Nomad2015

The road to hell is paved with good intentions! That's what I love about condescending people they don't intend to be harsh but the end result is they were harsh. So why don't you man up with a little personal responsibility and apologize for being a condescending ***? This is not only my tow vehicle for my 5th wheel but it is also my daily driver so when it decides to not work I am completely stranded. The only reason I subscribed to this website was that it was Mopar1973man. I have used some of his troubleshooting posts to fix other Dodge problems so I trust he knows what he's doing, but the way you folks treat new people is horrible. That goes for you too MaxTune. So I will cancel my subscription here and go back to the Cummins forum people are nicer

Wow harsh, There is no shortage of attitude on this website. Thank you all for your feedback and have a nice day! I'm done with this.

So what is the proper way to test alternator output?

Thanks, John I had everything properly connected with the exception of the red output cable that was not connected. Is that what's causing the lack of continuity?

With the Truck running the field wires disconnected from the alternator I checked the voltage at the connector and had zero volts. I connected the field wire connector to the alternator and checked the output at the alternator it was 60v. I couldn't find a fuse that referenced the alternator, I did find a 140a fuse and it looked good. I spoke with ACS this morning and let them know I found them on this website. At this point, I feel like I'm about to gamble with $1k that the PCM will fix the problem. As far as electrical troubleshooting I am pretty much in over my head now.

So I got all the new parts installed and fired the truck up without air intake heaters and alternator output cable connected and I had 60v output at alternator. So it looks like I need to give ACS a call.

Thank you

Thank you all for your feedback it's been very helpful. I am a full-time Rv'er and I find myself in all kinds of weather. I realize after going throw the info I made some assumptions that led to this problem. About a month ago I noticed my MPG was down about 5 mpg and the truck was very sluggish so I thought injectors the truck has 252k injectors never been replaced. Then a couple of weeks later on a cold morning (38 degrees), I got the P1291 code I had to clear it a couple of times then it warmed up outside ('50s) and the code went away. About a week later I'm a mile or so from home when the check gauges lite came on the only thing I noticed right away was my fuel pressure was 10psi (normal 17-18psi) I got home and noticed the stock volt gauge in the dash was dead no reading so I turned the engine off grabbed my volt tool and plug it in 12v outlet and it came back "battery almost dead" and "alternator overcharging" about this time I look in the engine bay and all I see is yellow smoke pouring out of the alternator I turned the truck off and the smoke was getting worst so I disconnected both the neg. cables off the batteries and the smoke over time started to decrease. this is what's been done so far. Removed the alternator, on inspection notice the pins on the back of the alternator had heavy corrosion and the connector looked cracked on the wire side. Purchased a new alternator and connector and installed them. have not fired the truck yet. Purchased 2 new batteries and installed When I inspected the crossover cable I found a couple of inches of corrosion on each end so I've purchased a new crossover cable and should get it in a couple of days. What I don't know at this point is whether my PCM is working and I'm tempted to just replace all things intake air heater but if my PCM is dead I might not be able to find a replacement for a while if ever. In which case the truck becomes yard art.

Does anyone out there know how to troubleshoot the intake air heater?

Thank you all for the info. I guess my first time on this site is not off to a good start. I installed a new alternator today, replaced the connector, and bought 2 new batteries today. I plan on installing new batteries tomorrow. Then fire it up without the output wire being hooked up and see how many volts I have, I think I should not hook up the intake heater as well. The reason I'm concerned is I don't know why it cooked so I don't want to cook the new one.

17 hours no response well this is worth the money. Just like a dodge nothing is easy!

I've got a 2001 2nd gen and about a week ago during a cold snap, I was getting P1291 on start it seem not to affect the truck. Yesterday while driving the check gauges lite came on because of low volts. Today I cleaned all the battery connections and fired up the engine and put my tool in the 12v socket to check the charging system it said the battery was almost dead and the alternator is overcharging and then the alternator cooked itself in a cloud of yellow smoke. The connector plug appeared to be damaged so I got a new alternator and new connector but now I'm afraid of burning up the new alternator.