No Start, ignition and ammeter problems

EmersonC said

Part of me is upset that it started working, because if it was a loose wire it is now very difficult to find it because it is "working" again. When I say "working" it is because connections are still not very good. The ammeter works when it wants and it is hardly chargin the battery now. Not acceptable at all and will work on it. Ill let ya all know how the electrical upgrade goes.

PS No garage of any sorts and its hitting the low 30's again tonight. The things we do for the ones we love!:burnout:

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There are enough solutions to your situation above to get your '66 back up to snuff. I'm "old school" enough to prefer the ammeter that is in the dash to an ugly voltmeter hanging somewhere. You said the ammeter "works when it wants to". I would carefully check out its connections and not just tighten them (if you can get to them from below). Disconnect the battery negative cable, pull the instrument cluster and inspect the ammeter terminals. They can be loose or corroded, and they may have been tightened too much and the insulation on the terminals can be crushed. Remove the nuts from the terminals, clean the terminals, repair any damage you see, spread a little grease on the parts that contact each other and snug the nuts up firmly. And while you have the cluster out, cleaning the other gauge terminals and the light socket contacts on the pc board is a good idea.

You have my sympathy for working on the daily driver outside when it's 30 degrees. I hope that warms you up a little.

ATB

BC