If you are pushing 132A on a normal load, a 50% duty cycle suggest you need a 265a unit!

There are no commonly available auto grade / size alternators that can put out that much power with just air cooling.

There are specialized units (if you have the room) like the Mitsubishi.


One other thought --- any alternator built during the last 6 years have really shrunk down in terms of safety margins.

Windings used thinner gauges of copper wire, poor grades of electronics, diodes, etc. and basically, there is very little "fat" in it.

Bearings, cases, etc. are all cost reduced to kill reliability.

So quite often, sure, it works to spec when new... and watch out the moment the warranty is up.

That is why... if you can... get a custom built from a builder near where you live where you can face-to-face let them know what you are really doing, what the load is, duty cycle, etc. and have them build one to your spec.

Then, if it failed, you show up in their shop with your unit with a grin.

Clearly, when you do that, you are not shopping for price.

 

The message below is from Rob (CEO of DC Power Engineering):

Hi Mark, and thank you for your interest in our products. The pulley we run on the 6.0L diesel is 2.15” diameter which is smaller than the OEM pulley, however the centerline of our alternator is offset about 3/8” higher than the OEM Ford alternator so the effective belt tension with the smaller pulley is almost identical. On the 6.0’s that we have tested on, their idle speed has been closer to 650 RPM’s and idle output is between 140-150 amps at operating temp, so it will be slightly higher with your higher idle speed. If you are looking purely for idle output, we have our new 270XP alternators available now (they are not currently up on the website yet). These alternators will do about 180 amps at idle no problem on your 6.0. I’ll give you a link to one we did an install on last week on a 7.3L, but because the 6.0’s have higher idle speeds and better pulley ratios the idle output of that alternator will be higher on a 6.0L PSD. I have these alternator's on special this month for $529 as well.

If you really don’t need something bigger than the 190, it’s hands down the best 200 amp class alternator money can buy and will easily out perform any other 200 amp 6G based alternator out there. If you do need something bigger, then the XP alternator is hands down the best alternator as it has no compromises and is the best alternator money can buy.

If you have any other questions about the alternator or need additional information, please don't hesitate to ask.

Here is a link to the video for your reference. [COLOR=#0000ff]

Robbie Henstrom

 

After running my DC Power alternator for a year and a half, I have no reason to doubt what Rob says. I had a lengthy conversation with him at an event in SoCal, and the product went straight from his hands to mine. It hasn't been babied, and I haven't had any issues with it.

 

I would always prefer to deal with a company whose CEO is:

A) accessible

B) care enough to give you hard data


That would seal the deal for me.


A side note: at his prices, he can afford to build quality into them, and also pay for tech support, etc.

My 145a custom cost significantly less from a local shop - but that is me....


I think you may have found your preferred vendor.

 

I think gearloose1 brings up an interesting point on the duty cycle issue. This would be another factor to consider if your are one who has switched to AGM batteries. AGM batteries (very low impedance) when discharged are know to be alternator killers for the alternators that can not put out 100% capacity for extended periods of time.

The boating sites have been talking about this weak point of alot of standard alternators where the owners have switched to AGM batteries.

 

Over at Dieselstop, there is a fella who had a FICM that was doing 30v, and injectors not buzzing but worked..

Rebuilt the FICM to 57V... and now the symptoms is toasted injectors:

TheDieselGarage.com - View Single Post - Swamps Diesel Hot FICM Tests

My diagnosis here:

TheDieselGarage.com - View Single Post - Swamps Diesel Hot FICM Tests


When you go from 30V to 48V with a repaired FICM, you are already running risks of sludge jamming injectors.

Go to 58V, and it is likely to cause a "hard" jam.


The 58V mod is not so smart even with brand new injectors that are known good, top quality wiring / insulation / etc.

Do it on an old vehicle.... is asking for trouble.

 

I don't agree with your diagnostic theory there. I would be more likely to think they caused some other damage to their FICM while resoldering and doing the mod. The difference in coil force between 48V and 55V isn't significant, and the voltage increase isn't enough to be the likely source of problems either unless the injectors already had wiring/coil insulation issues.

 

Considering that the spool valve only moves .017" to begin with there isn't much room to slam it shut and jam it. Stiction again, which is, in theory, one of the things the higher voltage is supposed to help overcome. If the injectors were already that bad then most likely they were bound to fail anyway, IMHO.

I don't read anything that indicates fried injectors in that post.

 

The only way to scientifically evaluate the impact of higher voltage on old injectors is to tear it down and do an examination of the failed parts.

DLC coatings are very interesting animals, evaluation of how they wear, what pushes them beyond breaking point, etc, are skills that are available with a handful of people - almost all of them working for a major manufacturer.

Not a job that we can do without a good lab and serious dollars into instrumentation and inspection tools.

 

On what basis do you say that the difference in coil force is not significant?

Well, this is on well used / worn injectors with old wiring.,

I would think that insulation breakdown is a hypothesis that have to be investigated.

 

I would tend to agree with you on principal of your summary, the user in question did report prior problem with the specific injector error codes even before the mod was made and in general no one else who has made the mod reported similar problems.... as yet. To the fact that this user only gets 55V may suggest that he still has problems with his FICM even though the voltage has increased a little (either that or his DVM is off, I generally use one that is NIST traceable).

From an electrical analysis, since I believe the injector current is limited to a 20 amp pulse (unless one mods the injector limiter resistors this is not the 10K mod which everyone is doing), the injectors themself will NOT see this increase in voltage, it will be the injector FETs and the current limiter FETs that will have a small increase in disipated power. This is a simple matter of ohms law, if the current has not increased and the injector coil resistance has not changed there will be NO increase in voltage across the coils but just on the FETs driving the coils (keep in mind I'm speaking of different FETs then the power converter FETs).

Yes, the current will come on a little quicker (less of a slope in current rise), maybe with a slightly advanced injection timing (compensating for striction, that is if you start injecting sooner maybe it gets done at the right time?) but I don't see that as cause of any particular wiring issues or injector problem directly since the current is still limited at 20 amps. There are others that have changed the specific injector current limiter resistors and for those one might raise the argument on the effect to the injectors? The circuit needs to be evaluated as awhole not just from one narrow aspect.

If ones goal is to advance injection timing, maybe the real question should/would be is whether advancing injection timing in this un-controled manner appropriate when it could be done in a more controlled matter by using a tuner?

 

I think that's a 7.3 mod, not a 6.0. Or atleast I seem to hear/read that term more with the 7.3s then the 6.0s(if at all for the 6.0s).

 

The resistor mod is part of what makes a "hot" FICM. It's all in here tex..

 

No wonder I'm missing that info. All I have is the "Technician's Guide" to the FICM. Something tells me that just tweaking the program is going to be "safer" for me then this. Yes I do know the inherent risks of the programming as well, but you have to love algorithms that help keep things in spec before you tweak the wrong thing or tweak it too much.

 

No doubt that having a FICM tuned is safer than changing out electronic components .

The hot FICM threads sure are great reading..