checked for continuity. All of the same fuses and respective copper holders were cleaned and reinstalled with no improvement. I know that perhaps some of this information may not be related to the main charging problem, but I just wanted to be thorough.
I'm very frustrated and feeling stupid about probing under the dash as explained above. I would be very grateful if anybody could help me diagnose and/or provide me with some suggestions. Thank you, Alex
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