ok so i have a 98 durango recently i started having alt. problems. first time was driving home at night noticed the headlights were dimmer than normal, then after a while it was like a switch was flipped everything went back to normal. couple days later driving early morning started off the same way with dim headlights, by the time i got to my destination headlight were about non-existent dash "dummy" lights were all on or blinking, when in and got a hammer, tapped on alt. a couple times could hear it engage and rpms took off. everything when back to normal again. couple day ago (while I was at work) wife went to pick up son, said when she got there could see some "smoke" and something smelt hot, drove back home smoke by then she said was rolling out from under and was also coming into the pass. compartment. my father came over and found the insulation between the tranny and body was on fire "smoldering" used a hose to put it out and pulled out as much as he could. Said the tranny was extremely hot. I start looking around today. find that the EVAP hoses are melted through the wire looms around the electrical harness that runs on top the tranny is melted but all the wires and their sheathing are fine. so, my question(s) is Can a bad alternator (once the battery has been used up) cause the tranny to run hot enough to melt the EVAP hose which in turn caught the insulation on fire?? looking around under there that is all I can come up with.
Any input would be helpful!
Thanks

 

Or due I have a bad alternator and something else wrong with the tranny?

 

I'd look around by the transmission and exhaust for wires that could have gotten damaged and shorted.

 

No alternator can not make your transmission run hotter.. the melting issue came from another time more then likely and you just now noticed...

 

If you're transmission got that hot your dummy light would of came on and your truck would of went into limp mode.