i want your input on DC Power Alternator
#16
02-25-2012, 09:30 PM
#17
02-25-2012, 09:59 PM
Before you drop a lot of coin on the alternator, check the truck properly for parasitic battery drain when the truck is off. While it MAY be a bad diode allowing draining the battery while the truck is off, I think that is pretty rare. So something is causing the batteries to drain.
At the very least, charge up the batteries good, disconnect the wires and the battery connection from the alt and let the truck sit a few days and see if the batteries maintain their charge.
In this procedure, you have to disconnect both negative battery cables. It doesn't mention that.
At the very least, charge up the batteries good, disconnect the wires and the battery connection from the alt and let the truck sit a few days and see if the batteries maintain their charge.
In this procedure, you have to disconnect both negative battery cables. It doesn't mention that.
COMPONENT TESTS
Battery - Drain Tests
NOTE: No production vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) continuous draw.
Check for current drains on the battery in excess of 50 milliamps (0.050 amp) with all the electrical accessories off and the vehicle at rest. Current drains can be tested with the following procedure:
WARNING: Do not attempt this test on a lead-acid battery that has recently been recharged. Explosive gases can cause personal injury.
CAUTION: To prevent damage to the meter, do not crank the engine or operate accessories that draw more than 10A .
NOTE:
Many modules draw 10 mA (0.010 amp) or more continuously.
Use an in-line ammeter between the battery positive or negative post and its respective cable.
Typically, a drain of approximately one amp can be attributed to an engine compartment lamp, glove compartment lamp, or luggage compartment lamp staying on continually. Other component failures or wiring shorts may be located by selectively pulling fuses to pinpoint the location of the current drain. When the current drain is found, the meter reading will fall to an acceptable level. If the drain is still not located after checking all the fuses, it may be due to the generator.
To accurately test the drain on a battery, an in-line digital ammeter must be used. Use of a test lamp or voltmeter is not an accurate method due to the number of electronic modules.
Make sure the junction box/fuse panels are accessible without turning on interior and underhood lights.
Drive the vehicle at least five minutes and over 30 mph to turn on and exercise vehicle systems.
Allow the vehicle to sit with the key off for at least 40 minutes to allow modules to time out/power down.
Connect a fused jumper wire between the negative battery cable and the negative battery post to prevent modules from resetting and to catch capacitive drains.
Disconnect the negative battery cable from the post without breaking the connection of the jumper wire.
NOTE: It is very important that continuity is not broken between the battery and the negative battery cable when connecting the meter. If this happens, the entire procedure must be repeated. Connect the tester between negative battery cable and the post. The meter must be capable of reading milliamps and should have a 10 amp capability.
NOTE: If the meter settings need to be switched or the test leads need to be moved to another jack, the jumper wire must be reinstalled to avoid breaking continuity. Remove the jumper wire.
NOTE:
Amperage draw will vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on the equipment package. Compare to a comparable vehicle for reference.
No production vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) draw.
If the draw is found to be excessive, pull fuses from the battery/central junction box one at a time and note the current drop. Do not reinstall the fuses until you are finished testing.
Check the wiring schematic in the wiring diagram for any circuits that run from the battery without passing through the battery/central junction box. Disconnect these circuits if the draw is still excessive.
Battery - Drain Tests
NOTE: No production vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) continuous draw.
Check for current drains on the battery in excess of 50 milliamps (0.050 amp) with all the electrical accessories off and the vehicle at rest. Current drains can be tested with the following procedure:
WARNING: Do not attempt this test on a lead-acid battery that has recently been recharged. Explosive gases can cause personal injury.
CAUTION: To prevent damage to the meter, do not crank the engine or operate accessories that draw more than 10A .
NOTE:
Many modules draw 10 mA (0.010 amp) or more continuously.
Use an in-line ammeter between the battery positive or negative post and its respective cable.
Typically, a drain of approximately one amp can be attributed to an engine compartment lamp, glove compartment lamp, or luggage compartment lamp staying on continually. Other component failures or wiring shorts may be located by selectively pulling fuses to pinpoint the location of the current drain. When the current drain is found, the meter reading will fall to an acceptable level. If the drain is still not located after checking all the fuses, it may be due to the generator.
To accurately test the drain on a battery, an in-line digital ammeter must be used. Use of a test lamp or voltmeter is not an accurate method due to the number of electronic modules.
Make sure the junction box/fuse panels are accessible without turning on interior and underhood lights.
Drive the vehicle at least five minutes and over 30 mph to turn on and exercise vehicle systems.
Allow the vehicle to sit with the key off for at least 40 minutes to allow modules to time out/power down.
Connect a fused jumper wire between the negative battery cable and the negative battery post to prevent modules from resetting and to catch capacitive drains.
Disconnect the negative battery cable from the post without breaking the connection of the jumper wire.
NOTE: It is very important that continuity is not broken between the battery and the negative battery cable when connecting the meter. If this happens, the entire procedure must be repeated. Connect the tester between negative battery cable and the post. The meter must be capable of reading milliamps and should have a 10 amp capability.
NOTE: If the meter settings need to be switched or the test leads need to be moved to another jack, the jumper wire must be reinstalled to avoid breaking continuity. Remove the jumper wire.
NOTE:
Amperage draw will vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on the equipment package. Compare to a comparable vehicle for reference.
No production vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) draw.
If the draw is found to be excessive, pull fuses from the battery/central junction box one at a time and note the current drop. Do not reinstall the fuses until you are finished testing.
Check the wiring schematic in the wiring diagram for any circuits that run from the battery without passing through the battery/central junction box. Disconnect these circuits if the draw is still excessive.
#18
02-25-2012, 11:05 PM
#19
02-26-2012, 11:13 AM
Certainly do like my DC Power alternator. Make sure you upgrade all of cables. My OEM I chased a slow battery drain for a couple of months before I finally took it off and put it on the bench where I finally found the slip rings were going out but wouldn't show up during testing on the truck or at Napa on their machine. The piece of junk I bought to replace the OEM didn't last any longer than the OEM.
#20
02-26-2012, 01:43 PM
well it looks like you guys may have me sold on the 250 amp xp. thats a lot of doe tho. $540.00. i dont suppose anyone has a promo code? i searched on google but didnt see anything. i may have to wait a couple weeks. just forked out 1500 for pro comp lift and another 1500 for fresh tires. wife may get a little upset over this one. lol anyway thanks for all the input guys.
one last thing. when you guys ordered, how long did it take to get. and how is there customer service?
one last thing. when you guys ordered, how long did it take to get. and how is there customer service?
Not the 270 amp LOL
I push a pretty good size stereo with my 190amp and it seems to do fine
Just a thought
They all should have a smaller pulley on them to be able to have more power at idel
#21
02-26-2012, 02:15 PM
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Franklin, Georgia
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#22
02-26-2012, 02:30 PM
Ya I was Kinda in your shoes to at one point just got a OEM and had dealer install 500.00 I thought I had AM insurance on it but NOPE so I ate it it was already there so at that point I just let them do it.
Well 13-14 months later battery light back on I knew it was the alt and just out of warrenty with Ford so DC Power. So within a little over a year time I was almost 900.00 in alternators.
If I would have done some research from the first I would have just went with the 250 amp from the start and been money ahead Live and Learn
Well 13-14 months later battery light back on I knew it was the alt and just out of warrenty with Ford so DC Power. So within a little over a year time I was almost 900.00 in alternators.
If I would have done some research from the first I would have just went with the 250 amp from the start and been money ahead Live and Learn
#23
02-26-2012, 06:05 PM
At work I had the guys put the 250amp unit on three service trucks the guys aready had manual idle cables on all three trucks idel it up for 10 min and they could start a dead dump truck right up. guys love them!!! well worth the money in time savings alone. I dont think you could go wrong with the DC Power units. When mine goes it will be replaced with one 
#24
02-26-2012, 07:29 PM
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#25
02-26-2012, 07:33 PM
I think you could get one overnight if you wanted just depends what you want to pay for shipping
And you get to keep your Core so dont worrey about that
#26
02-26-2012, 07:54 PM
Join Date: Apr 2009
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well as far as the core, the one im running right now is the one i got from oreillys back in october, it has a limited lifetime on it. so i figured i would take it back and just get a refund then use that to help pay for the dc unit. i paid like 220 for the oreilly one. do you think i can get a refund vs a swap out.
#27
02-26-2012, 08:03 PM
Before you drop a lot of coin on the alternator, check the truck properly for parasitic battery drain when the truck is off. While it MAY be a bad diode allowing draining the battery while the truck is off, I think that is pretty rare. So something is causing the batteries to drain.
At the very least, charge up the batteries good, disconnect the wires and the battery connection from the alt and let the truck sit a few days and see if the batteries maintain their charge.
In this procedure, you have to disconnect both negative battery cables. It doesn't mention that.
At the very least, charge up the batteries good, disconnect the wires and the battery connection from the alt and let the truck sit a few days and see if the batteries maintain their charge.
In this procedure, you have to disconnect both negative battery cables. It doesn't mention that.
I second this. If you're battery light isn't coming on then you're probably getting a charge OR you might have a bad new battery. It does happen. I just went through this on another truck over the past few months. Alternator runs about 13.2 "normally" but will charge 13.8 - 14.1 V when needed. The parasitic test isn't hard to run...
#28
02-26-2012, 08:11 PM
Join Date: Apr 2009
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i was planing on doing something like this anyway. i do have a amp meter but it does not do milliamps. only amp. so i was going to charge them then unhook the alternator and let sit for a few days and see if the batteries hold. if they dont then its not the alternator, something else then i would unhook both the batteries for a couple days and see if they hold.
#29
02-26-2012, 09:00 PM
some other stuff I have saved for the charging system
<TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7 width=578><TBODY><TR><TD height=75 vAlign=middle>
<TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7 width=572><TBODY><TR><TD height=75 vAlign=middle>
<TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7><TBODY><TR><TD height=194 vAlign=middle width=576>
</TD><TD height=194></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7><TBODY><TR><TD height=248 vAlign=middle width=578>
Percent Charge
</TD><TD height=248></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Charging system problems often come to you as a "no-start" complaint. The batterywill have discharged and the starter won't crank the engine. The first step is to test the battery and charge it if necessary (fig 1).
No-Load Test
Voltage
Percent Charge
12.60V to 12.72V12.45V 12.30V 12.15V
100% 75% 50% 25%
Readings obtained at 80°F (27°C)
Fig 1 - Measuring System Voltage Bleed the surface charge from the battery by turning on the headlights for a minute. Measure the voltage across the battery terminals with the lights off (see chart). When possible, individual cell specific gravity should be checked with a hydrometer. A load test should be done to indicate battery performance under load. Voltage tests
<TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7 width=578><TBODY><TR><TD height=75 vAlign=middle>
Fig 4 - Checking Ripple Voltage
Ripple voltage or (AC voltage) can be measured by switching your DMM to AC and connecting the black lead to a good ground and the red lead to the "BAT" terminal on the back of the alternator, (not at the battery). A good alternator should measure less than .5 VAC with the engine running. A higher reading indicates damaged alternator diodes.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7 width=572><TBODY><TR><TD height=75 vAlign=middle>
Fig 5 - Alternator Leakage Current
To check alternator diode leakage, connect the multimeter in series with the alternator output terminal when the car is not running. Leakage current should be a couple of milliamps at most; more often, it will be on the order of 0.5 milliamps. Use care when disconnecting the alternator output wire; make sure the battery is disconnected first.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7><TBODY><TR><TD height=194 vAlign=middle width=576>
Fig 2 - Verifying a Good Alternator
The battery must be fully charged (see fig. 1). Run the engine and verify that no-load voltage is 13.8 - 15.3V (check as in fig. 1). Next, load the alternator to rated output current with a carbon pile across the battery. Run the engine @ 2000 RPM. Check the current with an 80i-410 or 80i-1010 current clamp. The unit must maintain at least 12.6V @ rated output.
</TD><TD height=194></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE dir=ltr border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=7><TBODY><TR><TD height=248 vAlign=middle width=578>
C
harging system problems often come to you as a "no-start" complaint. The batterywill have discharged and the starter won't crank the engine. The first step is to test the battery and charge it if necessary (fig 1).
No-Load Test
Voltage
12.60V to 12.72V12.45V 12.30V 12.15V
100% 75% 50% 25%
100% 75% 50% 25%
</TD><TD height=248></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Charging system problems often come to you as a "no-start" complaint. The batterywill have discharged and the starter won't crank the engine. The first step is to test the battery and charge it if necessary (fig 1).
No-Load Test
Voltage
Percent Charge
12.60V to 12.72V12.45V 12.30V 12.15V
100% 75% 50% 25%
Readings obtained at 80°F (27°C)
Fig 1 - Measuring System Voltage Bleed the surface charge from the battery by turning on the headlights for a minute. Measure the voltage across the battery terminals with the lights off (see chart). When possible, individual cell specific gravity should be checked with a hydrometer. A load test should be done to indicate battery performance under load. Voltage tests
#30
02-27-2012, 05:28 AM