Factory ammeter

Actually in some cases it is BOTH the ammeter and bulkhead connector. The whole circuit is simply not heavy enough for heavy current applications. I melted the ammeter mounting bosses somewhat in my 70RR cluster way back in the mid 70's before Al Gore invented the internet. AND the same car suffered damage to the bulkhead connector terminals.

Even in 70?-72, some of the large sea barges used external shut ammeters which eliminated the problem. "Ma" knew the problem was there, as the cars with optional 65A alternators used modified harnesses to combat the problem. This is known loosely as "fleet police taxi" wiring. Look up in the 70--72-ish shop manuals, look up the optional 65A alternator wiring for the B bodies.

After I got out of the Navy (74) I saw a few Dodge ammeters melted from snow plow hoists, winches, or big driving lights. Looked EXACTLY like the photo in the MAD article, read it here:

Catalog

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Yes, the '75-up pickups (and some other models) with the plastic housings were a real problem. Any current draw and the ammeter heats up. Add just a little more ( like a low/bad battery that is being charged for a long time) and the housings starts to melt. Once that happens, the connection between the ammeter stud and ammeter buss loosens causing a bad connection and some arcing which makes the housing (and eventually) the gauge to melt further. Whenever I have a truck dash apart, I solder the ammeter stud to the buss and not just rely on a crummy crimp fit.