electrical question

[Stegs]

i want to start out by saying this is not a area of expertise for me, so my questions could be very dumb

my 69 charger last year had a voltage regulator fail. Well, from what i gathered there is a form of fused wire? that is suppose to melt in order to protect the car.

Well that wire did what it was suppose too, it melted and broke (like it should) and i replaced it with a inline fuse. Good idea or not, im not sure (like i said im new to wiring)

anyway, i have a inline fuse with a 35 amp fuse. I keep blowing this fuse all the time.

If i run the headlights its fine, until i hit the tail lights and then i blows. The other day i had the timing set on my car....i just mashed the gas since my car runs so much better and it blew a fuse (no lights on, nothing!)

Well i took it to a local auto electric place, that works on car electrical. He told me to do away with the factory amp meter and go with a aftermarket volt meter


Now my amp meter works, at idle its at 0, going down the road its at +5 or so. When i hit the brakes at a stop sign it discharges while the brake is on (tail lights)

anyway, this friday he is going to eliminate that amp meter, run a wire from the alternator over to the positive battery cable? It will still be thru my voltage regulator (which he says has to be adjusted down when he tested it)


Im lost on how this works, but does this sound right to you guys? Im getting a external volt gauge, eliminating the amp gauge.

It will still go thru the voltage regulator, but eliminate my inline fuse?

Im worried about frying my dash, and having a car fire...what do i do? is he ok in what he is going to do? i dont want any more melted wires or a fire

Help!

I should also mention he is going to undo a black connector in the back of my alternator, i guess it has 2 wires going into one? he is going to unhook it, tape it up and away and run the wire from the alternator to the positive battery side.

should i put a inline fuse in there or a fuseable link?

[68 RT]

Put the fusible link back in and be done with it. Fuse will blow witha sudden amp draw in your case 35 amp, thats why it blows when you hit the brakes. A fusible like is made to melt within a certian amount of time, and amp draw. That is why they used a fusible link and not a fuse from the factory. Buy an extra to carry with you too. 

[Stegs]

Put the fusible link back in and be done with it. Fuse will blow witha sudden amp draw in your case 35 amp, thats why it blows when you hit the brakes. A fusible like is made to melt within a certian amount of time, and amp draw. That is why they used a fusible link and not a fuse from the factory. Buy an extra to carry with you too. 

are you saying add a fuseable link to what the guy will do? or remove my inline fuse and redo a fuseable link there and avoid what this guy is going to do?

if i add just a fuseable link where i have my inline fuse, what size do i get?

Id really prefer to do away with the amp meter and go with a volt meter if i can. Right now i cant even drive this car at night because i will blow fuses running the headlights and brake lights

[John_Kunkel]

I'm of the opinion that fusible links are just plain stupid. If you have a recurring electrical problem you can go through a box of fusible links before you find the problem. A circuit breaker makes much more sense to me...it pops, you reset it.

I high voltage reading at the battery doesn't necessarily mean the VR is out of adjustment, any high current draw (short circuit) will cause the alternator to put out more voltage to compensate for the load.

Melting the fusible link when the brakes are applied suggests a short in the brake light circuit, the presence or not of an ammeter has nothing to do with it.

[Stegs]

I'm of the opinion that fusible links are just plain stupid. If you have a recurring electrical problem you can go through a box of fusible links before you find the problem. A circuit breaker makes much more sense to me...it pops, you reset it.

I high voltage reading at the battery doesn't necessarily mean the VR is out of adjustment, any high current draw (short circuit) will cause the alternator to put out more voltage to compensate for the load.

Melting the fusible link when the brakes are applied suggests a short in the brake light circuit, the presence or not of an ammeter has nothing to do with it.

no the tail lights dont blow the fuse on their own....its when i run headlights and tail lights.....There is no issue in the wiring, im sure my 35 amp fuse is too small for headlights and taillights...thus it blows


My thing is going away with the amp meter and going with a volt meter.. I want to be able to drive the car at night and not worry about blowing a fuse or having a car fire.

I read alot on this issue, a few post people replied doing what i want to do....go with a volt meter instead.

My question is if i go with a volt meter, how do i protect the car from melting the dash or a car fire?

[Pete in NH]

If you have a stock size alternator of 45 amps or less, I would keep your ammeter. The 35 amp fuse is too small to handle the load on it. The fusible link is a 16 Gauge unit that can handle something like 50 to 60 amps before it blows.

I'm not sure the electrical shop you are dealing with is giving you good advice. Running a wire directly from the alternator to battery without some type of protection would be a bad idea. I agree with John that fusible links were not a very good idea but, they were cheap and Detroit always loved cheap. I prefer to replace them with a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse which is a more modern blade type fuse.

Also, running a wire from the alternator to the battery will not address getting power to the rest of the car. Chrysler systems have a big electrical distribution point Chrysler called a splice joint on the other side of the ammeter wiring. You still need to get power to that point. With a stock size alternator, I would replace the fusible link with a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse and do what Chrysler called the fleet bypass mod. to bypass the problematic bulk head connector pins and leave the ammeter in place.

If you have a big alternator on the car like something over 60 amps I would go with a voltmeter and eliminate the ammeter. But, that needs to be wired in differently than your electrical shop is suggesting.

[mopar0166]

take that fuze link out and get a circuit breaker,

or buy a few fuse links to have with you

[Stegs]

If you have a stock size alternator of 45 amps or less, I would keep your ammeter. The 35 amp fuse is too small to handle the load on it. The fusible link is a 16 Gauge unit that can handle something like 50 to 60 amps before it blows.

I'm not sure the electrical shop you are dealing with is giving you good advice. Running a wire directly from the alternator to battery without some type of protection would be a bad idea. I agree with John that fusible links were not a very good idea but, they were cheap and Detroit always loved cheap. I prefer to replace them with a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse which is a more modern blade type fuse.

Also, running a wire from the alternator to the battery will not address getting power to the rest of the car. Chrysler systems have a big electrical distribution point Chrysler called a splice joint on the other side of the ammeter wiring. You still need to get power to that point. With a stock size alternator, I would replace the fusible link with a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse and do what Chrysler called the fleet bypass mod. to bypass the problematic bulk head connector pins and leave the ammeter in place.

If you have a big alternator on the car like something over 60 amps I would go with a voltmeter and eliminate the ammeter. But, that needs to be wired in differently than your electrical shop is suggesting.

Yea my alternator was rebuilt last spring (1 year ago)

its putting out some power, more than 45 amps for sure. How would i wire that alternator to bypass the amp meter and go strictly with a volt meter? how do i protect the car from melting a wire or starting on fire?

I can replace my inline fuse that i have now with your 50 amp style blade fuse.....if you can go into detail on that!

[imabozo]

I replaced my fusible link with an inline maxi fuse, 60A I think. The maxi fuse is a slow blow fuse that is similar to the response of the fusible link. Replacing a blown fuse is a lot easier than installing a new fusible link. However, the circuit breaker mentioned above is a good idea as well.

[Pete in NH]

You can replace the fuse you have now with a 50 amp Maxi-fuse. Go to NAPA and get a NW784482 Maxi-Fuse holder and a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse. Install a 5/16" ring terminal on one wire of the fuse holder and connect that to the battery stud on the starter relay. Connect the other fuse holder wire to the bulk head connector pin that used to have the fusible link wired to it. That should solve your fuse blowing problem.

To bypass the ammeter, it would be helpful to know the size( current rating) of the alternator to properly size the wire and fuse. What you do is install a new wire  from the alternator output stud through a new fuse to the battery stud on the starter relay. Then you move the wire on your 50 amp Maxi-fuse holder from the bulk head connector pin with a new piece of #8 red wire to the black wire that used to go to one side of the ammeter. You then remove the red wire from the other side of the ammeter that goes to the bulk head connector pin. Clip it off as well as the original black wire that went from the alternator output to the bulk head connector pin.

[Dino]

Stegs I'm in Ann Arbor, do you want to meet up?  I did all the electrical upgrades to my car so you can take a look at it and go over your options.

I honestly would not go with that shop, the advice they gave you seems to be lacking some.

[John_Kunkel]

There is no issue in the wiring, im sure my 35 amp fuse is too small for headlights and taillights...thus it blows

I'd think more like less than 25 amps total for both the headlamps and tail lamps.

[Stegs]

Stegs I'm in Ann Arbor, do you want to meet up?  I did all the electrical upgrades to my car so you can take a look at it and go over your options.

I honestly would not go with that shop, the advice they gave you seems to be lacking some.

Id love too! but to be honest i dont know how to do any electrical. I can do mechanical stuff but when it comes to electrical, i try to leave it professionals!


If your willing to come to my house in the Holland area....i pay for all parts you need, pizza, beer....whatever as long as you know what your doing!

Im just scared of a melting wire will destroy my dash or start my car on fire.....


EDIT :

Listened to you guys, went to napa to get a maxi fuse and a couple 50 amp breakers. Going to still have that shop do it, but do it exactly like you guys said. Id like to keep the amp meter for originality purposes, but i think going with a volt meter makes more sense!