Alternator, battery, or amp meter?

[dwinters14]

Correcting the wiring and of course no change. I did notice the truck almost stutter at idle, which I believe could point to my alt. I hooked an amp clamp and only got 55amps with headlights, sound system and misc accessories.

I also noticed fresh corrosion on the battery terminal and I cleaned it less than a week ago, which I believe also points to undercharging.

I'll order the new alternator soon, and I will most likely just buy and AGM battery to refresh the system. It seems like I can get away with an off the shelf variety and don't have to go with XS or a big name. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[dwinters14]

UPDATE:

I ordered a JS Alternator (320amp) and installed it on the truck. Preliminary results show the flicker completely gone. Both in the headlights and interior lights. I'll obviously do more testing as I drive, but I think I solved the issue. I also found no corrosion on the negative terminal since correcting the wiring for my RVC.

A couple things to note for anyone in the future who might be reading this thread and are in the same position.

1) Wire your big 3 properly with the RVC! Since I corrected it (matching gauge wire from alt to pos on the battery, and alt ground to negative on the battery THROUGH the RVC in OE location) I noticed my volts kicking up A LOT, and my idle rising around 750RPM even during the daytime without headlights. My thoughts are the RVC was seeing the impotent output from the alternator and was forcing it to work to makeup the lack of amperage it was giving.

2) I deleted the factory power wire from alt to fuse block on the firewall. I have no idea whether this helped, but one thing I know it did for sure, is stopped "splitting" amps between the battery and the fuse box. When I left the OE wire, about 40amps were going through it to the fuse block and about 15amps were flowing to the battery. If you do go this route, fuse the wire. My dumbass let the power wire touch the alt body while it was grounded blowing the stock fuse.

Lastly in regards to everything in this thread that I posted.

I realized I already have an AGM interstate battery, not an OE flooded acid. This was my final clue that the alternator was culprit of my problem. In good ol' fashioned murphys law, my little quick-fix amp has given out since tinkering with everything. I installed the alt on all the original work I did to isolate the problem. I've ordered 2 new amps and all new wiring to handle more current, and to clean up my amateur work from a few years ago. I'll do a last follow up in a few weeks once everything has settled in the truck to hopefully help anyone else who has this issue in the future.

I really appreciate all the help from the members here in narrowing down the issue with your advice and experience.