Ammeter guage problem?
Hello
New to this site
Have a 67 fb
Oem ammeter reads from midline to the 'c' line in positive relation to rpm .
Anyone run across bad ammeters or have gone bad after awhile.
Trying to eliminate one of several possibilities
Any feedback is welcome.
Thanks
Do you think the meter movement is sticking?
One way to check is to bypass the regulator, and gently bring up engine RPM while watching a voltmeter monitoring the battery. Don't let battery voltage go above 16V. Any decent alternator should be able to "full scale" the meter.
To check the discharge side is a little more tricky. You need something that will pull 40-50 A load. If you can borrow a "carbon pile" battery tester that works well, you can use that.
In fact, you can use it to check both charge and discarge.
To check charge, pull a load on the battery of som 40A or so. Run the engine at "medium cruise" RPM. The ammeter should about be buried over at charge.
To check discharge, you need to hook the load to the opposite side of the ammter. One way to do that, is leave the engine off, and CAREFULLY hook the load tester to the ammeter output stud, which will place the load on the correct side of the ammeter.
Again, pull a 40A or so load, and go look at your dash ammeter. It should be about buried at discharge.
Don't do this longer than it takes to take the reading