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I am back in my motorhome now as I am using it to be close to a new job site instead of making a 40 mile trek every morning & night. Unfortunately, on my way out here the very first day, I learned from the tire store I stopped to air up my tires that my alternator is putting out nothing. I had it towed to the campground I am staying at.because I didn't think the (brand new) battery would make a 30 mi trip without an alt.
So, I now have the RV parked. It is a 2007 Fleetwood Jamboree 31M class C motorhome. It was built on an E450 chassis with the V10 engine. My question is simple - what alternator should I be putting into the rig? For the F350 we had, we upgraded to a 130A because the 65A was so anemic. It is basically time for me to do something similar here, and I thought I would ask advice first.
The RV has roughly 25,000 miles on it, btw. E450 alternator. I believe it is stock - but I do not know if the RV company might have made a change. This is definitely the first alternator in the vehicle as far as I am aware.
And here is what is currently under the hood:
My general opinion is to always have as much power as reasonably possible, so if it were me, I’d go for the highest amp rated alternator that will swap in
Unless the existing alternator wasn't recharging the main battery I don't see too many good reasons to add something of significantly larger capacity UNLESS you're trying to run the house portions of your rig off that alternator. I myself use whatever is called for stock new from NAPA, lifetime warranty and all that stuff. They'll run about $200 but of the 3-4 I've installed they've all lasted 10+ years without a single failure.
You may want to see if there is an ambulance option (usually 200 amp) available. Factory should be around 130 amps. I usually like NAPA but I've had issues with the last couple for my van but that may be because I rarely drive it and when I do it works it hard to top the battery back off. The new ones are usually cheaper then the rebuilt and have no core with a lifetime warrenty. I have an extra in the garage I'm thinking of installing a 200 amp kit into
I am not generally trying to run the house portions of the RV on the alternator. That's what the generator is for if I am boondocking or even on the road. I just want it to work well, period. Guess I'll have the pull the existing one and see exactly what's in there now and start there.
Don't buy a rebuilt O'Reilly's. Made a mistake giving back my original ford alternator housing for the core charge and wound up replacing mine 3 times within 2 years after that. The one i have been running for over a year now is a new NAPA alternator and seems to be doing great.
From the picture above, it APPEARS you have a 130 amp 3G alternator. The two cooling holes, on top of the other, within the ribbed section at 12 o'clock is generally a higher amp (130+) unit. The lower amp rated versions have four holes in that area. My 130 amp side mount has been keeping two batteries alive, one a house, since 1994 and 120,000 miles. I've replaced the bearings, but not the brush/regulator assembly.
What annaleigh stated above. Don't give up your 25k mile, original alternator if possible. If you can find a repair shop, get the original rebuilt. The brush/regulator assembly is not that difficult to DIY, and replacements are readily available online. If that's not possible, I would pay the core charge and keep the original to have rebuilt as a spare. Or, as stated by others, buy new, no core required.
The problem could be external to the alternator, possibly fuse links. If unable to test DIY, alternator removal, spinning and testing at a parts house is the typical method.
Going higher amps with original fusible links limits maximum output to that of the original alternator/wiring.
Don't buy a rebuilt O'Reilly's. Made a mistake giving back my original ford alternator housing for the core charge and wound up replacing mine 3 times within 2 years after that. The one i have been running for over a year now is a new NAPA alternator and seems to be doing great.
I’ve gone through TWO of those alternators in lest than a month!!!! I will NEVER again buy those things; I heard Autozone was bad, so I tried their competitor. I called my local one yesterday and told them about my latest problem....VOLTAGE REGULATOR is malfunctioning. So I had them ship a MOTORCRAFT..... I will pick it up today.
^^^Early on I suggested NAPA as they've been flawless for me over the past 12 years, Brand new with lifetime guarantee for just under $200, no core/exchange. Motorcraft is excellent although I'm not sure how price competitive they would be with NAPA.
The big chain discount houses are hit or miss---some of their stuff lasts a lifetime, other parts repeatedly fail.
So I finally had enough time off to get to this project on my long list of to-do's. With COVID I have been working absolutely tons of overtime. I got the alternator out and it appears it is the original 130A heavy duty alternator from Motorcraft. That will be $308 with tax & shipping in there. MOTORCRAFTNGL7764N6G{#G2MZ10346AY} according to Rockauto.
I believe I discovered why the original alternator seemed to have an issue. After I had it out and was looking at it by my laptop for part numbers, I discovered a 2" lizard had died inside on the coils. I pulled his carcass out of there and made sure there wasn't any other debris. I brought it to O' and they said it rated as Good. I tried it again, but the battery indicator dash light still won't turn off.
So I ordered the new Motorcraft part above and I can keep the original. What else can I troubleshoot - i.e. fuses etc?
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