I just replaced the alternator in my r53. The car runs fine and everything, but as this is one of the first few times I've done repairs on my car, I'm a bit paranoid. Especially because I have to take my car on a long distance drive in a couple weeks.

How tight does the nut connecting the battery's ground wire to the alternator need to be? I used a wrench and tightened it until it would take a significant amount more force to turn it further. The wire felt snug and wouldn't move around. Am I being overly concerned?

 

That sounds sufficient. You don't want to bear down on that bolt risking stripping or breaking it. It should have a lock washer that will prevent it from coming loose.

 

It’s just as important that the connection was clean and bright (for low resistance) when you put it together.

I doubt you’ll have any trouble. It doesn’t have to be perfect, where people run into trouble is when they try to bolt two crusty pieces of metal together and expect them to carry a lot of current.

 

Thanks, I've put about 120 miles on the new alternator now. Is it safe to say I would have noticed by now if there was a problem?

 

You’re good to go. A loose or bad connection would have shown symptoms by now.

 

yep, as long as its hand tight(with a tool) and the surface was clean you will be fine, go over a couple bumps and that will tell you.

 

3000 miles later and all good