alternator woes

[Adam1009]

so the other day i knowticed that my batterys were charging too much replaced the number 2 alt and still the same story long story short it was still overcharging so my mechanic unhooked the number 1 alternator and the overcharging went away is it going to mess something up just running one alt untill i can afford a new alt for the other side and also has anyone had any trouble with just hooking a stero power wire t othe 12 volt batterty?

 

[Warthog]

First question - Is your truck still stock with 24v starter and glow plugs?

Alternator 1 (drivers side) charges the front battery which runs all of the truck electrical except the starter and glow plugs (stock system).

Alternator 2 (passenger side) charges the rear battery which combines with the front for 24v to start the truck and run the glow plugs.

The only electrical component required to keep the truck running once it is started is the 12v fuel shutoff on the injector pump.

So, if you run no lights, no brake lights, etc, yes you can run the truck on the front battery without the alternator for a while. Once the battery goes dead, the truck stops running.

I just rebuilt one of my alternators. The kit was only $35. The alternator is an DelcoRemy 27SI type 100.

If the new alternator is working correctly, I would move it to the driver side and then you can run the truck for quite a while. A lot of guys will do that and just manually charge the rear battery.

 

[mangus580]

You will certainly let the smoke out of something (most likely the stereo) if you hook it up to the rear battery.

 

[Adam1009]

my electrical system is still the stock 24v and i have been running just the gen2 for 3 days and still have 12v going to the front battery and havent had any problems starting or with any of the lights and i have dissconnected all of the stuff i had hooked up i.e. stero 1500 watt amp and aftermarket llights and so far no problems knock on wood.

 

[Adam1009]

i also have been running my lights winshield wipers and my heater with no dimming problems and my voltage meter is just barely in the green and steady there no matter whats running

 

[Crash_AF]

Don't trust the factory VM, get a multimeter and check the voltage to see what it's actually putting out. The factory VM can be very inaccurate.

Later,
Joe

 

[Adam1009]

i had my mechanic test the voltage and the front battery was running at 12v he did not test the rear battery but its still starting so thats a good sign i guess lol

 

[Warthog]

i had my mechanic test the voltage and the front battery was running at 12v he did not test the rear battery but its still starting so thats a good sign i guess lol

With the truck running each battery should be reading 13.5-14v if the alternators are working. 12v reading says the alternator is not working.