I'm the original owner of a 2002 Excursion 7.3L Diesel. I absolutely love this truck!

For the past couple of months my voltage has been dropping and I've been getting by charging the batteries in the garage.

Took my Ex into the shop and they are telling me that I have a bad alternator and two bad batteries.

What would you recommend as a good replacement / upgrade for my alternator and batteries?

Thanks for the help!

Beeper

 

 

If you need a high output alternator then you are also going to need to upgrade your alternator and battery wiring.
3. Upgrade your alternator wiring.

 

My '02 Ex 7.3L 4x4 Limited has 215k and I bought with 99k, 8 years ago. In that 115k miles, Ive gone through 3 alternators. In general, diesels are hard on alternators because they have to charge two batteries, (or so I was told, Im pretty ignorant when it comes to electronicals) The first one was a NAPA, it lasted about 40k miles, then replaced it with an Autozone. That lasted about 40k, and I just replaced it with another AZ. Lifetime warranty though so it was free and I swapped it out in the Autozone parking lot in about 5 minutes. Im not at all mad about it though, considering that is LITERALLY the ONLY thing I have had to replace on this truck in 8 years and 115k miles of ownership. Other than brakes, tires, oil, filters, fuel, coolant/tranny/PS fluid flushes. Love this truck and get compliments and offers to buy it weekly!

I wouldn't mind a higher output alternator, but I dont want the hassle of any sort wiring upgrade.

EDIT: I forgot, the foot of my fuel pickup broke off, I assume, so I can only use the top half of my fuel tank, and I haven't fixed that yet. So thats something outside of normal maintenance that has to be addressed

 

Awesome! Thank you so much and especially for including the wire upgrade kit.

I love my truck as well! 17 years of faithful service!

 

Ok, here's my alternator/ battery story;
Bought my 7.3 Y2K-X new, and had to replace the MotorCraft batteries in 2002, with Sam's Club batteries...
And, guess what....Went back to Sam's Club again, and again to replace their batteries under warranty for >>""Free of Charge"" << in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, and finally again the last time in 2015....
I anted up, paid the extra money and purchased Sam's club size 65 AGM Batteries for $170/ea
[here]
https://www.samsclub.com/sams/auto-g...ubNAME=VigLink

In 2009, Sams club claimed my alternator wasn't functioning properly so I took their suggestion and purchased this alternator here;
https://alternatorparts.com/6g-serie...lternator.html
Well, 2 more times the batteries went out, under warranty...
NOTE WELL; The alternator I purchased was a "" LARGE FRAME"" size 6G alternator used on the older powerstrokes, and there is a slight modification you have to make...
It's been 9 yrs & 100K/mi. on this alternator & it has performed with no problems..
Suggest you get the 140 Amp, model @ $239.00 so you don't have to do any wiring modifications

 

 

If you have a Rural King around you, they have great deals on Rural king branded AGM batteries. I am pretty sure they are Excide batteries. I replaced mine 4 years ago with the AGM and no issues since. Crap. Knock on wood!

 

I've purchased from Xtreme Diesel myself in the past and while I wouldn't hesitate to ever buy from them again, for a Leece-Neville unit I'd rather purchase from FICM Repair. Alternators & Alternator Wiring & Starters

Ed at @FICMrepair.com is a supporting vendor here at FTE and an active user who has helped others for many years here at FTE.

Stewart

 

 

Stewart

 

XS Power batteries. not cheap.

 

When my alternator went bad I replaced it with one from 2005 6.0. The 7.3's have a small body alternator and the 6.0's have a large body which helps with cooling and able to get higher output. Electrical is direct plug and play but you have to clock the rear housing which is easy and shim the alternator body up with 2 washers or sand the mount for clearance. Might sound like a lot but you get a factory alternator with higher amps and the more reliable large body alternator.

 

DB alternator, upgraded my wiring and 2 red tops...Been like that for several years not a single issue. But now that I typed it they will go out tomorrow!!

 

Here's my story: I went through about 5 "lifetime warranty" alternators from all of the big stores NAPA, Autozone etc. I got tired of my wife calling needing help. So I said **** on it and forked over the money for a DC Power alternator. Worth every penny. I still have my last reman in a box just in case. I'm running into the same issue with those "lifetime warranty" made in China reman (on my 4th in 4 years) and am about ready to fork the $ for a high end real American made starter. We are in the back country and can't risk it where we live.