Delete one of dual alternators?

[Andys04f350]

Has anyone deleted one of there dual alternators. Like to clean up my engine bay a little and I don't have a need for dual alternators. Looks like the bottom one would be the one to delete.

 

[vcassens]

On my 04 I never got around to taking my lower one off but I had it completely unhooked including the belt and never had any problem with it so i wold say it should be fine but someone else should chime in with better info

 

[Andys04f350]

Thanks for that info. My biggest thing is check engine light or whatever for not having it plugged in. So if you didn't have any issues like that then I don't see a problem.

 

[Zmann]

the ECM is programmed to use both

I can't see how it wouldn't cause an issue they aren't redundant they each are commanded to charge at different rates and the major load is swapped back and forth

between the two ,,and there is codes thrown when one isn't doing it's job ,,

I would imagine you would need a new alternator and a reprogram to a single alt vehicle to do it correctly

 

[vcassens]

Zmann you are correct I did have a code but the light never came on and I never had a charging issue

 

[Zmann]

interesting ,,
I bet you could find someone two swap the dual for single setup without a problem

 

[vcassens]

I tried and had no luck the lower one takes up a bunch of space and one high output alternator will work better that the 2 factory alternators. The way I understood it to work was the primary alternator or upper one had a lower output than the lower alternator and the only time the lower alternator kicked in was when there was a high demand for power but I don't think they ever worked together.

 

[Andys04f350]

I'll have to do a little more research. I was just wondering if anyone did it and just had a quick tips or tricks. That was helpful though. Thanks guys.

 

[Strictly Diesel]

Been there, done that.

It's easy if you know what to do. If you just remove the lower and don't do anything else, the system will work normally "most of the time". The problem is this, the ECM randomly selects which alternator to use, and the wiring of a dual system is how the ECM knows it has 2 alternators to choose from. If it happens to pick the lower one over a few starts, or on a day when you do a lot of driving, the truck will just die in mid flight (probably at the least convenient time like mine did) due to lack of power to keep the ECM, FICM and fuel pump running.

So...he's the important piece of removing the lower alternator. Follow the harness for the lower alt up to the passenger side fender liner where you will find that it unplugs. Remove the lower harness. Find a friend with a truck you can look at and you will see that on a single alt truck there is a "loopback" plug on the end of that harness. I ended up modifying my dual alt harness to become a loopback, but you might be able to just buy it from Ford (didn't try, don't have a part number). Either way, you NEED that loopback...it's what tells the ECM that you only have 1 alternator so the top one is always charging.

Hope that helps.

 

[Vader's Fury]

good info there. Thanks

 

[El chupacabra]

How much you want for the dual alt kit when you remove it?

-Jake-

 

[Andys04f350]

Thanks Dennis for that info. That was very helpful. I'll look into that this week when I throw my new tensioner on. And jake I don't really know. I dont know what the going rate is for them. Let me take it off and see how everything looks and I'll get back to you.

 

[kyle43335]

Been there, done that.

It's easy if you know what to do. If you just remove the lower and don't do anything else, the system will work normally "most of the time". The problem is this, the ECM randomly selects which alternator to use, and the wiring of a dual system is how the ECM knows it has 2 alternators to choose from. If it happens to pick the lower one over a few starts, or on a day when you do a lot of driving, the truck will just die in mid flight (probably at the least convenient time like mine did) due to lack of power to keep the ECM, FICM and fuel pump running.

So...he's the important piece of removing the lower alternator. Follow the harness for the lower alt up to the passenger side fender liner where you will find that it unplugs. Remove the lower harness. Find a friend with a truck you can look at and you will see that on a single alt truck there is a "loopback" plug on the end of that harness. I ended up modifying my dual alt harness to become a loopback, but you might be able to just buy it from Ford (didn't try, don't have a part number). Either way, you NEED that loopback...it's what tells the ECM that you only have 1 alternator so the top one is always charging.

Hope that helps.

:clapping::clapping::clapping: thats what happened to me as well...

 

[Zmann]

Nice one Dennis ,,Shedding weight on the race truck lesson?
this would be good for the 6.0 Library

 

[Strictly Diesel]

No, had nothing to do with weight. I think it was more of a "convenience" during fuel system development on my old 6.0L. Once I confirmed my parts would clear the second alternator, I removed it to make going in and out with different versions easier. We're going back a long time now...but that's what I think I removed it for. I want to say it was months before I had a problem though, and it wasn't until I had already replaced the top alternator and had dead batteries a second time in a short period that I figured out what the real problem was.

 

[Mdub707]

You shouldn't have any problems finding someone to swap with you for a single alt truck...

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[Fly By Night]

You shouldn't have any problems finding someone to swap with you for a single alt truck...

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

I would love to have dual alternators! I plow with my truck so the redundancy is nice. Plow uses alot of juice and 5am as it is snowing in the sticks isnt a great time to have the truck decide to die.

 

[Zmann]

it's not really redundant