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United States of America, Virginia Beach
1 Level
687 Review
17 Karma

Review on πŸ”Œ High-Performance DB Electrical ADR0035 Alternator for Ford E-Series Vans - Compatible Replacement, Optimal 130 Amp, 1999 4.6L(281) V8 by Trey Samuels

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Loud fan but works well.

Others have complained that the bearings in this alternator are noisy and wear out quickly. Well, they should have taken a closer look at what's making the noise. The bearings are fine. The noise is due to the design of the generator's internal fan. I can only assume the fan is an upgraded design that allows more air to flow through the diodes to provide better cooling than the OEM design. It's loud at first, but I don't really notice it anymore. Through a lot of reading I found out that the reason my previous alternator probably died is that I had a significant pump current draining my battery when the car was off and not driving often. It often had to be started, and then it sat and worked for a while. When the battery voltage is low, the alternator will be subjected to a large current load, and a high load will generate a lot of heat and eventually burn out the diodes. I disassembled the generator to confirm this hypothesis on YouTube and it turned out to be correct. Louder fans tend to move more air so I'm sure this alternator will last longer than the OEM design. Remember that dead batteries will burn out the alternator diodes. Once you've started the car, run it so that there's enough airflow to cool the alternator, as it puts out a lot of current to charge a dead battery. Updates when truck or generator fails.

Pros
  • Absolutely amazing!
Cons
  • Minor problems