For the last 3 months the battery light remained on for about 5-10 seconds after it started. Once it went off, it stayed off.
I attributed this to the added current draw from the glow plugs, but knew this was a marginal situation.
Now the light is continuous.
After running for 5 minutes, the voltage at idle is 12.3V.
The batteries are Walmart EverStart Maxx Group Size 65. They are 4 months old.
The alternator is a DC Power 165 Amp and is 6 years old.

I ordered a DB Electrical 400-14178 alternator. The specs say 180 Amp.
I know the DC Power alternator is a better choice, but their price, which was high 6 years ago, is even higher now.
Does anybody have experience with the DB Electric alternator?

John

 

You may have to be the "trial balloon".

Over on several other forums, a knowledgeable person recommends the Leece Neville brand.

 

The battery light goes out within a second of starting, so it must be charging. This is while the glow plugs are still on.
I'll post the battery voltage at idle and 1500 rpm after I measure it tomorrow.
I upgraded the cable from the alternator to the passenger battery to 8 gauge. I inserted two 12 gauge fusible links (in parallel).
I noticed the other cable from the alternator to the driver side battery is 8 gauge, so I matched this. I think I did this myself about 10 years ago.
The new alternator is a 180 amp.
The cabling should stay cool and prevent undesirable voltage drop.

I do have one complaint about the new DB Electric alternator. The connection for the charging cables is not very robust. This stud is too short and too small. It made it difficult to connect oversize lugs for the larger cables.
My previous DC Power alternator had a nice oversized stud, which made it easy to connect 2 large cable lugs.

John

 

Battery voltage at idle 1 second after starting: 12.65V (battery light out)
Battery voltage at 1500 rpm 5 seconds after starting: 14.38V

Battery voltage at idle 10 seconds after starting (after the glow plugs turned off): 14.38

Seems like the charging system is operating correctly.

I reported in my prior post that the new cable running from the alternator to the passenger battery is 8 gauge. Correction: it's actually 6 gauge (with two 12 gauge fusible links in parallel).

John

 

Can't find a Leece Neville brand alternator for 2006 F250.

John

 

https://www.xtremediesel.com/leece-n...-avi160t2002-2

I am not recommending that the DB Electric alternator be ditched. It may be just fine ..........................................

 

Thanks for the link bismic1,

I do understand your comment about not ditching the DB Electric. I fully expect this alternator to wear out sooner than one of the higher priced units.
I understand from experience with my previous (DC Power) alternator that the higher quality (and more expensive) alternators have better reliability overall. Hence, it lasted 6 years.
The DC Power alternator had 1 feature that could be considered an advantage. It had a larger pulley. This meant it rotated at a slower speed. This would tend to make it last longer. It could also be an advantage at higher rpm, taking less power from the engine. There is, however, an unfortunate disadvantage to spinning slower. It doesn't produce as many amps at idle. I saw this effect as my batteries did not recharge as fast at idle and the battery light would be on right after starting, until the glow plugs turned off.
There are trade-offs.

Regards,
John