sitting on fence about amp meter

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demonmike70

demonmike70

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after reading about amp meter promblems i am think of converting to voltage gauge.what stoping me is my car is one owner car from san jose california. has not been hacked at or modified.i also have the documents from window sticker to last oil change invoice just before i got the car.my wireing looks good.im thinking may just remove terminals in the fire wall bulkhead to stop future problems and leave amp gauge alone or do convertion to voltmeter.coments welcomed.
 
You can do this conversion invisibly. You need to have your amp gauge converted to a volt gauge but use the amp gauge faceplate.

Others will post the company that does the conversion.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
You can do this conversion invisibly. You need to have your amp gauge converted to a volt gauge but use the amp gauge faceplate.

Others will post the company that does the conversion.
Click to expand...
i have read about guys use a sunpro volt gauge and makeing work with amp gauge faceplate.i bought the sunpro volt gauge at autozone,also know where a 74 dart in scrap yard to get another amp gauge to convert.
 
Dumping the ammeter is smart. It is like adding frame rail connectors. One of those mods everyone should do that isnt doing a concourse resto.

I did the sunpro. it is easy
 
How simple the conversion is depends on what inst' panel it is. I wouldn't go into some inst' panels for this gauge conversion alone. A better plan would be to renew and or upgrade all of it at one time whether thats before or after it breaks.
Out of the millions of them used only a small few ALT' gauges have failed. A lesser number of those have actually caused fires. The internet spreads bad news and BS like wildfire.
 
IF you stick with a low output stock alternator, IF you refurb the bulkhead to absolute perfection, and maybe just solder the two "trouble" terminals together, and IF you make sure the ammeter is in tip top condition, and don't have a bunch of high current accessories installed, you very likely could get by just fine

The problem, though has been with us for a very long time. If you look through some of the old shop manuals, you can find what has become known as "taxi or fleet" wiring, where Ma essentially ran heavier wiring through separate firewall gromments

In my own 70 RR back in the early 70's, I had trouble with the bulkhead connector, and ended up running new conductors through the old bulkhead terminal holes, as they had ..........Melted!!!.......

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=119480&highlight=ammeter+conversion

It details how you can convert your ammeter to a voltmeter. I can't take credit, I simply copied. I did mine with the Sunpro voltmeter, and didn't even change the gauge needle. It is "slightly" different from the temp/ fuel gauges. I just love it. You can set the cal. pot in the meter so that 14V is right at the center of the old ammeter scale.
 
67Dart273 said:
IF you stick with a low output stock alternator, IF you refurb the bulkhead to absolute perfection, and maybe just solder the two "trouble" terminals together, and IF you make sure the ammeter is in tip top condition, and don't have a bunch of high current accessories installed, you very likely could get by just fine

The problem, though has been with us for a very long time. If you look through some of the old shop manuals, you can find what has become known as "taxi or fleet" wiring, where Ma essentially ran heavier wiring through separate firewall gromments

In my own 70 RR back in the early 70's, I had trouble with the bulkhead connector, and ended up running new conductors through the old bulkhead terminal holes, as they had ..........Melted!!!.......

Have you seen this thread

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=119480&highlight=ammeter+conversion

It details how you can convert your ammeter to a voltmeter. I can't take credit, I simply copied. I did mine with the Sunpro voltmeter, and didn't even change the gauge needle. It is "slightly" different from the temp/ fuel gauges. I just love it. You can set the cal. pot in the meter so that 14V is right at the center of the old ammeter scale.
Click to expand...
i have seen the thread,read mad electrical that you posted,this car 100 % stock,no add ons .once the weather here breaks i an going to pull bulkhead apart and solder the wires. i just don't want to do to modifcations to unmolested car.thanks for your input.
 
It won't be a 1 owner car after an electrical fire is done owning it, mopars were known for this, it's not a modification, it's a dire needed upgrade, please fix it.
 
Best way to bypass is to run a 10 AWG wire from output post on alternator directly to positive battery cable. The charging load will no longer go through the bulkhead connector. If the ammeter itself is failing, put both of it's wires on one of it's terminals.
 
I wish I had taken pictures of it, but it was before digital cameras. I mounted a small digital voltmeter in the ashtray, did the bulkhead connector bypass, disconnected the ammeter and left it in the dash so it looked stock. Lately, I've been installing digital voltmeters in Piper airplanes. They came with 37 amp Chrysler alternators and many are upgrading to more powerful alternators for better lighting and upgraded avionics and are also having the same problem car guys have overloading the ammeter which is very expensive to upgrade or repair.
 
Another sky is falling thread.....
Disconnect the battery and make sure the nuts on the 2 terminals are tight.
The car will be fine.
 
Johnny Dart said:
Another sky is falling thread.....
Disconnect the battery and make sure the nuts on the 2 terminals are tight.
The car will be fine.
Click to expand...

That's what this guy said too. The Lamborghini Miura was known to have a potential fire problem 35+ years ago.

Sure, the amp gauge fire doesn't happen often, but it can.

Do you want to be "that one guy" that it happens to?

Nothing wrong with wanting to eliminate a potential hazard.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqpa1HB-wOc"]Lamborghini Miura SV catches fire in central London - YouTube[/ame]
 
To maintain the car as original, C130_Chief's suggestion of adding a 10 awg wire run from ALT to BATT+ is best. You can run that either direct to the battery or to the starter relay big post (usually easier).

If you still want a charge/discharge indicator, you can use a cigarette lighter voltmeter. I use one in my modern cars, since their only factory "low battery" indicator simply means "too late". If you want your dash alternator to keep working, but stay protected, put "parallel-reversed" diodes in series with the new wire. See my posts on that, but don't try it if you are an electrical wimp.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
That's what this guy said too. The Lamborghini Miura was known to have a potential fire problem 35+ years ago.

Sure, the amp gauge fire doesn't happen often, but it can.

Do you want to be "that one guy" that it happens to?

Nothing wrong with wanting to eliminate a potential hazard.

Lamborghini Miura SV catches fire in central London - YouTube
Click to expand...

You're entitled to your opinion,I'm entitled to mine. The car has been just fine for 40+ years,my money's on it lasting another 40. Besides,thats what they have insurance for.Keep the connections tight,it will be fine.
 
This has nothing to do with sky falling...it's age and environment vs less than ideal execution of wiring principles and components. I'm overjoyed for anyone whose original wiring and gauges haven't failed them yet. But I'm on board with making the small modification of bypassing the ammeter and installing an 8ga wire directly from the charge post of the alternator to the battery post on the starter relay.

My car didn't burn to the ground like that poor guy's Lambo, but it did cook the insulation on the ammeter and bulkhead connectors...damn thing almost left me stranded because of it. Nothing like the sudden acrid odor of burnt 40 year old plastic insulation under the dash while you're a few miles outta town and thinkin' everything is hunky dory.

If you don't drive it much and don't ever turn on high amperage draw components (lights or heater) and pull the connectors apart periodically to grease and inspect them, or it's a show car valued on originality, then sure, leave it alone...if you like to drive your car more than periodically, and sometimes when it's dark, wet, and cold outside...well...hell with it...it's your car.
 
so i'm going to bypass the amp gauge,i was at cruise night last night,a old gent was looking at my car.he knew a lot about these old dodges.he said amp gauge bypass was the way to go.i told him how wanted another amp gauge to convert to volt gauge with sunpro gauge he said he has a use one,he went home,came back and sold me the whole cluster for ten dollers!so now have all the parts to start my bypass project,with out takeing the car out use for too long.
 

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i also smoked an amp gauge wire. very stinky didn't burn anything except the amp wire and my fingers from ripping the wire off the gauge. it was either my fingers or the car may have burned to the ground.
i haven't had an amp gauge in over 25 years!!
if you insist on having the amp gauge what about running the wire through piece of rubber tubing
 
I've thrown 2 amp gauges in the garbage this week alone. One of them had dropped the tiny steel center post out of the brass shunt. That only burns the needle out of the gauge. The other had a lovely green corrosion all over it as did everything copper or brass in this panel. What have I said here ? These instruments have ememies in their environment such as moisture, vibration, etc.. that will kill them eventually, much like our own bodies.
Put a brand new instrument of any type in there today and it will fail someday too.
The main advantage of a Volts gauge is that its failure does not disable the entire car.
 
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