Sweptline.ORG

Hi folks
For those of you that have "bypassed" your dash ammeter as a move to make the system more reliable.
Re: 1969 d100 318cu" manual transmission

QUESTION:

Did you also remove/install the dash gage voltage limiter with a chip type?

AND

Were your results what you expected?

Thanks in advance :)

Are you referring to the push in voltage limiter than goes to the fuel/oil/temp gauges?

If so;
That is a totally separate system. The ammeter is independent of the other instruments, their presence/functionality have no bearing on the ammeter.

I haven't done a bypass as I like having an ammeter. But to do it just either put both wires on the SAME post (doesn't matter which of the two) of the ammeter OR splice/solder them directly to each other (not connected to either post of the ammeter).

Many replace it with a voltmeter instead.

Bucky

I'm sorry, I may has misread your question or at least assumed something that you may not have been implying.

I was basing my answer on the premise that you thought the gauge voltage limiter was somehow tied to the ammeter. You didn't say that & may have just been asking about the limiter as a separate & secondary step in making the instrumentation safer/more reliable. If so I can't reply as I have also left that part of my wiring alone as well.

Bucky

My opinion is that the Ammeter by itself is not a problem, as long as the studs have good connection to the mechanic inside the instrument. If I was about to remove it, I would definitely add a Voltmeter (make sure that the connection of those studs are very well isolated, as the carry a lot of Amps.
But with my cars I use a Ammeter/Voltmeter with a shunt directly at the negative post of the battery itself. I only have a German reference for the instrument.

The voltmeter inside the fuel gauge is hard to replace. If you have a separate 5V regulator (snap in somewhere behind the dash) you could replace it with an electronic one. Those should be readily available inside the world wide web.

For my A100 - I leave the Ammeter (the A100 has no bulkhead connector which is well known to cause problems) and the 5V regulator/limiter both as is. Additionally I have connected a shunt-based V/A-meter to have real control.

What I do with every car is implement a relay based headlight harness. With my Charger I have build it myself, for the A100 I just bought one off the web (approx. 10 USD). They do help a lot as the light switch has no longer the heavy load of the headlights.

I did this write up a while back but need to upload the pics again:

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=35481&p=258557&hil ... lt#p258557

I never had a problem but i needed to rewire the cab after the fusible link failed. Decided to give it a try. No issues so far.

Apologize for not being more clear.....:)

Yes, the issues are separate. Related only in the sense that if I was going
to remove the ammeter then i would modify the voltage limiter at the same time.

Hopefully these links will help others as well.....

http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/electrical2.html
http://www.madelectrical.com/electrical ... uges.shtml


Thanks for the replies.

I did MAD electrical and installed an IVR3 dash volt limiter. You just need to bend the internal limiter back in order to avoid contact on your existing Fuel Gauge.

If I didn't read clearly, you may want to summarize over again....

Yes, the issues are electrically "separate". Related "only" in the sense that if I was going
to remove the ammeter then i would modify the voltage limiter while I had the dash apart.

So, for those of you who have done it,,,was it worth it to you!?
i.e. Did you obtain the results you wanted?
Do you believe your gages were more "stable" and do you think for the effort the
system is more reliable?

:)

Yes. We see a lot of gauges not working due to fuel gauge limiter failure here. There is a tech write up on making your own with a piece of aluminum. Its a cheap and easy upgrade for piece of mind. You simply run key power to limiter and gauge power from limiter.

Ive owned and driven swepts daily since 1978, more than 400,000 miles. Never once have I had an ammeter, voltage regulator or ballast resister failure or problem. The ammeter gives a precise indication of current flow in/out of the battery which a volt meter does not. I would never downgrade my system charge information by removing the ammeter and relying on a deficient voltmeter.

PwrWgnDrvr wrote:Ive owned and driven swepts daily since 1978, more than 400,000 miles. Never once have I had an ammeter, voltage regulator or ballast resister failure or problem. The ammeter gives a precise indication of current flow in/out of the battery which a volt meter does not. I would never downgrade my system charge information by removing the ammeter and relying on a deficient voltmeter.

I've had to replace a couple of voltage regulators and ballast resistors
over the past 35+ years.... but have not had any issues with an ammeter.

PwrWgnDrvr wrote:Ive owned and driven swepts daily since 1978, more than 400,000 miles. Never once have I had an ammeter, voltage regulator or ballast resister failure or problem. The ammeter gives a precise indication of current flow in/out of the battery which a volt meter does not. I would never downgrade my system charge information by removing the ammeter and relying on a deficient voltmeter.

THIS^^^^^^ Same here. Yet "experts" on FB/RCC are continually hammering me about needing to do away with my ammeter.

Bucky

PwrWgnDrvr wrote:Ive owned and driven swepts daily since 1978, more than 400,000 miles. Never once have I had an ammeter, voltage regulator or ballast resister failure or problem. The ammeter gives a precise indication of current flow in/out of the battery which a volt meter does not. I would never downgrade my system charge information by removing the ammeter and relying on a deficient voltmeter.

I tend to agree as my background is mechanical/engineering, that said, have you upgraded or
modified your bulkhead connections or made an ammeter wiring mod that keeps the meter in dash?? but
upgrades weak links? (no pun intended)

:)

Haven't done any mods of that sort to any of my trucks ever.
Not convinced that there even are any weak links in the factory system, when properly maintained and not overloaded.

PwrWgnDrvr wrote:Haven't done any mods of that sort to any of my trucks ever.
Not convinced that there even are any weak links in the factory system, when properly maintained and not overloaded.

Thanks for replying! (your experience and opinion taken seriously)...

PwrWgnDrvr wrote:Haven't done any mods of that sort to any of my trucks ever.
Not convinced that there even are any weak links in the factory system, when properly maintained and not overloaded.

I agree. My trucks electrical uses all stock components with no butchered wires . Been together since I built my truck as it looks now. 33 years with this harness.