Gauges

[Guest no1carmaddad]

I have a smiths ampmeter -30-0-+30 could you help me by telling me how to wire it in please. Thanks simon. Electricity if you can't see how are you suppose to work with it.

[IanS]

You probabaly have a 50 amp alternator so the guage might spend some time at full scale.

That said I have never seen a small car battery that will take 50 amps at 14 Volts.

 

Right on to the nitty gritty.

Your donor had 2 wires to the + of the battery, a thick one that only goes to the starter (leave this alone) and a thiner one that takes all the other current.

Lift the second wire from the batery and extend it with 3.5mm dia wire (10sqmm) or thicker to the - terminal of the meter. Now useing the same size wire conect the + terminal of the meter to the + of the batery.

Make sure that all joins cannot short to the body.

Job done.

 

If the meter reads + when the engine is stopped and the lights switched on just reverse the connections to the meter.

 

Light(s) in the meter have one lead to earth and one to the feed for all the other instrument lights.

 

Ian

[Guest no1carmaddad]

thanks and have a good christmas.

[Big Jim]

Simon,

 

In my opinion I would dump the ampmeter, unless you fancy 2 terminals carrying all the electric power you've got under a tin dashboard. I would go for a simple voltmeter, this will show you the state of your battery, and if it's charging or not.

[Guest Charles B]

Take Jims advice and have a voltmeter. Ammeters were useful for old dynamos, but modern alternators usually either work or stop, nothing inbetween. The only ammeters I would fit are ones with the shunt remote in a safe place, not behind the dash.