KATOOM

The weather is seemingly kicking everyones behind..... Example, we're supposed to get a severe downpour over the next few days. The snow level is dropping down low and then a few days later, raising way up to 7000. With all that warm rain melting the fresh snow, that means its going to flood for sure.

Thankfully I live too far out to have to glimpse at those possibilities.....

Just the concept of intake/exhaust valves moving fast enough.....and returning under spring pressure is pretty amazing if you think about it.

Disturbed did an awesome job..... Unlike,

Throughout my life even with as much as I love engines and their mechanical function.....its still a mystery to me that an internal combustion engine works as well as it does. Ya'd think that when parts start moving really fast in there thats there's just not enough time for the air to move about for the combustion process to function right. But it does.....

Gotta be a joke. Too many people trolling for upvotes these days to trust anything on the internet. Well ever since Photoshop ya cant trust anything you see on the internet.....

We actually got a few inches of snow this year already. Nothing to write home about and it only sticks for a day or two, but its sure fun to see my kids get excited. Its kind of a good thing we dont get very much snow around here either because people cant seem to drive when there's white stuff on the ground. Cal Trans literally shuts I-5 down north of Redding every time we get anything more than rain falling from the sky. And I'm not sure I want any of the fat tweakers running around in bikinis either.....

This stupid cold is sweeping the nation. Most people I know have it or had it..... I've had it for about 4-5 days and just feeling better.

Thats a good dog.

Maybe I'm not fully understanding what you're referring to, but I'm happy to do whatever you need. As I mentioned before, I cant defend their website as its chalked full of errors.

Winning answer.....

Thanks for the update Mike. Sorry for the situation, and I have to admit that I was kinda surprised to hear she's not home yet.

Gotta maintain a certain level of anonymity for all my fans.....

I cant defend their website since its loaded with errors and will have you second guessing what you're looking at. But yes, this is the correct part number. And yes, instead of 6 diodes they use 12.

So I had a chance to drive it tonight..... The lights did dim when the grids cycled but nothing like before. Matter of fact, the volt gauge dipped initially upon start up when the grids cycled, but then remained again up towards 14 volts again. All in all I'm happy. And dripley, Nations uses the OEM size pulley on this alternator whereas other aftermarket high dollar units will use a smaller pulley on theirs in order to spin it faster. The problem with that is you then have to get a shorter belt to fit the serpentine system. Not what I wanted to do.

I try to be proactive towards the maintenance of my truck rather than reactive..... Knowing that the OEM Bosch alternator had almost 120k miles on it, I felt that not only was it probably going to give me DC troubles in the near future but I was also sure that I was most likely experiencing some AC issues as well, especially during the cold morning and hot summer weather. Why I say that....? I've tested my AC voltage before during the summer and it was within "spec", but still I thought the readings were higher than I'd like. So I recently tested again before installing the Nations unit just to confirm and what I got was about .044 during idle. Yes thats acceptable but also understanding that its 35* outside and the engines warm enough that the grids are not cycling, I felt that there was nowhere for the AC readings to go but up. Meaning, as the weather gets warmer and/or the alternator is powering more accessories, the AC voltage reading will only increase. Alternators will produce the least amount of AC at idle with little to no electronics running. But ramp the throttle up to around 2000 - 2500 RPM, turning on every electrical component and the readings will always increase as the diodes work at converting. I saw that the last time I tested it in the summer so I felt I'm justified in replacing before problems arise. Plus I noticed a considerable amount of red brush dust on the tensioner pulley (seen in the picture) which reassured me that it was getting old. So I've decided to replace it. Exploring my options, they are as usual..... To either rebuild my current one, get an over the counter "lifetime warranty" parts store unit and hope for the best, or look for one of the few high dollar units available out there in the aftermarket world. Well given money is always a variable, I chose to go with the Nations unit I've heard good things about. Not only are they priced what I consider to be reasonable for what you get but they're also American made. Plus if I have trouble, I'd rather deal with Nations than deal with either Autozone, NAPA, O'Reilly, etc... and risk delicate electronics on this truck. Yes, I could have had it rebuilt but I'd still have an alternator that may or may not generate more AC than I'd like because of the windings and diode count, but I'm sure I'd probably have battle with the small shop explaining what I want and why, since most places are more concerned with DC output rather than what the AC voltage readings are. This is the one I opted for. 180 amp, hairpin wound, 12 diodes, and uses the stock pulled size. http://www.nationsstarteralternator.com/180-Amp-HP-High-Output-Alternator-for-2000-Dodge-p/13874-180-hp.htm Just to be clear.....what I was experiencing with the OEM alternator was the norm and had been this way for years. That said, typically the volt gauge in the cold mornings would do as described: Turn key ON, gauge drops to the lower portion of the "normal" range. Start engine when WTS light turns off. Gauge immediately drops back down to the lower portion of normal as the grid cycles on again. Gauge starts to climb rapidly as the grid cycles off. Seconds later the grid cycles on again and the gauge dips down to the lower portion of normal. This back and forth takes places for a few minutes depending on the ambient temperature. And when it does, the engine clearly lets me know that the grids are cycling by either making the tell-tale noise of loading down from the alternator drag, and/or I can get a slight momentary idle lope only to immediately regain regular idle. The lights dim considerably as well and the volt gauge generally reaches just a tick over 14 volts when its completed the event or I drive off. Well after the install of the Nations unit this is what takes place: Turn key ON, gauge drops to the lower portion of the "normal" range. Start engine when WTS light turns off. Gauge does NOT drop back down to the lower portion of normal as the grid cycles on again, but rather remains up around 14 volts. Gauge moves a tad higher than 14 volts as the grid cycles off. Seconds later the grid cycles on again and the gauge drops no lower than 14 volts. As before, this back and forth takes places for a few minutes depending on the ambient temperature. But this time the engine does NOT react the same but rather hardly lets me know that the grids are cycling. There is no tell-tale noise of loading down from the alternator drag and I seemingly had no slight momentary lope during that moment either. I cant say about the lighting at this point because I havent driven it during the night since the new alternator was installed. But I'm going to guess that they will not dim nearly as much given that the alternator appears to be cranking out more amperage during idle while creating less load on the engine. I also tested the AC voltage as soon as I installed the Nations unit, while during the same cold weather, and saw about .020. I'll be testing it some more as the weather warms too. Lastly, I would say that of the few times I've driven it since the install the engine has slightly better manners during the cold weather. This only further supports the understanding that these trucks are VERY susceptible to electronic anomalies and the alternators are absolutely something to pay attention to.

Good to know.

JAG if you ever want to be schooled.....I'd be happy to drive you through beautiful San Fransisco with these ol' Cummins trucks. Not only are you squeezing through narrow single horse streets but you seemingly cant ever turn left while you're fighting for right of way with folks who've never seen something so obnoxiously loud and smelly. That said, I've only taken my truck down there one time and I wont be attempting that feat again unless I have to.

Well if anything.....that was a learning discussion.

Whats your fuel pressure dripley? And have you fully disconnected the Edge to see if the problem remains? I say that because there is no "suction" of fuel in the supply line if the fuel pressure is high enough. Although the suction side of the fuel pump line/fittings will have the opportunity to pull air if they're not sealing correctly. Even at that, the job of the Airdog as an air separation pump is to remove any such air before passing on to the injection pump.

Thats because I have to maintain a necessary level of passive aggressiveness being a northern CA conservative living next to my southern liberals. But I have to ask, what exactly "wears out" with a pushloc fitting? Sounds more like a tubing issue to me.

Or the VP is simply out of "timing" because of the key cog. And if the key is smashed in the fuel timing retard position then it cant advance enough during cold weather.

The OEM fluid is a thicker 75w-85w.

That raises question for me too.....

I guess I'm not understanding what you're trying to do here..... Because a sump will have the fuel line already coming out horizontally so why the need for a 90* fitting? And no, I dont think anyone makes a 90* pushloc coupler. You'd have to put one together with JIC fittings. As for using clamps on pushloc fitting and hose, I dont see why that would be a problem. Pushloc fittings are the same as a barb fitting but designed to work in conjunction with the specific pushloc hose for a proper mating seal. If you use other hose with a pushloc fitting then yes, I could see why it would leak.