Water/Mud Alternator Problems

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It has been posted elsewhere, but I recently had an alternator failure most likely due to dirty water and/or mud getting into the alternator. This is not a complaint thread--this is an attempt to troubleshoot.

I have done a few overlanding trips to the Ozarks in the last few months. In August I did one with friends in Southern Missouri near Eminence. We had a fair amount of water crossings, but we had very little rain, so the water was pretty clear.

Then over new years, we did the High Water Mark Trail in Arkansas. That trip was full of rain and a tiny bit of snow. All the water crossings were high and we bypassed a lot of them for safety reasons. We stuck to marked "roads" and motor vehicle trails. We did a few water crossings, but nothing I was all that concerned with--I knew the alternator would be exposed to water but only briefly. However, with all the rain, the water was full of sediment. Plus some of the trails were obviously a little bit muddy. We did everything we could to avoid anything like a mud pit. Regardless, enough accumulated to kill my alternator on day 3.

(Note: after this I am going to have a spare alternator regardless because finding a replacement was an absolute nightmare.)

Does anyone know if there is a list anywhere of people who have experienced alternator failure after going through water or mud? I would be interested to see the breakdown between FX4 and non-FX4 (maybe the slightly greater coverage of the FX4 plate preventing spray onto the alternator?

Has anyone come up with a workable solution to the problem? Once I get my truck back, I am going to pull the plate and see if there is guard I can fab up.

My specs are as follows:

Sport 4x4 with 2.5 inch spacers in the front to level. 265/55R17 Toyo A/T tires. All else that could possibly matter is stock.
Sponsored

 

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I can't address the alternator issue but I wonder if the Ranger's transfer case and differentials have extensions on the breathers to keep water out. If not, you might consider checking for this if you put your Ranger in fairly high water.
 
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I can't address the alternator issue but I wonder if the Ranger's transfer case and differentials have extensions on the breathers to keep water out. If not, you might consider checking for this if you put your Ranger in fairly high water.
They do. I do not have the images in front of me, but there are some good images floating around the internet showing the breather routing. Rear diff, for example, has a breather above the fuel door.
 

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That I am aware of there have been a few failures due to water. Has there been a beter option yet? Not that we are aware of. Hopefully there will be a fix for this in the near future but no promises. As for the Diff, Trans and Tranfer case a breather extension would still be a good idea.
 

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I'm hopeful there is a fix in the future. A more durable aftermarket orion would be nice to have.

Side note: I love the ozarks. Hit me up if you ever need someone to go with one weekend
 


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That I am aware of there have been a few failures due to water. Has there been a beter option yet? Not that we are aware of. Hopefully there will be a fix for this in the near future but no promises. As for the Diff, Trans and Tranfer case a breather extension would still be a good idea.
I agree--never a bad idea. But I was in some pretty deep water, and my breathers were all definitely well above the water line at every point.
 
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I'm hopeful there is a fix in the future. A more durable aftermarket orion would be nice to have.

Side note: I love the ozarks. Hit me up if you ever need someone to go with one weekend
Yeah--I think maybe the shape of the skip plate could contribute to spray going up and onto the alternator? I don't want to spend the money on the ARB plates, but if the FX4 has wider coverage? Maybe. I have also thought about making some kind of shield (which would not be so close as to cause heat build up) in front and below the alternator.
 

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I think a larger skid plate would help deflect it but you still have the problem if you happen to get stopped in water. The arb doesn't look like it would be any bigger than the fx4 but it does travel the length of the truck so it may help with spray?
 
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So now that I have my Ranger back, I have had time to examine the inside of my engine bay. I genuinely think that--while the alternator is in a bad position--I would have been fine if I had approached the water differently. I had a fine layer of chalky silt all over the inside of engine bay. Because it was all wet (it was raining the entire time), I did not notice that when it broke. Looking over the couple of videos that we took, I believe I could have prevented this by hitting the water a lot slower.

I still want to try to come up with a mechanical solution, but in the short run, I believe (at least in my case), slowing my approach is the best plan going forward. Plus I will have a rebuilt alternator, lol.

On a side note, I did discover that something got into the gap between the Sport ski plate and the bumper and broke the flat plastic assembly in there. Going to redneck that with four holes and two zip ties, but I went ahead and ordered an FX4 plate to close up that gap.
 

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I'm really crossing my fingers for the following:
  • That the 2.3 Bronco does indeed have a sealed alternator.
  • That the 2.3 Bronco's alternator works on our motor.
  • That the 2.3 Bronco's alternator is not impossible to buy.
  • That the 2.3 Bronco's alternator isn't $1 Billion.
?
 

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I think a larger skid plate would help deflect it but you still have the problem if you happen to get stopped in water. The arb doesn't look like it would be any bigger than the fx4 but it does travel the length of the truck so it may help with spray?
I have a 2021 FX4, but I'm going to buy the ARB Water Crossing Cover. It protects more than just the alternator. It protects other electronics and your fan blades. I'm also going to get a spare alternator to carry along just in case. I wish Ford would have put this up high in the engine bay or come out with a sealed unit. The cover is still a good idea as your radiator fan blades can get bent from deep water crossings and damage your radiator. Cheers
 

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Did we ever find out if the Bronco's alternator was better enclosed? If so can we swap it out for the Broncos?
 

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Did we ever find out if the Bronco's alternator was better enclosed? If so can we swap it out for the Broncos?
It's not sealed, lots of the Bronco guys having the same issue after mudding / water crossings.
 
 



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