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Old 02-23-2004, 02:47 PM
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TomsSVX TomsSVX is offline
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Ammeter install

Now i have gotten gauges for my svx and mounted them under the radio. Now I have the ammeter hooked up where the fusable link was in the engine bay fuse box. This works the same way it did before and reads about 15-25 amps at running under slight load, i have a feeling thats not what i should be seeing. Could someone tell me where i should put the + and - leads from the ammeter. So any info and maybe a diagram would be great.
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Old 02-23-2004, 03:16 PM
lee lee is offline
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The Alt is rated at 90 or 95 (I forget) and probably puts out less with age. You weren't expecting to see this amount all the time were you?

If you replaced the fusible link I would think twice about that...if there's a short, you will be smelling burning wires under the hood - to close to the fuel filter/lines to suit me, but....

Ammeters I have seen (its been a while) are inline with the charging circuit. If that's the case for your gauge, then it should be spliced into the thick lead coming off the top of the alternator. I would hope someone has thought up some kind of inductive measurement system for ammeters. In the days of my youth (back around when they were inventing dirt) I had a Dodge ammeter die, which meant no charging until I jumped the meter - of course not found until after replacing the voltage regulator and generator (BTW, what they used before alternators).

Regarding the meter reading. It seems OK if there's not much load - turn on the headlights, try highbeams turn the A/C on high to spin up the radiator fan and get the blower motor turning - that should make it jump up a good bit.
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Old 02-23-2004, 03:20 PM
oab_au oab_au is offline
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Re: Ammeter install

Quote:
Originally posted by tomssvx
Now i have gotten gauges for my svx and mounted them under the radio. Now I have the ammeter hooked up where the fusable link was in the engine bay fuse box. This works the same way it did before and reads about 15-25 amps at running under slight load, i have a feeling thats not what i should be seeing. Could someone tell me where i should put the + and - leads from the ammeter. So any info and maybe a diagram would be great.
I would not fit an ampmeter to this car. The alt can put out 95 amps and to try to run this sort of current up to the dash, through a meter and back again, is asking for trouble.

Thats why no amp meters are fitted to cars to-day. Just volt meters, the current is too high.

Harvey.
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Old 02-23-2004, 05:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by lee
The Alt is rated at 90 or 95 (I forget) and probably puts out less with age. You weren't expecting to see this amount all the time were you?

If you replaced the fusible link I would think twice about that...if there's a short, you will be smelling burning wires under the hood - to close to the fuel filter/lines to suit me, but....

Ammeters I have seen (its been a while) are inline with the charging circuit. If that's the case for your gauge, then it should be spliced into the thick lead coming off the top of the alternator. I would hope someone has thought up some kind of inductive measurement system for ammeters. In the days of my youth (back around when they were inventing dirt) I had a Dodge ammeter die, which meant no charging until I jumped the meter - of course not found until after replacing the voltage regulator and generator (BTW, what they used before alternators).

Regarding the meter reading. It seems OK if there's not much load - turn on the headlights, try highbeams turn the A/C on high to spin up the radiator fan and get the blower motor turning - that should make it jump up a good bit.
ok now you say i should splice into the thick lead on top of the alternator, are talking about the thicker of the to wires running from the clip in the alternator or the two wires that are bolted to a stud on the alt??
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Old 02-23-2004, 06:58 PM
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The thicker of the wires that are attached to the stud on top of the alternator (don't know but I'd guess 8 or 10 gauge wire). BTW, this only will show how much the alternator is putting out (good for knowing if the Alt is OK, but a voltmeter does that too), not how much the car is drawing.

why the drive for an ammeter gauge (if you don't mind my asking)? Harvey's input has validity.

For example: Are you wanting to see how much an audio amp is drawing (splice into that power lead), or ???
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Old 02-24-2004, 09:12 AM
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i know harvey is right, he knows what he is talking about but i had gotten a 3 gauge set and i made a moutned face for under the aftermarket cd player for 3 gauges, now i will prob just cut into the audio power lead but thats not exactly what i wanted it for but i just want them all to be funtional ya know what i mean. thnx for your input guys
Tom
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Old 02-24-2004, 05:28 PM
rbalach rbalach is offline
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First off how many amps can this ampmeter read ? If it is designed to read high (more than 10amps) are you sure this ammeter did not some with something called a shunt ?

Usually this is what is done when you want current readings from a high current circuit. A shunt is a big piece of metal (of known fixed resistance) which you attach in line with the circuit. Depending on the amount of current flowing through the shunt, the voltage across it changes. The "ammeter" is now actually a voltmeter that reads the voltage across the shunt but the caliberations on the display show amps. I hope all that made sense.

Like somebody already mentioned it is not a good idea to have 90-95 amps coming through the firewall to the dash and back.
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