A heads up to anyone that is still running the original alternator and wiring plug on their diesel.
A couple of years ago I pulled into a gas station to fill up with diesel and could smell burning when I got out of the cab. I opened the hood and low and behold, my alternator was alight and on fire - right next to the gas pumps
I used the fire extinguishers at the gas station - used two dry powder ones to get the fire out and finished off with a bucket of water. Everything under the hood got covered in yellow dust from the extinguishers - duh !
The yellow stearate powder is a ****** to get off the engine after it has been soaked with water and left to dry.
When I looked, the old plug was loose and caused the alternator ro crank out excessive amps to charge my batteries and cause the alternature to catch alight. This happened in the middle of January with blowing snow and -25C temperatures (-15F). I would have been in deep do-do had this happened on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway, the point of my post is to check the wiring and plug to the alternature - it might just save you a lot of grief. If your plug is original - replace it with a new one from Napa - it is well worth the cost.
I ended up getting the truck towed back home for free with the BCAA or the equivalent of AAA.
Cheers
mariner