I was doing a carb tune and the car stalled, so I went to restart the car and nothing happened at all. I noticed the dome light was off and also none of the lights or accessories worked. I took out the cluster because I was going to change the ammeter out anyway because the needle didn't move. Well it was stuck, but because it melted to the frame. I'm guessing that's why nothing happened when I turned the key and had no lights working. So some say to run a wire from the alternator to the battery and some say to wire the ammeter terminals together and do away with the ammeter. I have a spare good ammeter. I just want to keep it all stock. Is there a way to make it more reliable? I installed a new engine/light harness, and a good dash harness too. Before this everything worked good. It only has variable wipers, heater, radio, and backup lights as options. Before this happened I put a new fusible link on when I put the harnesses on, and nothing else was burned or melted. Can't you add a bigger wire or an inline fuse somewhere incase of another ammeter meltdown?
My 65 Valiant ammeter melted down
- Thread starter wh23g3g
- Start date
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ALT' gauges in early panels have nothing more than thin phenolic washers to isolate them from the housing / ground. Just overtightening with very old washers can create problems.
If you want to keep it all stock, installing a good used gauge is the only option. Bypassing the gauge renders it worthless.
Coverting it to a VOLTS gauge is pricey but atleast its a working gauge and it cant kill the entire car.
If you want to keep it all stock, installing a good used gauge is the only option. Bypassing the gauge renders it worthless.
Coverting it to a VOLTS gauge is pricey but atleast its a working gauge and it cant kill the entire car.
hemitheus
19? Plymouth Scampenstein
I have a working replacement i dont need if you want to PM me
moparlover
Well-Known Member
http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml
teaches you the cause of the problem, how to bypass and make your whole system work better. no more dim headlights when you get the electrical system up to snuff. not too difficult either.
teaches you the cause of the problem, how to bypass and make your whole system work better. no more dim headlights when you get the electrical system up to snuff. not too difficult either.
Bulldozer
free ice cream sandwiches
the Mad bypass and converting it to a Volt gauge cost me less than 25 bucks TOTAL
see here
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=173673
see here
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=173673
You would have to have a close look at A 65 A panel to see just how difficult it is to make a VOLTS gauge work in there. They aren't all the same.
Good luck to all.
Bulldozer
free ice cream sandwiches
Red are you talking about replacing the ammeter gauge with a volts gauge guts for a factory appearance? if so then then yes thats a little different. but to just add a volt gauge and bypass the ammeter isnt a big deal, as im sure you already know ...
i was offering a quick fix to get her back up and running....
BillGrissom
Well-Known Member
Yes, you can keep your ammeter functional but still protect it with a bypass diode. Either this, or the "Mad Bypass" is mandatory if you upgrade your alternator. Even if you make no changes, clean the ammeter terminals and check the insulating washers.
The dual diode shown below was $13 on ebay. Cut in half, flip one around so the pair conducts both ways and bolt together. Put it in-line with a new 12 awg or bigger wire from the alternator output to the battery. Install at either end, but it needs a good heat sink. Calculate the power dissipated as P = I x dV, where dV = voltage drop across diode at current I. You can find a dV vs I plot in the data sheet (web search). I recall ~0.5 V drop at 100 A, so 50 W of heat. A 0.5 V drop will put your ammeter about 75% scale. At low currents, most will still flow thru your ammeter.
Read more here:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=214956&highlight=diode
PM me if too overwhelming to buy and fab yourself and I might sell a spare setup, with no guarantees since I haven't run this latest incarnation yet, and I would charge well for the fuss.
The dual diode shown below was $13 on ebay. Cut in half, flip one around so the pair conducts both ways and bolt together. Put it in-line with a new 12 awg or bigger wire from the alternator output to the battery. Install at either end, but it needs a good heat sink. Calculate the power dissipated as P = I x dV, where dV = voltage drop across diode at current I. You can find a dV vs I plot in the data sheet (web search). I recall ~0.5 V drop at 100 A, so 50 W of heat. A 0.5 V drop will put your ammeter about 75% scale. At low currents, most will still flow thru your ammeter.
Read more here:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=214956&highlight=diode
PM me if too overwhelming to buy and fab yourself and I might sell a spare setup, with no guarantees since I haven't run this latest incarnation yet, and I would charge well for the fuss.
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