Story of my life:
Experience a problem doing something.
Spend more time and money and suffering solving the problem, then I would have just living with the problem.
Then, to top it all off, life changes such that I never again even have to do the very thing that revealed the problem in the first place..
Therefore, I never really get to enjoy the benefit of all the toil and tribulation expended to not experience a problem, were I to do the something again.

 

But we're ready.

Now if divine intervention would just take the time to tell us what we need to be ready for in the future .......

But then I guess that would take the fun out of it.


Or in my case, just leave the damn truck running.

 

i never really ran outta juice with the winch when i was pulling vehicles onto trailers and a building across the property lol... (yes had to move a shed uphill to a new spot hence the building) the only problem i ran into was the engine started running hot... had the coolant and oil temp little over 250*.... whole time i was doing the pulling i had the high idle on so the alt would charge... thought the electric fan would keep up but when its 90* outside i guess not... did hear it kick up a few times... but not early enough i guess.. before i would make the final few pulls to get it back in the new hole i shut it down for a bit to let it all cool down...

 

When I retired, my truck became somewhat a daily driver with short trips and lots of start-ups. Eventually the batteries struggled and the FICM headed south. I decided to replace the OE alternator with the L-N to help compensate for my change in driving style.

David

 

Yep, understand the reason.

 

This. Exactly this.

In my case, many short trips, less than a 1/4 mile each. Hauling tools/materials from one property to the next... more than a wheel barrow full... so walking isn't practical. Short runs to the hardware store or lumber yard, not more than a mile or two away.

Each and every start up cycle demands nearly the same amount of electrical load, as enough time passes between short runs for the engine to cool to cold, since the engine was never fully brought to warm anyway, as the previous trip was so short. Meaning: glow plugs powered all over again. Fuel pump and vacuum pump run KOEO all over again. Cold oil crank all over again.

And this is where an alternator like the L-N 230a, which can produce 80 to 100 amps just off idle (depending on your pulley diameter of choice and your idle speed), excels heads and shoulders over a stock 110 amp alternator, which can only produce 50 amps max at idle.

It isn't the L-N's extra 120 amp capacity at highway speed that is so useful. It is that extra 30 to 50 amp capacity just off idle that is vital for replenishing the batteries in short trip duty cycles. That's where the utility of an alternator like the L-N 230a really shines.

 

just upgraded my 07 6.0 with the 230 and cables. Still fluctuates from 13.6v to 15.5 v. Mostly stays around 14.7. So still an ongoing issue. Can we not just set the regulator at 14.2v? I thought it's adjustable.

 

The F600 / F600HD type voltage regulator in the Leece Neville AVi160 series 230amp alternator is not adjustable.

It has a set point of 14.2v, +/- 0.2v.

See manufacturer's drawing notes below:



.

 

My voltage remains at around 13.4 all the time now that I got a replacement alternator from L-N after my voltage regulator crapped out.

 

same here...

 

"same here" what?

SmackDaddy reported 3 separate events in a single sentence:

1. His original voltage regulator crapped out
2. He got a replacement alternator from L-N
3. Since the replacement, his voltage has remained 13.4

So when you say "same here", are you saying that all three of these events also happened to you?

That would be quite a coincidence, and make an important difference in our understanding of what type of failure to predict.

Or are you just saying that the voltage of your alternator remains at 13.4, same as SmackDaddy?

The follow up question for that would, does this happen regardless of alternator? Regardless of ambient or operating temperatures? Regardless of time transpired after glow plugs are off?

Or are you just saying that your voltage regulator crapped out, same as SmackDaddy?

The follow up question for that would be, what is the year and production week of your LN alternator? Is there some correlation we might infer from similar production runs that might point to a batch of bad regulators?

A little more clarity in what different people are experiencing would help us all bring any repetitive trends into clearer focus.

 

Well thats really fun as mine out of the box averages 14.7 and oscillates 13.6 to 15.5. Lights flicker.

 

Except, it don't with the original VR. 13.4v all the time is interesting.....

 

Before my voltage regulator totally stopped regulating I had lights flickering when I accelerated caused by RPM and the voltage reading on my SCT X4 would jump to well over 15 volts. The magnet on the VR was ground down all the way to the hole for the wire retainer. I installed a replacement and it did the same thing and L-N replaced it after speaking with them.