i burnt up my ammeter, now what. 7/4/13--- UPDATE

[RIDELIKEHELL]

I invested in this  http://batterytender.com/products/automotive/battery-tender-junior-12v-at-0-75a.html  and also have a battery isolator from moroso and never leave my battery on whenever it's in the garage.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

 

[lukedukem]

I was just looking for one of those. Thank you

Luke

[RIDELIKEHELL]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-74103/overview/

[b5blue]

Walmart has them for about 5.00. 

[lukedukem]

Ok so Thursday I took my car on a trip and it was 30 miles total. This new wires and stuff I put on kicks ass. I'm so glad I went and did all of it. It drove great. So I just wanted to share that with you guys and thank everyone that helped me out. Big thanks.
Now I have a thermostat housing issue that I have to address. I went to take the hose off and it broke the neck off.
But that a different thread. 
If any one has any questions. After reading this PM me and I'll try and help. Later

Luke

[K9COP]

Hey Luke, glad the drive went well. I have my new harness to put in, so hopefully she'll be back up and running again soon. I'm going to move my battery to the boot (trunk) I think, primarily so that I can have a battery kill switch on the 'hot wire' as it runs past the drivers' seat. That way I can just turn the power off every time I park it. I accept that I cannot isolate the battery from the wire up to the kill switch this way, but that's a compromise I'm willing to accept. I have a disconnect on the battery up front at the moment, like the one pictured above, but getting the bonnet (hood) open and getting the disconnect off in a hurry still proved tricky....

CS

[b5blue]

  to you both!

[Pete in NH]

Hi Luke,

Great to hear your car is back on the road and in good running condition. Sounds like all your hard work and at times head scratching paid off!

[chargd72]

Walmart has them for about 5.00. 

These are junk. Just went and bought two of them.  Tried both and even with the knob backed all the way and completely removed I still had voltage across the terminal.

[b5blue]

Walmart has them for about 5.00. 

These are junk. Just went and bought two of them.  Tried both and even with the knob backed all the way and completely removed I still had voltage across the terminal.

I must have gotten lucky, mine is going on 18 years old and fine! 

[chargd72]

Walmart has them for about 5.00. 

These are junk. Just went and bought two of them.  Tried both and even with the knob backed all the way and completely removed I still had voltage across the terminal.

I must have gotten lucky, mine is going on 18 years old and fine! 

If yours were made 18 years ago they were probably made before cheap outsourced ones tooke their place.

[heinz13]

omit the ammeter....it's outdated and a fire hazzard...check out MAD electrical and get educated.

[Budnicks]

Ok so Thursday I took my car on a trip and it was 30 miles total. This new wires and stuff I put on kicks ass. I'm so glad I went and did all of it. It drove great. So I just wanted to share that with you guys and thank everyone that helped me out. Big thanks.
Now I have a thermostat housing issue that I have to address. I went to take the hose off and it broke the neck off.
But that a different thread. 
If any one has any questions. After reading this PM me and I'll try and help. Later

Luke

Cool stuff, it worked out for ya

[lukedukem]

Ok so Thursday I took my car on a trip and it was 30 miles total. This new wires and stuff I put on kicks ass. I'm so glad I went and did all of it. It drove great. So I just wanted to share that with you guys and thank everyone that helped me out. Big thanks.
Luke

it's been almost a year since i did this update, and now i'm having issues again. from this thread you can see i upgraded my car to 70's style stuff with pete's help. kept the amp gauge and did nachos upgrade too. all new harnesses. now what my car is doing is this. when i start the car and drive it the amp gauge bounces back and forth, it used to sit dead middle after charging battery power it used to start car. saturday night i drove a night and the lights where surging. sunday morning i put my meter and the battery and it read 13. something volts. i started the car and it jumped between 15 something to 14 something, back and forth. can't figure out what is going on now. is the voltage regulator going on this.

luke

[myk]

That's what my first guess would be: the regulator...

[Pete in NH]

Hi Luke,

I went back through this thread and as far as I can tell you're running a big Denso 120 amp alternator with a Chrysler electronic regulator. It could be a bad regulator but, I've not seen many failures with the real Chrysler part they seem to be quite reliable.

I would check around the system for a loose connection before changing the regulator. Make sure the following connections are clean and tight wire on the alternator output stud, Wires on the ammeter studs, and wires on the battery stud on the starter relay. Also make sure the grounds are good in the system. The alternator case to the engine block and it may help to run a ground bonding wire here from the alternator case to the engine block. The voltage regulator case to the firewall make sure the mounting screws are tight with no rust or paint in the way with external or internal tooth lock washers to bite into the metal. Make sure both the battery terminals are clean and tight.

I know you have bypassed the bulk head connector pins but, trace along the new wiring and make sure everything is connected well. Did you use a fusible link or Maxi-fuse in a holder? Make sure those connections a clean and tight as well.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

[lukedukem]

Hi Luke,

I went back through this thread and as far as I can tell you're running a big Denso 120 amp alternator with a Chrysler electronic regulator. It could be a bad regulator but, I've not seen many failures with the real Chrysler part they seem to be quite reliable.

I would check around the system for a loose connection before changing the regulator. Make sure the following connections are clean and tight wire on the alternator output stud, Wires on the ammeter studs, and wires on the battery stud on the starter relay. Also make sure the grounds are good in the system. The alternator case to the engine block and it may help to run a ground bonding wire here from the alternator case to the engine block. The voltage regulator case to the firewall make sure the mounting screws are tight with no rust or paint in the way with external or internal tooth lock washers to bite into the metal. Make sure both the battery terminals are clean and tight.

I know you have bypassed the bulk head connector pins but, trace along the new wiring and make sure everything is connected well. Did you use a fusible link or Maxi-fuse in a holder? Make sure those connections a clean and tight as well.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

oops i left that out. i didn't go with the big 120 amp alt. i stuck with a 70's one. i think they are at 65 amps? yes i did use a fuseable link as well. i'll take a look tonight and see what i find

luke

[lukedukem]

Ok Pete, I checked all the connections and plugs. But found nothing. I have a video of what is going on.
http://youtu.be/86-_Jiz8Gjs
I hope the link works. Before start up I read 13.05 volts on the battery, see what you think.
And the guage bumps down when I turn the key because of the electric fuel pump
Luke

[b5blue]

Luke I'd check out the gauge at this point, that's some wild crap going on! 

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Luke I'd check out the gauge at this point, that's some wild crap going on! 

That gauge is f'd!

[lukedukem]

Luke I'd check out the gauge at this point, that's some wild crap going on! 

That gauge is f'd!

but what about the lights. why are they doing that. can't be caused by the gauge, can it? i can try to bypass the gauge when i get home to see but i'm thinking the lights will still do what they currently do in the video. i like having the gauge because it tells me what is going on in the car with my charging system, tells me something is up.

luke

[Pete in NH]

Luke,

I don't think the ammeter gauge is the problem. I agree with you it is only trying to report what is happening in the charging system. The voltmeter is all over the place too. I would bet if you had an analog voltmeter on it, it too would be swinging as wildly as the ammeter. Your digital voltmeter can not keep up with the very rapid changes.

I still think it looks very much like a bad connection somewhere. I would check one more thing since you said you have looked at the wiring closely for a loose connection. You may have to take the alternator off to do this but, take a really close look at the brush holders and brushes on the back of the alternator and make sure the brushes are free to move in the holders and that the holders are not cracked and the round insulator on the mounting screws are intact.

If that all checks out, unplug the voltage regulator. If the system voltage continues to swing around wildly there is a wiring problem some where. If the voltage settles down and the ammeter shows a steady discharge, I would replace the voltage regulator. There may be a break on the printed circuit board internally in the regulator

[lukedukem]

Luke,

I don't think the ammeter gauge is the problem. I agree with you it is only trying to report what is happening in the charging system. The voltmeter is all over the place too. I would bet if you had an analog voltmeter on it, it too would be swinging as wildly as the ammeter. Your digital voltmeter can not keep up with the very rapid changes.

I still think it looks very much like a bad connection somewhere. I would check one more thing since you said you have looked at the wiring closely for a loose connection. You may have to take the alternator off to do this but, take a really close look at the brush holders and brushes on the back of the alternator and make sure the brushes are free to move in the holders and that the holders are not cracked and the round insulator on the mounting screws are intact.

If that all checks out, unplug the voltage regulator. If the system voltage continues to swing around wildly there is a wiring problem some where. If the voltage settles down and the ammeter shows a steady discharge, I would replace the voltage regulator. There may be a break on the printed circuit board internally in the regulator

thanks pete, i'll check the alt.when i get home today. if nothing there i'll unplug the voltage regulator. should i do this before or after starting the car. or does it matter?

luke

[Pete in NH]

I would unplug the regulator before staring the car.