Wiring caught on fire.

[Ntense]

Hello all I'm new here and just wanted to ask you a question.

I have a 99 Firebird 3800II I was driving down the road yesterday and smelled something burning, as I pulled over I noticed smoke coming from under the hood.At this point I was freaking pretty bad. It seems the voltage regulator somehow stuck open and shorted out the alternator.
I pulled the one wire going to the plug on the voltage reg. and that seemed to stop the small fire I had. I drove it to the neighborhood AutoZone where I bought a reman alt. for only $94.00 they loaned me the tools to do the install in thier parking lot. Heres what really blew my mind. The plug from the wiring harness that goes to the voltage regulator was toast, melted beyond belief. The guy behind the counter says that the plug would be a dealer item.(this was sunday) But that he had an indea.He went to his test stand where they check peoples atlernators and cut the plug off his test equipment so I could get back on the road again. I offered to pay him for the plug but he said don't worry about it. Needless to say I will shop with Autozone for a long time to come.

So now for my questions
1. Has the voltage regulator ever stuck open on anyones car before?

2. Has anyone everhad some one from AutoZone go above and beyond the call of duty?

P.S. Sorry for such a long post

[bu-bye]

HAHAHA long post?!? I take it you have not been around here much before you signed up. That is a short post. Anyway welcome to the board. I have never heard of someone having the problem you had. Maybe some else will chime in with a few words. I would go back to that Autozone in a heart beat. They sound like a good group of guy/girls. There is a place around here that I like to go to because they also will go beyond the call of duty to help people.

[Ntense]

I was just checking to make sure the alternator was the problem and by chaning it that fixed it.

The 3800 v-6 is new to me I sold my other v-6 last year an 87 Buick we-4 turbo-tw/22,000 miles on it.
Before you ask I got married had a daughter toys had to go. Got a divorce and bought my bird

[viper98885]

I used to be a manager at a local Autozone. If there's one thing that they strive on, it's customer service and helping people out like he helped you. I remember one day when I had to climb under some old lady's car to replace her serpentine belt which had snapped on the expressway. She was on the way through Louisville taking her granddaughter to summer camp and that happened to them. One thing that you could do to show your gratuity it to call that store and find out who the district manager is. They are not allowed to accept tips or anything, but if you call AND write a letter, he might win the "extra-miler" award for the month and get an extra $50 in his pocket.
Autozone people will almost always treat you well and I will always go back there.

[Jason S]

ive never heard of anyones reg. sticking but autozone here is very good too.

whenever i ask for something i either get amazing directions or someone walks out (kinda normal) i always get a nice little convo bout my car/theres at the register, and everytime i go up there, there is always someone with an autozone shirt outside undersomeones hood with a smile on their face.

any-a-who, its not the place to hook ur car up, but i ALWAYS go there for little things like wax and towels and tire valve caps etc.

[Guardsman]

This may or may not be unrelated, but I was having problems with the voltage regulator not regulating the voltage - I'd hit the brakes or decelerate, and sometimes the voltage would drop intermittently. As soon as I tapped the gas, it would come right back up. It would would drop lower each time it happened, and it started happening more often as time went on. I picked up a new alternator and installed it, and it solved the problem, for about 4 days, and now it's coming back. So, I don't know if the regulator itself is going bad, or if there is something in the system that is wiping out the regulator. So, I say this may be related, because it may be a similar cause... I'm going to shoot my wires and check all my grounds when I get a chance, and I'll post if I find anything. If anybody else finds anything, please let us know.