hey guys, just replaced my alternator on my 98 gs400 ( coz it was failing! ), purchased a reman one from autozone, took me about an hour and half to swap it, everything went well except that NO electrical component is working! no headlights, no dash light, no radio.... like nothing. the car wont even shift!!! but it starts with the battery juice. the alternator looks pristine , serpentine belt installed right. what did i do wrong? all wires and plugs are fastened .

 

Did you disconnect the positive battery terminal prior to removing the alternator? Check the main fuse to see if it didn't blow.

If all checks out good the alternator is probably shot. I purchased an alternator from AutoZone that turn out to be bad out of the box.

 

Make sure your alternator positive wire is on correctly. I have a feeling you put the alternator plug in backwards. Re check. Good luck

 

Just rechecked everything again. Took some pictures, this is the positive wire

 

And this is the negative/ground wire

 

I unplugged the negative lead on the battery NOT the positive one, was that a mistake? Also the main fuse looks fine to me. Tested all the other fuse in the fuse box by the battery, they're all good. And yeah I also made sure to plugin the plug on the back of the alternator

 

I don't think unplugging the negative lead rather than the positive was a mistake. However, sometimes you can't look at a fuse and tell if its blown. Change the fuse and the relay. Lastly, I don't want to cast dispersion, but Autozone has been known to sell a defective part or two right out of the box. Especially if it is rebuilt.

 

OK this is what I did, I went ahead and reinstalled my original alternator back on the car, but still no luck. Everything was functioning before I removed it...are the wire on correct spot? I also tested the main fuse with a test light, it seem to be working properly. Can anyone please be kind enough to post the suspected fuse and the replay? Because to my knowledge all the fuse are OK...

 

Problem solved! Turned out to be the alternator's fuse!!! Can't tell you how I overlooked it??? Thanks guys