NHTSA Complaint #11486378 — 2011 DODGE DURANGO

There was a whirring noise associated with engine rpm. It appeared to be something driven by the serpentine belt. Within a few miles the battery charge light came on. I figured the noise was then the alternator. I stopped at a parts store to order one and when I came back out, smoke was billowing out of the hood. I opened the hood and it was coming from the alternator. It wasn't slowing down. I asked for some tools from the parts store to unhook the battery and then the smoke started subsiding. It appeared the alternator created a short and the battery was feeding the potential for fire. This all happen in the course of 4 miles. The day before I had parked this vehicle in a parking garage below a college building for a sporting event. This could have caught fire and potentially caused a lot of damage to other vehicles and building. I don't think I would have heard the issue at highway speeds either, and eventually the short caused the entire electrical system to fail (hooked battery up to put car in neutral to load onto tow truck). I currently have the alternator and ordered a replacement (with a core charge). The back of the alternator has some metal that had melted along with the back plastic housing. The bearings seem smooth. I noticed another recall with same vehicle and alternator but with electric hydraulic power steering with the alternator shorting to ground, but my vin is not affected by that.