alternator question

[sacramento_ford]

how can a bad atlernator affect running condiotion, besides battery drain. i wonder if this is the reason for my recent stalling and poor horsepower.

[fordman]

the only way i can think of a bad alternator would stop a truck from running is if the battery had drained down completely and the truck died from no power. such as if the battery was dead and the alternator wasnt charging the battery. and you stepped on the brakes it would kill the engine. i had it happen once. on a big truck. i was driving at the time.

[fireguywtc]

It depends on how bad it is and how low of voltage it is putting out. I literally just had to replace my alt. on the highboy 2 days ago with the alt that came out of the 67. The old one was only wearing down the battery but would continue to run until shut off with no noticable affect on performance. A number of years ago I was having alt. problems with the 67 and it would run the battery down then the motor would start losing power. It was because the ignition system wasnt getting enough electricity for a good spark. I could really tell the difference in power after a while when the batter was out of charge. After I got the new alt. it was all good, and now that alt is on my highboy since it is still good! I love having spare parts!