bulkhead Ammeter connectors

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Darren

Darren

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Hey all
I'm replacing the red and black female ammeter connectors in my bulkhead connector. I ordered them from a local supplier, do these look like the correct part#?
Also does anyone have a part# for the male connectors if I need to change a few?
Thanks in advance
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Screenshot_20210709-221933_Gallery.jpg
 
Lord Sparky said:
Hopefully you are bypassing the ammeter.
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Nope.. for now leaving original and adding a crackedback headlight relay kit.
No added power accessories.
Bad decision??
 
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Darren said:
Nope.. for now leaving original and adding cracked back's headlight relay kit.
No added power accessories.
Bad decision??
Click to expand...
Not IMO. The “Ampmeter” fire hazzard is over rated and it is due to overloading the system as well as bad resto practices or old rusty parts never addressed.

I have had only one person here (though I’m sure there will be about 75-100 guys making claims now,) claim a fire without pictures.

When ever I’m at a car meet, I have never ever met a person saying “yes, it happened to me” that can prove it. A big loss of words occur, but a hundred guys telling me “I now a guy it happened to” in which they can not ever once come up with a name of the person, where they live/lived, when it happened, or type of make model or year of car.

But don’t worry, the internet hero’s are now here to tell you otherwise & how much of an *** you are running stock equipment much less with a reduced load from Cracked’s head light delay.

Also don’t forget you can catch the C-rona virus from live TV broadcastings! It’s all part of the government’s plan with the aliens.:poke:
 
rumblefish360 said:
Not IMO. The “Ampmeter” fire hazzard is over rated and it is due to overloading the system as well as bad resto practices or old rusty parts never addressed.

I have had only one person here (though I’m sure there will be about 75-100 guys making claims now,) claim a fire without pictures.

When ever I’m at a car meet, I have never ever met a person saying “yes, it happened to me” that can prove it. A big loss of words occur, but a hundred guys telling me “I now a guy it happened to” in which they can not ever once come up with a name of the person, where they live/lived, when it happened, or type of make model or year of car.

But don’t worry, the internet hero’s are now here to tell you otherwise & how much of an *** you are running stock equipment much less with a reduced load from Cracked’s head light delay.

Also don’t forget you can catch the C-rona virus from live TV broadcastings! It’s all part of the government’s plan with the aliens.:poke:
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Thanks for the Reply rumblefish..
Like I said I would like to keep my barracuda as stock as possible (383s 4speed) I am a very attention to detail guy , looked things over with a fine tooth comb.
And will be adding headlight relay kit ( that I already have from cracked back).
I also have been to lots of car shows and talked to Abody owners about the ammeter bypass or MAD .. they don't even know what im talking about.. maybe they are getting lucky year after year?? Not sure..
I'm sure it is a great/safe upgrade..
But for now I would like to stayoriginal..
 
FWIW, I’m not trashing the change to a volt meter over the amp gage.
 
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I did this mod:

Catalog

I only did this because all my gauges are aftermarket and I used the voltmeter in the gauge kit instead.
I did have an ammeter issue in my old 1984 Dodge Ramcharger. The wire did get hot and melted the insulation and part of the gauge but that was mainly due to the voltage regulator issue, it was overcharging the the system and a hodge podge wiring from the previous owner.
But again it's the only issue I had of all the cars I used or owned:
1983 Dodge W150: No issues.
1978 W100: No issues
1974 Plymouth Duster no issues when I was using the original gauges.
1978 Jeep Cherokee Chief no issues.
1983 Jeep Cherokee Chief no issues.
1988 Dodge W150 no issues.
1978 Dodge D100 I borrowed (Old Army svc truck) no issues, in fact it was the only one that actually worked out of all them.
My brother's old 1984 Trans-am had no issues.
My son's 1978 Camaro, no issues.

My gauges look like this now: (Sorry cruddy pictures)
IMG_20210621_105235860.jpg


IMG_20210621_105637906.jpg
 
There are actually at least two different female connectors. The high amperage one is a little different than those. If you notice those are also for 18-20 gauge wire.

Will they work?
Probably, but I would prefer the correct connectors.
 
rumblefish360 said:
FWIW, I’m not trashing the change to a bolt meter over the amp gage.
Click to expand...


And yes there is very good reasons to do the mod!

However the OP states no added load. Smart they are! I am in total agreement!
 
If you get the ammeter, wiring and bulkhead connector in good shape and stay with LESS than a "about" 45A alternator.......without a bunch of added loads, LIKELY you will be fine.
 
Jim Lusk said:
There are actually at least two different female connectors. The high amperage one is a little different than those. If you notice those are also for 18-20 gauge wire.

Will they work?
Probably, but I would prefer the correct connectors.
Click to expand...
Yes I did notice that.. I'm pretty sure the ammeter wires are 12 gauge..
Thanks Jim
 
Darren said:
Hey all
I'm replacing the red and black female ammeter connectors in my bulkhead connector. I ordered them from a local supplier, do these look like the correct part#?
Also does anyone have a part# for the male connectors if I need to change a few?
Thanks in advance View attachment 1715762770View attachment 1715762772
Click to expand...
Not quite.
Those are the correct design but for smaller wires.
You need terminals for SAE 12 ga. I would say at minimum they should be designed for 14 AWG.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Not IMO. The “Ampmeter” fire hazzard is over rated and it is due to overloading the system as well as bad resto practices or old rusty parts never addressed.

I have had only one person here (though I’m sure there will be about 75-100 guys making claims now,) claim a fire without pictures.

When ever I’m at a car meet, I have never ever met a person saying “yes, it happened to me” that can prove it. A big loss of words occur, but a hundred guys telling me “I now a guy it happened to” in which they can not ever once come up with a name of the person, where they live/lived, when it happened, or type of make model or year of car.

But don’t worry, the internet hero’s are now here to tell you otherwise & how much of an *** you are running stock equipment much less with a reduced load from Cracked’s head light delay.

Also don’t forget you can catch the C-rona virus from live TV broadcastings! It’s all part of the government’s plan with the aliens.:poke:
Click to expand...
Yep!
To be fair, if an electric winch or plow is connected at the battery, there will be alot of load on the circuit. I'd bet dollars to donuts the ammeter shown on MAD's website was from a pickup truck with a plow or winch.

An advantage of having an ammeter is it will indicated overloading.
I have read more than one post where the owner ignored a pegged or nearly pegged meter. :(
That's when something does melt, whatever is/are the weakest connection - usually terminals. We've seen a few pictures of those.
Unfortunately sometimes the internet 'help' they get is to blame the meter. That's not just here but also on some of the jeep fourms.
Posted a small collection of examples here 15V
 
Darren said:
Yes I did notice that.. I'm pretty sure the ammeter wires are 12 gauge..
Thanks Jim
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Just for clarity, only the red wire goes to the ammeter. The black wire goes to the mainsplice. I *think* on some cars this is a 10 gage wire but I may be misremembering that. If its the car in your photo, probably 12 ga.


AUSA66 said:
These look like the original on Ebay M&F tin plated

View attachment 1715762844
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Maybe some, but the US built Chryslers used a female terminal more like a Packard 58.
 
Darren said:
Nope.. for now leaving original and adding cracked back's headlight relay kit.
No added power accessories.
Bad decision??
Click to expand...
I connected the red/black ammeter wires together and went with Crackedback headlight relay harness and his 6 ga alternator to starter relay wire. Then got Powermaster one wire alternator adding their ground wire from alt to engine/firewall. Disconnected voltage regulator.
 
Mattax said:
Just for clarity, only the red wire goes to the ammeter. The black wire goes to the mainsplice. I *think* on some cars this is a 10 gage wire but I may be misremembering that. If its the car in your photo, probably 12 ga.



Maybe some, but the US built Chryslers used a female terminal more like a Packard 58.
Click to expand...
Yes Mattax
68 barracuda 383s
Pretty sure the wiring diagram shows 12 Gauge for both red/black wires.
 
Darren said:
Nope.. for now leaving original and adding cracked back's headlight relay kit.
No added power accessories.
Bad decision??
Click to expand...
I have my own reasons for changing the amp gauge to a volts gauge. In my opinion a gauge is simply a reporter. It shouldn't be able to interrupt what it reports. The fuel doesn't stop flowing when a fuel gauge fails. Same for oil and temp gauges. Amp gauge failure stops the electrical flow/system. Volts gauge does not.
In the rally panel the fuel gauge has the voltage limiter inside it, so it is chassis grounded. That path to ground is right beside the amp gauge which is fire cracker hot. If/when the black matting frame in that pod breaks away from the stakes, the frame shorts amp gauge to fuel gauge, aluminum fuel gauge needle turns to white ash, disappears instantly. I have 2 rally fuel gauges here that this happened to. One of them has a burn scar in the screen. My best guess is driver tapping on the lens because one or more of the gauges was not working. The mounting nuts behind them loosen, gauge(s) becomes intermittent. "DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS". Good luck with yours.
 
RedFish said:
I have my own reasons for changing the amp gauge to a volts gauge. In my opinion a gauge is simply a reporter. It shouldn't be able to interrupt what it reports. The fuel doesn't stop flowing when a fuel gauge fails. Same for oil and temp gauges. Amp gauge failure stops the electrical flow/system. Volts gauge does not.
In the rally panel the fuel gauge has the voltage limiter inside it, so it is chassis grounded. That path to ground is right beside the amp gauge which is fire cracker hot. If/when the black matting frame in that pod breaks away from the stakes, the frame shorts amp gauge to fuel gauge, aluminum fuel gauge needle turns to white ash, disappears instantly. I have 2 rally fuel gauges here that this happened to. One of them has a burn scar in the screen. My best guess is driver tapping on the lens because one or more of the gauges was not working. The mounting nuts behind them loosen, gauge(s) becomes intermittent. "DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS". Good luck with yours.
Click to expand...
I can be persuaded when it comes to safety..
So say hypothetically if I leave the amp gauge in place and bolt the ammeter connectors together and insulate good and tie up under dash.. then install a temporary volt gauge under dash . Then I could always bring back to original if I please or sell car..
Would this eliminate your concerns? ( I realize I will still have the bulkhead connector issue..)
Also I bypassed my "in fuel gauge" limiter and am using a RTE solid state limiter .. (picture) thanks RedFish
Screenshot_20210710-125100_Gallery.jpg
 
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Sorry guys if I'm beating a dead horse over this issue (MAD)..
I just want to present my situation and you guys are the most knowledgeable people around..
Thanks
 
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