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#1
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AMP gauge
My amp gauge stopped working. It looks to have moisture behind the glass. What could have caused this??
Is it repairable?? |
#2
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Why do my pictures turn sideways??
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#3
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Amp gauges are wired in series with a main hot wire so even though it stopped working it's still passing power to the whole car's electrical system but for the starter circuit.
My guess is that the moisture in the gauge has corroded the meter movement and its hanging up the pointer from moving. There are folks who can rebuild it for you.
__________________
Wernher Von Braun warned before his retirement from NASA back in 1972, that the next world war would be against the ETs! And he was not talking about 1/8 or 1/4 mile ETs! 1) 1940s 100% silver 4 cup tea server set. Two dry rotted 14 x 10 Micky Thompson slicks. 1) un-mailed in gift coupon from a 1972 box of corn flakes. Two pairs of brown leather flip flops, never seen more then 2 mph. Education is what your left with once you forget things! |
#4
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Is that moisture or smoke stains?
If you run more amps through it, than the gauge can handle, it will smoke/melt the windings and quit working. Clay |
#5
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Quote:
Thanks guys, Dave |
#6
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Probably not water if it has a permanent haze. Water would clear up (condensation and evaporation are reversible). If water got in, it can get out.
More likely a material with a low vapor pressure (plastic, lubricant) that condensed or smoke particles that wanted to stick to the glass. If this is the cause for the haze it suggests something inside got pretty hot but I'm clearly speculating. It does seem weird for it to not work but still pass current. I don't know anything about the design though. |
#7
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This^. Most guys I know use a voltmeter instead of an ammeter since only a small wire with small amounts of electicity go through it. Voltmeters are considered to be safer than an ammeter. Yours is an underdash unit so easy to replace.
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"No replacement for displacement!" GTOAA--https://www.gtoaa.org/ |
The Following User Says Thank You to 1968GTO421 For This Useful Post: | ||
#8
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Cars with factory amp guages had a shunt between alt output and B+. The shunt was a resistance wire that made partial amp flow actually go through the amp guage. The guage was calibrated to show full + or - charge while only reading a small portion.
The magnet wire windings in the aftermarket guage are tiny compared to the cars bat and charge wires. The more amps the guage reads the hotter the coil gets. If the coil shorts out from varnish burning off the magnet wire, you still have amp flow but the coil wont generate enough magnetic field to move the needle. This guage may have resistors in it also. They can give up/fail the same as varnish coating on magnet wire. Neither can heat up, too hot, but so many times. Too many amps is more than what the guts in the guage can handle. What the guage can handle has probably been reduced by old age, time, heat, etc.. It just happens Clay |
#9
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^^^^^^ this
There is a shunt in the harness so only a portion of the total current goes thru the gauge. Aftermarket ammeter kits usually run the full current thru the gauge..avoid those, use a voltmeter if ever considering an aftermarket ammeter. George
__________________
"...out to my ol'55, I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy, god knows i was feeling alive"....written by Tom Wait from the Eagles' Live From The Forum |
#10
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I know NOTHING about electrical components. If I went with a volt meter instead of an amp meter, would I use the same wire that is on my amp meter??
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#11
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A voltmeter is connected from a circuit that is ON when the key is ON and the second wire to a good metal dash connection. The wires on your existing ammeter may be live even when the key is off so those are not suitable for a voltmeter, as the voltmeter may drain the battery slowly with key using that circuit.
There may be a terminal on your fuse box that is live when the key is on, such as ACC (accessory). George
__________________
"...out to my ol'55, I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy, god knows i was feeling alive"....written by Tom Wait from the Eagles' Live From The Forum |
#12
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[QUOTE=george kujanski;6117683]A voltmeter is connected from a circuit that is ON when the key is ON and the second wire to a good metal dash connection. The wires on your existing ammeter may be live even when the key is off so those are not suitable for a voltmeter, as the voltmeter may drain the battery slowly with key using that circuit.
There may be a terminal on your fuse box that is live when the key is on, such as ACC (accessory). George[/QUOTE Got it! , Thanks George |
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