Mine was the 250 HD, heat is what killed mine, on top of the engine, when drawing high current they get hot! I was in the middle of a state forest in mn when mine smoked. Lucky I had a spare

 

Heat, and or an inability to adequately reject heat. Looking at DC Power's billet drive end frame for the 250 HD, it appears that around 60 percent of the radial inlet openings around the outside scooping edges of the front internal fan blades are blocked, compared to a stock casting.





For comparison, look at the greater number of radial openings that are evenly distributed around the perimeter of the OE cast drive end frames of two other models of alternators that DC Power sells:


185 Amp OEM series:



And the older XP series (which quite sadly, is now encased in DC's blocky billet frame):







While the openings in the forward face of the red billet housing appear substantial, is the forward fan blade geometry designed to draw in air axially through the center, or radially around the perimeter? These are the kinds of questions that I was unable to get answers for, because DC Power never answered the phone.

From the looks of the two OEM castings above, and all the other OEM castings I've seen, including the original 6G series, I would bet that the OEM alternator engineers who designed the rotor fan blade geometry also designed the perimeter openings in the drive end frame accordingly.

One could argue that more heat is generated by the rectifier plate in the back of the alternator, where there is also a fan, and where DC Power reverts back to the stock castings, than in the front. But interestingly enough, when my 6G started getting hot, it felt warm to the touch at the drive end frame just as much as the top.

Anecdotal reports like Curt'sO5's obviously cannot be construed to condemn the billet housing by speculation, but each specific report puts dots on the page, that when aggregated together over time, can offer some insight into what to question and consider when evaluating alternator options.

 

Hey guys - this is truly an incredible thread and a reminder of just how incredible this band of brothers is. Y2k - your comments are spot on. Watson - thank you. Curt - thanks to you as well!

So here's the upshot:

DC Power assembles alternators from well known and respected suppliers, but they absolutely have a customer experience issue. In response to this, we here at FICMrepair.com now also offer several alternatives in the space - DC Power, Leece Neville, Mechman, Mean Green, and of course OEM.

As we have always done, we will work with any of our customers having an issue with a DC Power product under warranty to ensure that their units get repaired. If someone is having an issue and wishes to change brands, we will also work with them on a truly smoking hot deal on an alternative brand to remedy the situation.

Hope this helps!

 

Ed,
Exactly why I said you are thier saving grace. I've sold lots of things and caught lots of crap for saying what needed to be said. As a salesman for that brand, it tells your representative for that product your customers demand better. It also tells your customers that you care enough to tell them everything about the product and lets them choose for themselves.
A is great, B is good, C is OK, here's why I say that and I'll help you with whatever you choose when ready... AND thank you. That attitude helped me take a company from $50k in sales to $2.3M in two years and one of the largest e-commerce outdoor power equipment dealers on the internet.

 

This was an interesting history lesson. I never read it before as I had no interest in DC alternators.

 

Mine was the 190 HD -

It was very limited duty - In just under 2yrs i put 12K mi. on the truck - Not my main transportation, although I took it to work 1-2 times a week and a couple of few hundred mile trips.

Here is the warranty and I bought from Ed at Ficm Repair.

Get a RMA # from FICM Repair
Send to DC Power Engineering on your dime, which I assume is around $50.
I am sending it out today so I will give results when I get them.

Ficmrepair said they would give some limited credit trade in on another brand which I took to mean you are still out about 75% on the original alternator and spending an additional significant amount on the new alternator. I didn't think that was worth it to spend almost twice the amount of the original purchase for 1 alternator.

Taking my chances and sending it in is the lesser of the evils.