96-98 Vortec Alternator Upgrade AD244

[evolocomotive]

Did this mod yesterday on my son's 97 K1500, went to AA and asked for a 03 alternator, and guy brought the correct alternator, but thanks to the great ppl on here, I checked the plug in on the new one and low and behold, it was the square one, not the oblong one. So if you go to AA, ask for one off of a 2005 Silverado 1500 w/ the 5.3 engine. That one was correct and we were back on the road in 45 min. I know the OP states to get a bigger belt, but the pulley on mine was a direct match to my old one, so we just kept the old belt. I'll update if we have problems.

But thanks again for this mod, his lights look WAY BETTER since we put it on and seems to be working better all the way around.

 

[mr98z71]

To anyone who has installed the AD244, could you measure the charging voltage of the alternator? The most I'm seeing is 13.8 out of her at idle and 3,000, output drops to 13.2 V sometimes, I'm trying to figure out if that's the proper "factory set" voltage or if I simply picked out a "dud"

 

[SAATR]

To anyone who has installed the AD244, could you measure the charging voltage of the alternator? The most I'm seeing is 13.8 out of her at idle and 3,000, output drops to 13.2 V sometimes, I'm trying to figure out if that's the proper "factory set" voltage or if I simply picked out a "dud"

Idle, no load? Or with all loads on, like the AC blower and headlights? And where are you measuring? At the battery, at the alternator charging post, where? I can check on my coffee break or at lunch. Let me know what you need. Does sounds normal to me, though.

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[mr98z71]

Idle, no load? Or with all loads on, like the AC blower and headlights? And where are you measuring? At the battery, at the alternator charging post, where? I can check on my coffee break or at lunch. Let me know what you need. Does sounds normal to me, though.

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13.8 V with no load, at full load (all accessories on) It was charging at 12.5V/ 85A. My problem is, my batteries (2) are always dead, 11.8 V when the truck is off, everything worked great when I had installed it, trying to determine whether I need a new alternator or batteries.

 

[SAATR]

Have you tested the batteries individually? Sounds like one may be nearly dead and the other is carrying the starting load, then the alt is trying to charge the dead one, and killing itself in the process. I have 14.4 no load, 14.0 with high beams, both blowers, and rear defroster running.

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[SAATR]

Gauge reads about .3 to .4 lower than the meter reads at the battery.

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[mr98z71]

Are you saying to disconnect one of them and see what the alternator does? If so, I have not done that, I will try, it wouldn't surprise me if one of them is dead, I should maybe install a battery isolator and new batteries.

 

[SAATR]

Yes. Disconnect them completely from the system and check voltage individually. Then check voltage while starting. You're likely to see one that is marginal, and one that is nearly dead.

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[SAATR]

Are you saying to disconnect one of them and see what the alternator does? If so, I have not done that, I will try, it wouldn't surprise me if one of them is dead, I should maybe install a battery isolator and new batteries.

Any luck?

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[mr98z71]

Any luck?

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I ended up taking both of my batteries out and installed a friends new Optima battery, the truck was charging at about 14.3V initially and after approx 7 min dropped to 13.8V although It was charging at 72A the entire time at idle(the load never varied). Using a hydrometer, I found out that one of my batteries has two end cells that are right dead and the other battery has all cells dead, they have been on two separate trickle chargers for the past few days. One of the battery seems to be taking a charge but the other batt is staying dead.

It still boggles my Ming why the alternator is dropping down in voltage after a few minutes of use, and it stays at that charging voltage wether it be at idle or 3000 rpm.