You sure about that small wire running from the alternator stud to the connector plug?? Doesn't seem right to me...

-jokester

 

I’m gonna try it without that wire in the morning. Saw a video where the guy didn’t even have that ring terminal on his harness, so I think you’re right.

The directions definitely say to connect it though.

I’ll follow up if it works or when I hear from Mechman.

Thanks

 

Just blew up your pic to see better. Is your old hot wire that runs from to the alternator stud still connected on the battery side? It sure looks like it's not connected anymore on the alternator side...

@TooManyToys would be the one to hear from on your issue.

-jokester

 

It’s disconnected from both battery and alternator.

That only runs to passenger side battery right? I put heat shrink over both ends, but read it might need to be connected for the truck to start.

 

I was always told to leave OEM wiring in place and piggyback upgraded wiring with OEM wiring.

-jokester

 

I agree that’s the best practice. The only reason I left it is because the Mechman stud is 5/16” and the stock is like 3/16-1/4”. Didn’t want to drill or change the terminal in case I need to put the stock back in. 👍

 

Dang I was thinking about ordering one of these ,, keep us posted

 

I was emailing them today and last week. Tony is very responsive at least.

Ordered from Showtime electronics. (In Nashville near Mechman). Super fast shipping and $70 cheaper than everywhere else. 👍

I’ll post back in the morning for sure.

 

thanks for the 70 savings I was just going to buy direct

 

No worries 👍

 

Those glow plugs sure pull a lot of juice don't they ...

That "voltage sense wire" is powering the glow plug circuit at the junction on the old battery (alternator) cable

 

Ouch. I take that as I need to connect the old alt cable back up?

 

The old alternator cable and the glow plug power cable join together with a fuse link, near the battery end -- then connected to the battery post

you could just re-connect the cable at the battery post and insulate the end at the alternator
or connect back to the alternator if the post has room

The sensing wire adjusted the voltage regulator near where the glow plug power was taken -- I suspect to prolong glow plug life, from over voltage

 

Awesome, thank you! I’ll fix it in the morning.

Yeah that wire went quick lol 💨

 

Holy ***
Well the alternator definitely lives 👍

Turn key to prime, 11.6v, no smoke, good.

Start the truck and voltage shoots to 14.8, 14.9, 15v, 15.1v peak WITH glow plugs on still.

My fuel pressure (6.7 pump) went to 80psi and was leaking at my reg return. I think that’s cause I was moving it around during alt install, will tighten it a bit.

I shut the truck down before glow plugs went off so I don’t know how high it’ll really go but is that high of voltage safe? 🤣

 

Is it cold there? That voltage will settle down fairly quickly as the engine compartment and components heat up.

 

Post a pic of the engine bay. May get into one of those if you are a fan

 

It’s 30 degrees here in Colorado Springs. I’ll adjust my fuel pressure and start her back up. 👍

You know, my dad was telling me yesterday that the guys selling shovels were the ones cashing out in the gold rush. 🤣
I’ll update this thread. Im only pushing about 2500 watts. I mainly bought the alt to keep electronics happy and my lights from dimming lol.

 

It’s 30 degrees here in Colorado Springs. I’ll adjust my fuel pressure and start her back up. 👍

You know, my dad was telling me yesterday that the guys selling shovels were the ones cashing out in the gold rush. 🤣
I’ll update this thread. Im only pushing about 2500 watts. I mainly bought the alt to keep electronics happy and my lights from dimming lol.

dang dude i thought i was big amp chief when I installed a leece 275 last week. you can power the superbowl with 370 hoooooly

I feel like i got boned out of 100 amps for the same price now...

 

That's a very clean bay, great job.

Side note, are you happy with that IPR oil cooler relocation?

 

Thank you!

The relocated cooler is nice but annoying at the same time. It works fine and my coolant is filtered pre-cooler which is nice.

Delta is higher than I would expect but then again Colorado Springs is hardly flat (8-10 delta unloaded) I rarely have a trailer behind it.


Oil changes have become annoying but I can get it done pretty quick still.

The WIX filter works fine IMO. Had an oil analysis done around 280k (80k on WIX filters) and Blackstone said everything looked good. Im at 320k now and about send another sample.
I don’t like having to buy “proprietary orings” from IPR.

The braided lines have already worn through each other once. (My fault). They rub against other stuff if you don’t watch out.

Last winter, either the cooler or a seal on the external adapter plate failed and mixed oil in my coolant. Ouch.

IPR was very quick to get me new parts though. New 6.7 oil cooler. They’re good in my book.

Overall, it probably helped a lot to clean out my cooling system. If I ever need a new cooler though, I’m going back to OEM.

 

Certainly didn't need me here - usually don't.

>> It’s disconnected from both battery and alternator.

Hydro got here first. The factory cable must always be attached to the battery as it’s more than just an alternator feed cable.

>>Start the truck and voltage shoots to 14.8, 14.9, 15v, 15.1v peak WITH glow plugs on still.

I hope its regulator doesn’t stay up that high unless you are using AGM batteries.

From another thread, the people at Mechman state that high voltage output concerns are an internet myth. So I guess all the work done at SAE and all the vehicle manufacturers have the limit at 14.4v, and regulating down to 13.8v generated that internet myth for about 50 years.

They say it won't boil, and most times, that's true. The voltage can be in the 15v range during the initial charging cycle, but it needs to taper down in the maintenance cycle of lead-acid batteries. Excessive high-voltage charging corrodes the plates, and you have shorter battery life.

AGM batteries operate at a slightly higher voltage, so they are more tolerant in that range; in fact, they should be. And on the other side, putting AGMs into a standard voltage-regulated system also does not get the best possible life out of them. With their low internal resistance, they transmit more energy to the need and can accept a higher current for recharging.

BTW, the Glow Plug Control Module has a circuit that will shut down powering them when the system voltage reaches 14.5v, so the glow plugs don't burn off the tips. So once the Mechman gets over that, there is no glow plug load. That little wire didn't make it past the initial wait-to-start initiation - 200a.

 

@TooManyToys Okay, I’ll make sure that voltage drops down after running for a little bit. Or I’ll look into AGMs if it stays high.
When I started the truck, it did feel a little rough. It sounds like that’s because the glow plugs shut off. Maybe I should cycle the key another time or two before cold starts?

Also, your videos helped me homebrew my injectors, so thanks for that too!

 

I noticed the place you bought your 370 has two models one has the small pulley and the other is the standard size ( the less expensive unit ) but with the voltages you have I don't think the small pulley is going to benefit you

 

Well I have to deal with this fuel leak


Ahhh interesting. I didn’t realize they came with different pulleys. The one on mine is still about 13mm smaller diameter than OEM. I didn’t change the belt either.

 

>>When I started the truck, it did feel a little rough.

That's probably why. The glow plugs do stay on for both emissions and smooth running. Start a diesel without glow plugs in the cold, and you see the need. Cycling the GPs won't matter, they are already hot enough during the initial WTS, but they cool rapidly with the cold air and fuel.

AGMs are a nice pairing with a high volt amp. And if you have the small pulley, going to the larger one may keep the voltage spike a little lower. It does with the L-N 230a most times, more of a slope than a spike.

Interesting that those relatively new Walmart Maxx batteries had caps. I have not seen capped MAXX batteries here in NJ for years. Since they are within a year, I'd probably let them run out until you need new batteries unless you have somewhere else they can go if you want to get the AGMs. I can't tell you what AGMs to get without going to the high-priced ones. Sometime soon, I may try to get the MAXX AGMs to try them out; see if they are decent for the price.

Thanks for letting me know the videos were helpful.

 

Got it. Well I hope this doesn’t affect me when it gets real cold. My block heater just took a dump too.

Do they make them without caps now?

I may be in the market for some good ones when the time comes. The things my wife has approved lately….. 👀

 

Lovin' my X2Power AGM's and my high-ish voltage alternator !!