Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) This is the fourth alternator I've installedhttps://www.turbodieselregister.com/images

[Jake The Snake]

I have just installed my fourth new alternator. I have a 2002 2500 quad cab and it is frustrating me. It seems that the alternators I install last no more than three years and sometimes less than two. I replaced the original in 2008, the next in 2011, the next in 2013 and the most recent 1/21/16. Any ideas guys/gals?

The issues always seem to be when it is cold, I live in very northern Minnesota, so that is often. I don't ever have a problem starting the truck and the ammeter will alternate between 12 volts and 14 volts during warm up which is standard in my experience, during normal operation the ammeter shows just over 14 volts, but if I don't let the truck warm up for an extended period (2-3 minutes) the ammeter will gradually show the collapse of the voltage to far left - zero volts. This problem is intermittent and has rarely occurred in our 1-2 month "summers".

The truck has not left me stranded in 14 years but has sometimes caused me to pull to the side of the road with a dash light that says "check your gauges" and when I do, I see the ammeter voltage collapsing. After shutting off the truck at roadside and waiting for a couple of moments it will restart and then I am required to give the "old girl" a 2-3 minute warm up and when the ammeter shows 14 volts steady I am able to drive off without further delay. One of these days I am concerned that it will strand me or even worse possibly burn up. I have replace the batteries as recently as 2014 and there is no visible cable corrosion, I check that often as part of my maintenance routines, so I don't suspect them as a culprit.

My mechanic and I are puzzled and annoyed so any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

[JR]

Are you sure your grid heaters aren't staying on?

Have you verifed the reading on the dash with a voltmeter when the gauge starts to drop like that?

 

[Jake The Snake]

Jake the Snake

Are you sure your grid heaters aren't staying on?

Have you verifed the reading on the dash with a voltmeter when the gauge starts to drop like that?

I have not when it was acting up as I didn't happen to have a volt meter with me at the time. I have however checked the voltage at the battery during normal operation warm up and it registers between 13.6 and 14.3 volts. I have suspected that the intake air heaters may be the culprit but when I pull to the side of the road and restart and warm up and resume travel the ammeter registers 14 volts.

 

[w6pea]

Years ago my Father had a Dodge Van, I only remember is the van was the most "God Awful orange color" and it had an engine that sucked gasoline like there was a "5in. diamiter" hole in the gas tank. He went thru alternators like they were going out of style. He took the van to my Uncle that owned a "Richfield Gas Station" They replaced the Voltage Regulator and the Ballast Resistor. A $9.00 part and a $1.98 part. I remember my Dad and my Uncle laughing about that, he carried those two parts for years. For some reason he bought two spares to have with him.
When he finally sold it and got rid of the van he left the Ballast Resistor ad the Voltage Regulator in the van.
I guess there for a while Chrysler products always had problems with those parts. You might try that. I don't know what. just made me think about my Dad's Van. He & his Wife called it "Orange Crush" I guess because the color it was, was the same as an Orange Crush Soda?

 

[RVTRKN]

An independent volt meter might be a good idea,and if your not in a cold climate state disconnect your grid heater to see what happens.

 

[JR]

Your heaters should cycle on and off when the truck is cold until the vehicle clears 20mph or a certain temp on the IAT sensor is achieved. I'd carry a voltmeter with you and try to duplicate the problem. When it does it get a reading on the grid heater. They are controlled by the relays on your driver side fender well and could be sticking open. Like i said above, the grids should shut off if you eclipsed 20mph and the engine is still cold. Don't shut the truck off until you get a reading or you'll have to start over.

The voltage regulator on these trucks are in the PCM and is a costly part to replace, so it is best to eliminate everything else first.

 

[Regcabguy]

Years ago my Father had a Dodge Van, I only remember is the van was the most "God Awful orange color" and it had an engine that sucked gasoline like there was a "5in. diamiter" hole in the gas tank. He went thru alternators like they were going out of style. He took the van to my Uncle that owned a "Richfield Gas Station" They replaced the Voltage Regulator and the Ballast Resistor. A $9.00 part and a $1.98 part. I remember my Dad and my Uncle laughing about that, he carried those two parts for years. For some reason he bought two spares to have with him.
When he finally sold it and got rid of the van he left the Ballast Resistor ad the Voltage Regulator in the van.
I guess there for a while Chrysler products always had problems with those parts. You might try that. I don't know what. just made me think about my Dad's Van. He & his Wife called it "Orange Crush" I guess because the color it was, was the same as an Orange Crush Soda?

Richfield with the 20+ grades of gas. Ha,ha!

 

[The patriot]

I cant speak of the 24v models, but my truck has the connector right on the drivers side battery for the grids.
I disconnect them every spring, then re connect in late fall.
Might be something to play with, either way it's good to know these things.

 

[jkalchik]

In the 10+ years I drove my '99, I never disconnected the grid heaters (2 years in IL, 8+ in MN.) I replaced the relay set once. Below freezing, it really didn't want to start if the heaters were cold.

I replaced the alternator once, not quite 7 years ago. It was fairly obvious that what was at fault were the brushes, voltage dropped off to barely housekeeping and no noise. I elected to replace rather than rebuild simply due to time. 410k on it, I put over 300k on it.

 

[SAndreasen]

I would say it's probably your grid heater relays and when they stick on they don't shut off at 20 mph like there supposed to

 

[JMalik]

I would suggest that you pull your alternator and take a look at the slip rings for deposits from the brushes. I have experienced problems with brush deposits which cause the brushes to lift off of the slip rings resulting in intermittent contact. The lifting resulted in pitting of the slip rings, I suspect from arcing. On my elderly 1996 Dodge RAM it scrambled the PCM which caused dropout of the transmission converter. I had to go back to the OEM Denso brushes to correct the problem.

 

[hcole]

Jake, I have had a digital volt meter on my truck plugged into the cigarette lighter for years JUST so I can continuously monitor my voltage and watch the heaters cycle on and off. They are cheap and very accurate. You can buy them on Ebay and they even have models that charge your phone. I think they are 4-5 dollars.

 

[w6pea]

Jake, I have had a digital volt meter on my truck plugged into the cigarette lighter for years JUST so I can continuously monitor my voltage and watch the heaters cycle on and off. They are cheap and very accurate. You can buy them on Ebay and they even have models that charge your phone. I think they are 4-5 dollars.

Harbor Freight has them also.