should this have caused an Alternator issue?

[smarens]

see picture below, I believe this is the ground wire, you can see the case bolt to the right of the eyelet the nyloc nut is loose

-car was charging normally, never saw any indication of any issue

-doing some work so I will reconnect when done, that is the main ground wire
correct?

[Oneredspyder]

Yes, and it is brown. I am not surprised everything was working fine because it is actuall an extra
Precaution to have that wire, but it does give a solid ground. The case of the alternator is grounded to the car by default right?

[smarens]

I was assuming the same, waiting for an expert better than me to confirm

[Jameel]

When I rebuilt my alternator a few years ago my ground wire was not connected, just like yours. Drove the car for thousands of miles this way with no issues. My alternator was rebuilt "while I was in there" because I was making the fan and housing pretty

[GH85Carrera]

That is one dirty engine. Yuck.

[Jonny H]

Definitely connect the ground strap.

The early cars did rely on the contact between fan housing and case to ground the alternator. This would not pass any electrical design review these days. For example, metal electrical cabinet doors have earth straps.

[smarens]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

That is one dirty engine. Yuck.

hey that was not the purpose of this post

-JK, yes very messy, usual suspects, triangle of death, rear main, valve covers, will be cleaning all and fixing all leaks, my other post will show the pretty pictures when done!

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by smarens

hey that was not the purpose of this post

-JK, yes very messy, usual suspects, triangle of death, rear main, valve covers, will be cleaning all and fixing all leaks, my other post will show the pretty pictures when done!

Yea, sorry. My engine had lots of leaks, and never got quite that dirty. The triangle of death and oil cooler seals helped a lot.

Good luck with your project.

[smarens]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Yea, sorry. My engine had lots of leaks, and never got quite that dirty. The triangle of death and oil cooler seals helped a lot.

Good luck with your project.

thanks Glen, zero offense, took it as the fact it is!.... but not for long I want and engine to be proud of