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Which Amp Gauge


jacko

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I use a volt meter.

Does the same thing and a lot easier to wire.

Not a lot of electrical load on our cars, Headlights 10A, Radiator fan 10A, Position lights 2A. So max continuous load under 30A so 30-0-30 is what I would use.

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Guest Turboz

Top man for going amperes

I have one on my bsa

Amps tell you much more than volts what the car is using and what your alternator is doing....

Can be tricky to wire up but loads of diagrams on the webby to help.

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Volt meters are wired in parallel so only need low amp wiring.

 

There are two types of Amp meter, one needs wiring in series, that requires high current battery cable, the other type is inductive, and will require a pick up coil around the main feed cable.

 

Although there is little amp usage whilst running, don’t forget cranking amps taken by the starter.

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Guest snowy2

there is no good reason to fit an Amp guage......not with an alternator anyway. (they are common on dynamo circuits)

alternators can often be rated WAY above the maximum the amp guage can read any way. even a weedy alternator can be 45A and a common rating today is 80+ A. the 60A ammeter might be ok....but why? a volt guage will give you all the information you need.

dont bother with the ammeter unless its a shunt resistor type the chunky wires you will need to run from the alternator to the dash and back will be prone to problems......and they will need to be very chunky or you will actualy cause chargibg problems.

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Another vote for the voltmeter rather than an ammeter. Much simpler and cheaper to wire, just as informative if not more so. With an ammeter you have to run heavy gauge wire to the dashboard area significantly increasing the length of the wire and therefore the voltage drop, and what you want to charge the battery is the volts! Unless you fuse this wire (2 big fuses for real protection) you have an large current delivering wire inside the vehicle. A voltmeter not only shows you that your alternator is putting out the required volts and is therefore charging but it also shows you the actual battery charge and drop under starting, all very useful info.

Finally, what is the typical failure mode of an alternator? Low voltage output not just amps! So you have all you really need to know with a voltmeter that is cheaper and easier to fit, no brainer really.

Now, if there was a truly accurate shunt based ammeter available for DC then I would consider it but as well as, not instead of.

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