E350 Alternator options

[Myvanisbetter]

Hey guys,

I have an 05 E350 with the 6.0 powerstroke. I've found the factory alternator to be a bit lacking in capacity and would like to upgrade.

I know DCpower makes some upgraded units, but they've been out of stock as of late.

What are some other options?

TIA

 

[stormlover]

Try Ed at FicmRepair.com for a DCpower alternator. I have the XP250 on my 6.0 and am quite happy with it. http://www.ficmrepair.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/category_id=81/mode=cat/cat81.htm

Otherwise, Nations. http://www.nationsstarteralternator.com/Ford-Vans-High-Amp-Output-Alternators-s/369.htm

 

[pugslyyy]

Hey guys,

I have an 05 E350 with the 6.0 powerstroke. I've found the factory alternator to be a bit lacking in capacity and would like to upgrade.

I know DCpower makes some upgraded units, but they've been out of stock as of late.

What are some other options?

TIA

Having trouble keeping up with the glow plug cycle, or something else? How much power do you need to keep up with demand (don't buy more than you need)?

Another option - you could add the second alternator, stay "stock" and get the redundancy benefit. I've done well by running 2 common and inexpensive alternators v. one hard-to-find high output one - my experience is that the $100 alternator outlasts the $1000 one.

 

[Bbasso]

pugslyyy, said what I was thinking earlier but didn't have the patience to type it on my phone... lol
What exactly are your power needs?
I have two alts on my 7.3 plus 200wts of solar And I always think I need more power...

 

[Bikersmurf]

As mentioned, Ambulance Package for 6.0 is usually dual alternators.

7.3s had a 215 Amp Mitsubishi... some available on eBay. Ford $859 and told there's no stock in North America. I replaced my stock one with annother that I found new for less than one smaller one. I like the extra power but would likely run smaller if it didn't come with the beast.

Dual likely makes the most sense. If you're running two battery banks then you'd have total redundancy.

 

[stormlover]

Ambulance package seems like a PIA to me on a 6.0. It's already tight under the hood with heat management issues. The stocker is woefully underpowered. Stick something that is plug and play and at least puts out more amps at idle. Especially for bumping the two starting batteries back up after the glow plug draw-down. If you've got a big house battery, inverter, *****'n stereo, lights, winch, OBA, etc. then go even bigger to a 250 or 270A alternator.

The 270 XP produces 200 amps of charging current at 14.8 volts charge voltage at idle. Bam!

Is that necessary? Consider for a moment the poor FICM. At least it's not mounted on the engine like the trucks so not subject to the additional vibration but it's current sensitive. The OEM unit sucks. When cold and with glow plugs on the requirement is ~ 175 amps of load. The alternator can maybe provide 120A of that? The remaining current comes from the batteries drawing them down even further. Then, with the glow plugs off their not getting charged back up to a full charge. With a higher output alternator the ONLY time the batteries are being discharged is when cranking the engine. And that takes the load off the FICM. What many don't realize, it's not the underhood heat that kills the FICM, rather it's internal heat generated by the FICM itself as it compensates for low input voltage.

 

[Bbasso]

Don't forget if you put a big *** alternator in and gotta put big *** wiring in too.

 

[Myvanisbetter]

I have light bar, stereo, other aux lighting, and OBA so she is pretty power hungry. The van has a habit of killing batteries early and I suspect it has to do with the glow plug hit and not getting a good charge after. I do have the FICMrepair ultimate, and would like to keep it well fed. What wiring needs to be upgraded? the main wire running to the batteries?

Stormlover, any clearance issues with the 270xp? the site mentions a tight fit.

 

[FordGuy1]

If you don't want to up-grade your wiring, call DC power, tell them you want a custom build using a late model super-duty alt. I think he uses a 2010 0r 2011 core and install the good parts. We just installed one and the customer was very happy, voltage ran at 14.2 hot

 

[stormlover]

I have light bar, stereo, other aux lighting, and OBA so she is pretty power hungry. The van has a habit of killing batteries early and I suspect it has to do with the glow plug hit and not getting a good charge after. I do have the FICMrepair ultimate, and would like to keep it well fed. What wiring needs to be upgraded? the main wire running to the batteries?

Stormlover, any clearance issues with the 270xp? the site mentions a tight fit.

Yeah, you want the big 3. Google it but this kit should give you an idea of what you need: http://www.ficmrepair.com/index.cfm...duct_id=59/category_id=23/mode=prod/prd59.htm

I installed the 250XP 4 years ago and it fit without modification. Sourced the cable from NAPA and ended up needing ~14 feet of 1/0 cable. Soldered and crimped the connections and also used military grade ring terminals with a 250A fuse in the positive connection mounted in a fuse block just below the power center under the hood.

 

[Bikersmurf]

The 250 xp or 270 xp look like a good option. If you're going to
Be in more remote areas I'd still consider dual off the shelf alternators. If you need high out continuously, I'd want more info about the duty cycle of their alternators. In comparison they look tiny.

Mine is a 32 lb monster. It'll put out 215 A 24 hrs a day. 300 A cold... 15 V and about 140 A at idle. Just off idle 215 A at 15v. It's 8 grove pulley is built for power output.

I don't know about the xp specifically, but smaller bodied high output alternators tend to struggle with sustained high output. In most cases it's not an issue, but that depends on your sustained load.

 

[gtbensley]

I have an extra 215 Mitsu high output alternator sitting on a shelf if you want it. Same one Bikersmurf is talking about in the above post.

 

[stormlover]

The 250 xp or 270 xp look like a good option. If you're going to
Be in more remote areas I'd still consider dual off the shelf alternators. If you need high out continuously, I'd want more info about the duty cycle of their alternators. In comparison they look tiny.

Mine is a 32 lb monster. It'll put out 215 A 24 hrs a day. 300 A cold... 15 V and about 140 A at idle. Just off idle 215 A at 15v. It's 8 grove pulley is built for power output.

I don't know about the xp specifically, but smaller bodied high output alternators tend to struggle with sustained high output. In most cases it's not an issue, but that depends on your sustained load.

You're right, just amping up an OEM configuration wont last long. When I researched alternators the major difference with the XP was that the rectifier is laser welded, it has a hairpin design stator and better technology. https://www.dcpowerinc.com/high-output-alternators/xp-series-high-output-alternators.html

Could just be marketing hype but I've got 4 years and 50,000 miles on mine. Perhaps the true test is I've only had to replace the starting batteries once during that time. LOL.