Ken_86gt
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By any chance do you have Optima (like Redtop) batteries? They can draw a huge amount of power and take a long time to charge up.
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By any chance do you have Optima (like Redtop) batteries? They can draw a huge amount of power and take a long time to charge up.
Use an IR gun and tell us where you point it. Then take temp readings once a minute, for 5 minutes.
Then, someone can do the same with another truck, and you can compare.
It may be normal or a bad battery, just trying to charging up the battery? Put a clamp on amp meter on the wires to see where the current is going. If you see 80 amps from the alternator and 80 amps on the battery then thats all it is. You could also check the rest of the wires- you should be able to figure out where the current is going quite quickly.
Maybe...if you have a bad cell in one of the batteries. You could also take them to an auto parts store for a load test. The alternator would get hot if it is putting out a lot of current - this happens when there is an electrical load. It could be batteries, glow plugs, something else, maybe even some wiring issues seeing all the trouble you have been having. But if you follow the current with a meter you should be able to find your problem.
It is normal for the alternator to get hot when the battery needs charging. If the the alternator is only putting out a few amps after startup then the alternator may not be getting as hot as you think it is.
It sounds like the alternator is going full field. It would have a high current output unless there is an internal problem. If you have a clamp on amp meter, put it on the heavy output wire and see how many amps are being drawn. You can use an in-line amp meter if you don't have a clamp type. This will help determine if the problem is in the alternator.
If the current is high check the output voltage at the alternator. If it's high, the problem is in the alternator or it's external sense and it's lost the signal. Most external sense alternators will default to internal sense if they lose the external signal. If it's a bad connection in the sense line then the alternator will increase the output voltage to compensate.