Finally, no more battery overcharging!

[xtriggerman]

The problem I found on this rather new to me 06 is at start up, the voltage would flash to 15.9, then stay in the 15v range and then maybe settle in around 14.9. I did all the basic trouble shooting of cleaning and inspecting all the connections to no satisfaction. There was no imbalance between the batteries running or engine off. The net had alot of pointing to cable replacing to make a fix. So thats what I did next.
I bought all new cable with all copper flag battery terminals. I bought 1/4" thick copper plate and welded the plats to the flag terminals with 3/8ths bolts up threw the now drilled and threaded plates. The bolts are soft soldered into the plate threads along with their main 2/0 cables in the flag ports. The negative main terminal has 3 5/16ths post bolts soldered in. The Alternator cable is doubled up with a second one to the DS battery and the negative battery terminals are also tied together with a dedicated loop cable along the Cowel. All fitting are soldered. No dry crimps.
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This did NOTHING to solve the high 15.9v start ups and 14.9 plus volt constant coming out of the Genius ECM.
So, I decided to get rid of the ECM regulation for this one
CHRYSLER EXTERNAL REGULATOR KIT, HEAVY DUTY VOLTAGE REGULATOR KIT | eBay
Its all installed and running perfectly with a solid preset 14.3 volts at start up. You can see I put a hot keyed jumper in the #38 fuse to power up one field leg.
Finally! I'm done with this overcharging. Hope this helps any one lost like I was.

 

[nibroc]

thanks for that update

 

[Darkbloodmon]

Did you consider checking the alternator or batteries?

Overcharging is another symptom of an alternator going out (not just undercharging). Batteries as well with faulty cells can pull more voltage in than nominally needed.

How many miles are on the alternator? I got around 230K out of my OEM Bosch one. I have Mopar flavored lead acid top batteries from 2017, they were there when I bought the truck and are still going strong with general maint. (cleaning the tops and topping off) We've had many cold winter snaps in NC this year testing the age of my batteries. I've had no issues besides a new alternator and new cables from Genos.

Keep in mind grid heater amp draw on a cold start, the ECM is going to command more juice output to supply the grid heater draw until it no longer needs the grid heater. 06 07 is right around the time when can bus started being standardized; I'd be careful with electronics, bypassing and wired in add ons, it's not a 2nd gen.

 

[xtriggerman]

Did you consider checking the alternator or batteries?

Overcharging is another symptom of an alternator going out (not just undercharging). Batteries as well with faulty cells can pull more voltage in than nominally needed.

How many miles are on the alternator? I got around 230K out of my OEM Bosch one. I have Mopar flavored lead acid top batteries from 2017, they were there when I bought the truck and are still going strong with general maint. (cleaning the tops and topping off) We've had many cold winter snaps in NC this year testing the age of my batteries. I've had no issues besides a new alternator and new cables from Genos.

Keep in mind grid heater amp draw on a cold start, the ECM is going to command more juice output to supply the grid heater draw until it no longer needs the grid heater. 06 07 is right around the time when can bus started being standardized; I'd be careful with electronics, bypassing and wired in add ons, it's not a 2nd gen.

The batteries that were in the truck when I bought it were 3 years old and balanced. I changed them out anyway for new AGM's. No change. The Alternator looks pretty spotless new. The truck has evidence of a blown battery from the acid burns on the PS. Thats probably when it got the new Alt. The guy that sells these regulator kits has sold over a thousand of them. I Emailed him about it needing a modifyed driver in the Alt but he said my build date says not needed. Apparently the ECM's regulator soft ware can become corrupted and happens often enough. With the new regulator in place, I hooked up the manifold heater power and it cycled perfectly between 11 volts and 14.4v Its spot on with that load running. When I got this truck, all the bulbs were burned out in the AC heater control, and the Tac needed all the pins resoldered in the dash. Thank fully, I have everything working properly now without having to go into a questionable rebuilt ECM. Time will tell, but right now, I'm thrilled with the performance of this adjustable regulator.

 

[Darkbloodmon]

There are electrical problems with Chrysler Products, then there are electrical problems with Chrysler products after someone else had a go at it. There is nothing quite like inheriting the latter.

If it works, it works. I'd recommend having the ECM flashed to the latest updates. I believe their are emulators for later model trucks with Canbus.

 

[AH64ID]

Did you check the battery temp sensor for proper operation?

Did you verify the ECM is seeing the same voltage you are?


You didn’t fix your problem, you put a bandaid over it. The root cause needs to be found to ensure you don’t have other issues.

 

[Ozymandias]

13.3-15.4 is the range that the ECM commands depending on battery temperature, the colder the more juice you get.

I've never seen 15.9V.
Maybe at -42°

 

[xtriggerman]

A new battery temp sensor was the first thing I put in and even tested it against the radiator to see if it worked. Thats the only time when I saw a 14.5v was with it on a hot wing of the aluminum radiator I put in. At start up its spike was all ways 15.9. No way the ECM could be running on a lesser volt signal. The same voltage is everywhere. The only thing I was concerned about in a conversion like this is the small gold gizmo you see on the fender by the Air box n battery. This is called a FRM, (Field Replacement Module). The 2 field wires that join the alternator to the ECM get cut and this FRM is soldered into those 2 field wires making the ECM's field loop. It basically tricks the ECM into seeing an Alternator field signal so you dont get a battery dash light or code. It can get hot under heavy charging conditions and thats why I mounted it above where the air moves into the air box. It has finning on it and apparently there are alot of these on the market. If there is to be any kind of issue with this conversion it would have to be from the FRM since the rest of the hook up is nothing out of step with keeping a steady charge in the system. Now its just how well those 2 get along over the long haul. ECM reflash work is the next to last thing I will do since I have little to no faith in who I have to deal with for that fix. Refurb ECM's running $1200 to $225? No thank you. Last resort only box for that. Right now, I'm happy with the $70 DIY kit!