i have a 1970 340 dart that when im driving the ammeter bounces from high to low it seems to happen once i get revved over about 1500 . so far i tried a different alt,ignition switch ,reg,starter.battery. so now im pretty well out of ideas .im redoing a bunch of stuff this winter and hopefully some upgrades but i would like to fix this also it does run fine but it doesnt seem right .i was thinking of a painless wiring kit also dont know if it would help or be worth it. any info is appreciated thanks
fluctuating ammeter
- Thread starter dvav
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67Dart273
Well-Known Member
Do a search of this site, then post back. Lots of posts. Probably related to poor condition of your bulkhead connector, or the ammeter connections or the ammeter itself, or other wiring harness connection problems.
Read the article from "Mad Electrical."
Then post back.
Make sure your regulator is well grounded
Read the article from "Mad Electrical."
Then post back.
Make sure your regulator is well grounded
yes im new here but i have had the car for about 10 years .i have been playing with this issue for over a year .as for the ammeter being the prob i think when i fisrt noticed the problem i bypassed the ammeter and didnt change anything i think i cleaned the bulkhead connectors too , i will double check
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
If you "bypassed the ammeter" and it didn't change anything, then you really didn't bypass the ammeter, that is if you mean the ammeter still flickers
But if you mean you bypassed the ammeter and the LIGHTS flicker, that is an indication that voltage is going up/ down.
Could be poor ignition voltage to the regulator or some other wiring problem
Could be bad ground at the regulator
Could be poor brushes/ poor brush connections
etc.
But if you mean you bypassed the ammeter and the LIGHTS flicker, that is an indication that voltage is going up/ down.
Could be poor ignition voltage to the regulator or some other wiring problem
Could be bad ground at the regulator
Could be poor brushes/ poor brush connections
etc.
yes i should have been more clear when the ammeter bounces the lights pulse too and when i bypassed the ammmeter by bolting the leads together the lights still pulsed. as for the reg ground i messed around with it too i think i even went as far a running a temp jumper wire from the batt neg right to the reg .
i also read the mad electrical article. some good info i would like to do some of the mods but at this point i think i should just replace it all with a wiring kit if i can afford one . has any one ever used the summit kits or are they junk
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
OK, just bolting the ammeter wires together doesn't "get" it. You are still faced with the problem of voltage drop/ poor connections in the bulkhead connector
Read this MAD article:
http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml
Next, you must have a good regulator GROUND
To check this out, get the engine running at a good fast idle, and put one probe of your multimeter directly onto the battery neg. post, and the other directly onto the regulator mounting flange, with the meter on low DC volts. You are hoping for a very low reading, the lower the better. IF you read more than .1--.2 v, that's 2 TENTHS of one volt, the regulator is not really grounded. Remove, clean the firewall and bolt holes of the regulator, remount using star washers, and/ or install at least a no14 or larger gauge wire from the engine block to the regulator mounting bolts. If you have electronic igniton, wise to do the same for it while you are at it.
Next, check the wiring harness drop. Shut off the engine, turn the key to "run" and put one probe of your meter on the battery POS post, the other probe on the switched ignition buss
On a 69/ earlier car, this can be the IGN terminal of the regulator. ON a 70/ later car, this can be the blue field wire of the alternator. Here again, you are hoping for a low reading, not over .3V More indicates a poor connection in the path:
battery -- fuse link -- bulkhead connector -- ammeter -- in harness splice -- ignition switch connector -- through the switch -- back out the switch connector on the blue "ignition run" (IGN1) wire -- back out the bulkhead connector -- and to the ignition "run" buss
Read this MAD article:
http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml
Next, you must have a good regulator GROUND
To check this out, get the engine running at a good fast idle, and put one probe of your multimeter directly onto the battery neg. post, and the other directly onto the regulator mounting flange, with the meter on low DC volts. You are hoping for a very low reading, the lower the better. IF you read more than .1--.2 v, that's 2 TENTHS of one volt, the regulator is not really grounded. Remove, clean the firewall and bolt holes of the regulator, remount using star washers, and/ or install at least a no14 or larger gauge wire from the engine block to the regulator mounting bolts. If you have electronic igniton, wise to do the same for it while you are at it.
Next, check the wiring harness drop. Shut off the engine, turn the key to "run" and put one probe of your meter on the battery POS post, the other probe on the switched ignition buss
On a 69/ earlier car, this can be the IGN terminal of the regulator. ON a 70/ later car, this can be the blue field wire of the alternator. Here again, you are hoping for a low reading, not over .3V More indicates a poor connection in the path:
battery -- fuse link -- bulkhead connector -- ammeter -- in harness splice -- ignition switch connector -- through the switch -- back out the switch connector on the blue "ignition run" (IGN1) wire -- back out the bulkhead connector -- and to the ignition "run" buss
Robj
Well-Known Member
Yup^^^ and just for fun see if you have a ground strap from the block to the chassis. I fixed 90% of my charging issues bypassing the ammeter under the hood along with some new connectors to the alternator and then noticed I had no ground strap. Picked one up at NAPA for next to nothing and really cleared up the rest.
this is what i think was wrong .i am in the process of putting in a new wire harness[aftermarket].and i found two wires slightly melted together right at the inside side of the bulkhead connector.i am not even sure this is where my problem was but it seems very possible to me.
MOPARoldtimer
Banned
On my bulkhead connector, I found the 12-gauge black battery feed wire going to the ignition switch had totally burned out its spade lugs inside the bulkhead connector! I'm surprised the car ran at all. And the 14-gauge red "ignition run" line going from the "run" terminal of the ignition switch back out through the bulkhead connector to the ballast resistor, etc. wasn't much better!
I eliminated those spade lugs by running 12-gauge wires straight through and soldering them on each side. I did the same to the 12-gauge red alternator output wire, even though its spade lugs weren't too bad. It made a huge difference in the way the vehicle starts and runs. It takes a pretty big soldering iron to solder two 12-gauge wires together nicely, though.
I eliminated those spade lugs by running 12-gauge wires straight through and soldering them on each side. I did the same to the 12-gauge red alternator output wire, even though its spade lugs weren't too bad. It made a huge difference in the way the vehicle starts and runs. It takes a pretty big soldering iron to solder two 12-gauge wires together nicely, though.
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
Aftermarket? What are you installing, such as Painless, etc?
One thing you might do is inspect the old bulkhead connector, and also untape the old harness starting at the black ammeter terminal. Untape that wire down to the factory splice a few inches down and see if that splice is broken apart.
I'd bet one or the other. I think you said you already bypassed the ammeter
One thing you might do is inspect the old bulkhead connector, and also untape the old harness starting at the black ammeter terminal. Untape that wire down to the factory splice a few inches down and see if that splice is broken apart.
I'd bet one or the other. I think you said you already bypassed the ammeter
i am installing an ez wiring harness .after looking at it again its the alt charge wire and the oil sending wire that were melted together .i think terminal p and k on the inside bulkhead connector.should be all good now with new wires
BillGrissom
Well-Known Member
It sounds like you bypassed the ammeter inside the cabin. If so, the problem will eventually return, along with more melted bulkhead wires, even with your new EZ harness. Better to bypass the ammeter within the engine bay so the alternator output current doesn't go thru the bulkhead terminals.
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