Ammeter to Voltmeter...who does it?
Since I plan on doing the MAD bypass
Please hold off until you have this all mapped out. It's not as brilliant an idea as they claim, and most important, the method they suggest puts unneccessary resistance in the power feed.
My junction blocks. The ammeter is definitely on the charging circuit. The fusible link is NOS...my old one was crunchy but not yet burned out.
Very interesting.
Junction block. When I wrote "main junction" I was referring to a distribution center. What I see in the photo are the bulkhead connectors. On the side power is distributed at one or more big welded splices and a the fuse panel.
The fusible link is pretty much a wire with special insulation. Its probably the insulation that is getting crunchy. It takes a lot of current to melt a fusible link. It's mostly to stop a battery discharging through a short to ground.
With the ammeter in the charging circuit, its probably internally shunted. I don't see a connection from the battery to alternator in the engine bay - that's typically what we'ld see with an externally shunted ammeter.
The 10ga. positive wire with the inline fuse goes to the coach/house battery charging solenoid. Maybe this is causing the ammeter to read +25, because the coach/house battery is on its last legs. ...The coach/house battery charging solenoid.
Very interesting.
It could be. I assume this solenoid is always on when the key is in 'run' or is it manually switched?
Normally, a low battery will draw a lot of current at first, but then as it charges less and less. High recharge current means lots of chemical activity in the battery and that produces heat. That internal heat makes it more difficult to recharge. The small wire on the fuse may restrict the recharging current somewhat, which is good but best would be to recharge that battery on a slow charger.
Anyway, its pretty easy to test the possibility by taking it off the circuit. Just watch where loose hot wires are!