Ok here goes I have an 06 F150 with a lot of things done to it. Custom tunes from troyer preformance under drive pulleys from them as well dual e fans on truck recent auto start and full sound system. The issue i'm seeing is when i check the voltage right at the battery when it's off it's 12.3 to 12.5 all looks good... as soon as i start the truck the voltage goes to 13.7 to 14 which is fine... then the truck idles normal after it's first high idle and the voltage drops to 11.2 to 11.7 with nothing on the inside of the truck on no lights no sound no heat / ac's on nothing. I though my alternator was going bad so i got one from db electrical which is a 225 high output one. Put it on and same stuff is happening... as soon as i give it some gas the volts jump right back up to 13.7 to 14... when i shut the truck off the volts on the battery are still above 12.... it seems that the truck is not keeping it's self charged at idle and when i start to turn on the lights and have everything electrical on the volts never go back up i also have a 1000watt power converter i use to power things when i'm working in the field... when the sound system is on the light do a nice dim when the bass hits good on some songs as it's not getting the proper power... and the sound system was installed by a company that is still in business and does sound system and remote starts since 94 and they are saying something electrical isn't right and the output at idle should be higher than what it is... i have talked to a few ford chevy mopar mechs and they all say the same thing it should be higher... i'm lost on where i need to check anything out at and need some direction as i'm totally lost... idk if the under drive pulleys are causing this issue but it has been on going for awhile even before the audio system was installed... lights dim at night when truck is running and up to temp when the e fans kick on just sitting in a parking lot. i have searched and search and still can not find any other answers to my problem any help from anybody is welcomed

 

I think you answered your own question. The under drive makes everything rotate slower, this is the same as having lower RPM's. Like you said as soon as you rev it a little the voltage jumps right back up.

 

This is not all looks good, battery at those levels the battery is in a discharged state.
At 12.3 the battery is only ~ 70% charged
At 12.5 the battery is only ~ 90% charged

You are 0.9 VDC of having a fully discharged battery when off.

couple this with under drive pulleys, and you are making the alternator work way too hard to try to drive a 1000watt power converter and a full sound system.

You need to decide which you want, under drive pulleys or large power draws.
You have proven you cannot have both by the state of your battery.

 

Just a note that getting a larger alternator will not put out more power at idle speeds compared to your stock. Your stock battery may not be up to snuff either, sounds like it is getting cycled pretty heavily and at 6 years, it wouldn't hurt to replace anyways.

You are actually a good candidate for adding a second battery to help handle those high draw loads. But, you need to replenish the loss amps somewhere down the line.

 

The thing is it fires just fine all the time when i turn the key there is no delay it's just boom there and i can play the radio for hrs before i upgraded to new sound system and never had a problem starting up.

something else i just noticed tonight since i had my headlights on is that when i go from a stop sign then take off my lights get really bright for about a sec or 2 and then go back to normal and when i stop things get a little low and my dash daq unit shows i have 11.x volts when i am at idle.... there has to be something else going on now... i am gonna look at another battery to replace the one in there but its not 6 years old and it's a gel deka batt so i haven't seen it fail me or leave me in the cold at all!!!

i also have had the power converter in the truck since i got it and have had no issues using it have notice the power issues more with the subs when they hit on some good bass....

next question is there any smaller pulley i can put on the alternator to make it go faster???

i have seen threads of people putting bigger gauge wire between alt and batt to help with the bigger output does that need to be done?

i'm totally lost on what direction i need to go... i just want it to work more like it should.... and putting another batt is something i could do just would need to know how to get it all setup...

seems the more money i throw at the truck the better it is to fix problems

thanks guys for all your help and maybe i have given you more info to help me out some more

 

I'm surprised you haven't done the Big "4" wire upgrade with the updates you have done. You can do a search here or in the audio section but basically includes replacing with 4 larger cables:

1 - Between battery and alternator. Just leave your stock wiring in place and overlay a larger cable, 4 AWG would be fine here or 1/0.
The remaining I would use the same size as your main power run for your audio system. In my case it was 1/0 again.
2 - Between battery neg. post and side fender wall
3 - Between battery neg. post and starter mounting
4 - Between Frame and cab. This is located under the truck basically underneath where the right rear passenger would sit.

That will help with some of voltage drop losses but you will still need to get more idle rpm's for your alternator. Either remove the underdrive pulleys or find a larger alt pulley as you mentioned along with a shorter belt. Personally I would remove the underdrive pulleys, it is the opposite direction you want to go with an audio system. You basically killed the kit anyways with a larger alternator.

If you want performance, put a chip or supercharge it.

 

Underdrive pulleys are a joke! The alternator spinning slower will actually load the engine more to try and keep the proper battery voltage.

Put the stock pulleys back on, and that should solve your problem.

 

You might find this article from Joe Bradley (Ford's Warranty Department) interesting:

By Joe Bradley, Manager of Ford's Warranty Analysis department

"As you might expect from the company that formed SVT, the Ford Motor Company has many employees who are true performance enthusiasts -- folks who love and care for their personal high-performance vehicles as much as or more than the next guy or gal. Many of us, in fact, are true "weekend warriors" who can be found at the local drag strip or road course on Saturdays and Sundays, and tinkering under the hood during weekday evenings getting ready for the next event. As automotive enthusiasts, we certainly can appreciate performance machinery.

That said, as Ford employees we all want to do the right thing for our customers as well as for the Ford Motor Company. That is precisely why it is important to have a concise, easy-to-understand policy with regard to Ford warranty administration. For vehicles that are not modified, the Ford warranty policy is clear – the company backs its products within the guidelines of the new vehicle limited warranty, which is designed to protect the customer from defects in factory workmanship and/or material.

However, in the case of vehicles that have been modified, one needs to understand that the modifications may affect warranty coverage. This is simply because any damage or failure of new vehicle components or systems that was caused by modifications to the vehicle are not defects in "factory supplied" workmanship or material.

To illustrate this point, let's consider a small sample of vehicle modifications and see how they might affect factory components or systems: When it comes to changing the factory engine drive pulleys, there are some powertrain system and component concerns that deserve consideration. One would be any electrical and/or charging system problems that arise because of reduced alternator operating speed caused by the installation of underdrive pulleys. After all, the performance and serviceability of many system components are based on certain design parameters that include operating speed. The same goes for problems stemming from higher cooling system temperatures because of reduced water pump flow caused by the installation of underdrive pulleys. Increased underhood temperatures caused by owner-induced changes to a factory design-specification part can have a detrimental effect on any number of powertrain components or systems – some that may have long-range implications. And things can get even more serious when supercharger pulley changes are made, including head gasket leaks and piston and connecting rod failures. Also possible is piston damage due to detonation from improper air/fuel and timing modifications.

The installation of any non-factory forced induction system can also cause problems. Base engines modified with aftermarket superchargers, turbochargers or nitrous oxide injection systems may indeed bring about some power gains, but they can cause piston, connecting rod and/or crankshaft failures as well.

Other parts of a vehicle's factory-spec drivetrain are also susceptible to damage when engine torque and horsepower is increased. Performance chips or other power-enhancing devices increase torque loads on the driveline and can force failure of the transmission and/or rear axle. The latter problem can be especially true when owners switch to wider tires or racing slicks in an effort to increase traction. Even non "go-fast" aftermarket accessories such as remote starters, alarms, supplementary gauges and audio equipment can cause electrical system service problems if they are installed incorrectly or have improper connections.

When it comes to fairly evaluating the possibility of a warranty denial, there's one simple rule of thumb to follow: Although the installation of non-Ford parts and aftermarket modifications, by themselves, will not void the Ford New Vehicle Limited Warranty, failures that result from these parts and/or modifications may result in a denial of warranty coverage for such failures or damage.

The bottom line is, Ford Motor Company wants each of its owners to enjoy their product to the fullest extent – and that includes performance vehicles. But dealer service technicians have seen, and continue to see, that modifications may cause the original design to fail. The addition of aftermarket parts is a risk that each and every vehicle owner must evaluate for themselves. All that's needed is a reasonable dose of common sense. When and if you modify your vehicle, please consider whether the modification may cause another component to fail – and if it does, recognize that warranty coverage for that failure or damage will likely be denied. "


And, read the vehicle manufacturer warranty section in this article, which is almost 4 years old:


http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/in...blackbox_x.htm

...and one more:

http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=...cleid=CA529380


This law was written to protect the public against vehicle manufactures demanding that only their consumable parts (oil filters, oil, etc.) could be
used, or the warranty was void. Bottom line, you can use a Purolator oil
filter, instead of a Motorcraft oil filter and your warranty will not be void!
"Performance" mods are a different story, period, as stated by Joe Bradley!

A little more detail:

I’ll try to make this as short as possible so please bear with me. First, I am not expert and this is ONLY my opinion based on reading not only the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act but many other articles written based off of it.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was intended and is intended to protect the consumer, the person who bought the vehicle, from the manufacture dictating to them, the consumer, that they MUST use the manufactures oils, filters, belts, tires, etc, the list goes on.

Now, a manufacture can FORCE you to use only their parts BUT if they do they, the manufacture, must supply it to you free of charge and free of any labor cost. That is the very short version of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

The “Act” will NOT protect you if you install “performance enhancing” parts, such as a supercharger, nitrous oxide, suspension kits, etc. The reason is when you install those kinds of parts you are in fact “altering” the original design of the vehicle and frankly I would stand side by side with any manufacture in any court and take their side.

No one has a right to alter the vehicles original design AND then expect the manufacture to warranty items rendered defective because of said parts. For example if you install a supercharger and blow your motor, transmission or rear-end tough luck that’s your fault and NOT the manufactures.

With that said, the above example would ONLY render your power train warranty invalided but none of the rest of the warranty. People look at the warranty as a complete package and it is NOT, it has many entities to it such as electrical, suspension etc. While one may be rendered invalid the rest is not.

Personally I hope no manufacture would ever have to pay for repairs to someone’s vehicle that puts on a cold air intake and then blows the motor because of a lean condition. If the manufacture was ever forced to do those then guess what? We all pay for the dummies who know nothing about properly tuning a vehicle. Trust me the manufacture will indeed pass that cost along to everyone in the form of higher vehicle prices.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is ONLY FOR aftermarket parts that MEET the manufactures specifications. If you use the wrong motor oil that does not meet Ford’s specifications guess what? You out of luck because you just voided your warranty for failure to use the PROPER specified parts.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is NOT and has NEVER been for aftermarket PERFORMANCE INHANCING parts.

FORD CLEARLY STATES THE FOLLOWING:

From the Ford Cars and Light Trucks 2006 Model Year Warranty Guide (June 2005, Fourth Printing) page 8:

Not covered by the warranty:

”Damage Caused by Alteration or Modification
* alterations or modifications of the vehicle, including the body, chassis, or components, after the vehicle leaves the control of Form Motor Company.

That right their my friends should put everybody’s mind to rest because ANY alterations or modifications will void that part of the warranty. Cold air intake, tunes, programs then kiss the power train, transmission and rear-end warranty bye-bye. Lowering kits, kiss the suspension, possibly the transmission and rear-end warranty bye-bye etc…

More performance mod & warranty links:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66970