DB Electrical 200 Amp Alternator Issues

O

oddball

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Looking for other folk's experience.

Recent ordered a DB Electrical 200 amp alternator. Here are a few pics alongside the stock for reference. You can click on them to get to my flickr page with higher res version.

5177485554_b747be5666.jpg


5177485370_657f63798a.jpg


5176882411_882e0a58a7.jpg


Sooo... This board pukes on embedded codes. Let's try the old fashioned way. OK, WTF, seriously? Must this thing turn every flickr URL into a broken flash?
www.flickr.com/photos/ostermannia/5176882411/

There are no external indications that this alternator is non-stock. No part numbers or anything. You can see that the stator has two wires going to the regulator instead of one for each winding and it has an overdrive pulley. This unit clicked when turned by hand.
After install, it performed horribly at idle with a dramatic voltage sag. I swapped back to the stock - with the DB pulley - and got the following readings:

Code: 
RPM               V                amp @alt           amp@fan
            stock     DB        stock    DB         stock     DB
680         13.3     11.5        83      20           42      37
680         14       12.4        52      16           off     off
1300        13.4     13.6        91      104          42      43
1300        14       14.2        52      62           off     off
2200        13.3     13.6        93      105          42      43
2200        14       14.2        54      62           off     off
Clearly underperforming at idle! Only marginally better at high RPMs. Seems odd to me that an extra 0.2 V results in 10 Amps. Seems like that's a lot more for the battery to be sinking. Any thoughts from the EE guys out there? I haven't done much investigation into auto electrical and battery charging methods. I'm not sure those 10 amps are worth the extra money. ie, I don't think the battery is discharging by 10 amps when using the stock alternator - it would've died a long time ago if that was the case - but not certain where else that extra current is going.

The clicking was also gone when I pulled it back out. I called DB with this info, they sent me a return label to ship back to them. I asked that they inspect/fix/return, but they just gave me a refund instead. So A+ to DB for not hassling me, but I'm still curious what happened.
Hmm... First picture looks like there might be a broken fin. Never noticed that before. Might indicate some mishandling at some point.

So, anyone else using these and can share their findings? Hopefully something was just wrong with mine - likely on the regulator board - but I didn't tear into it. Might guess it's acting like a one-wire that doesn't kick on at low RPMs, but the connector was plugged in well and clearly worked on the stock.
 
OddBall, I have the same issue you did. The exact same thing. I am very disappointed in this product, and I'm hoping that we just got alternators from a bad batch. This instantly makes me angry.
 
Funny, there was a thread about these alts in the m8 section acouple days ago..I think only 1 person actually bought from them and was happy..idk..Seems likea :q:q:q:qy alt to me. But they are also pretty cheap.
 
At almost $300, I wouldn't call that cheap. As for being :q:q:q:qty alternators. I would agree with you.
 
Quik uses the DB (can't remember if it's the 200 or 220) and is pleased. A few others on here have used them before, too.
Maybe you just got my return? :)
I'm still running the stock. No issues. And since I have the fan controller working, there's no huge load either.
 
I thought I would throw in my 2 cents and say that DB electrical alternators blow. The one I bought for my previous 2000 Escort went out in 7 months.
 
You might be right about the return. But I needed to replace my alternator. so now my LS is down til I get another one.
 
it's a 220amp now... On my second one - after upgrading and having them press a smaller pulley onto it (I have a low idle).

I believe the smaller pulley is standard now - but wasn't on my first unit (200amp) I bought several years ago.
 
I have the same DB 220 amp alternator and have no issues what so ever.
 
Jatt/Quik: Have ya'll done any measurements on them?

Quik: Overdrive pulley is standard now. Did yours look like mine in the pics up there?

The only other option that's been mentioned on this board is from here:
http://www.motorcityreman.com/high-amp-alternators-lincoln-ls.html

No idea who, if anyone, has procured and used one of those, though.
I did quite a bit of searching for other options, came up empty. Tried to contact other shops that do that kind of work and never got a response. Ours is an unusual 6G small case. There aren't many options for the small case internals to get more power, and there's not much market for the unusual mount that the V8 uses, so little love from the aftermarket.
I might try to get upgraded internals separately and build something.... Been awhile since I rebuilt an alternator myself. :)
 
Yeah, but 170 is a LOT more realistic for the small case. I think DB is rounding up quite a bit. :shifty:
 
And here we are a month later. I sent the alternator back for repair. DB said that they went though it. I put the alternator on the car again i would I get with every thing in the car off is 11.42 volts and below 30 amps at idle. The DB tech guy tells me that i have a electrical draw somewhere and the regulator is a pcm controlled unit. He also tells me that when amps goes up voltage goes down. The problem, even with my alternator with the bad diode the LS would idle. This HO unit the idle on the LS falls flat on its face. It starts surging and what not, it also will shut everything off in the car, just to stay running and its not CHARGING the BATTERY. To eliminate the alternator being a problem, what else could cause something like this to happen.
 
Willow9238 said:
And here we are a month later. I sent the alternator back for repair. DB said that they went though it. I put the alternator on the car again i would I get with every thing in the car off is 11.42 volts and below 30 amps at idle. The DB tech guy tells me that i have a electrical draw somewhere and the regulator is a pcm controlled unit. He also tells me that when amps goes up voltage goes down. The problem, even with my alternator with the bad diode the LS would idle. This HO unit the idle on the LS falls flat on its face. It starts surging and what not, it also will shut everything off in the car, just to stay running and its not CHARGING the BATTERY. To eliminate the alternator being a problem, what else could cause something like this to happen.
Click to expand...

It's the alternator. I'd bet that they didn't correctly reverse engineer the PWM scheme that the LS uses (it's poorly or inaccurately documented).
 
Interesting thing for me is that I have one of these alternators(200amp) which has sat in my bedroom for over a year and never been used. Granted, I understand that I could never get my money back but I damn sure will have it bench tested before going through the process of the Big 3 upgrade that I never got around to. I'll keep everyone posted with the results I get.

Schedule allowing, I'll get to it next week.....
 
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