Ammeter needle has gone south for the winter
12-04-2012, 04:40 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Ammeter needle has gone south for the winter
I was puttsing around with the 63 horn relay and i must have touched both the positive and negitave terminals with the screw driver because there was a spark. Everything seemed fine untill I noticed the ammeter. Normally the needle points north but not now. The guage still works ,it moves when you turn the headlights and turn signals on etc. I realize I am luck to have not burned out the entire wiring system. I was told that I could do the following to fix the problem. 1. use a paper clip and touch both terminals on the back of the guage and the needle would correct itself 
2. remove the guage and just move the needle to the north position. The little pegs that should have stopped the needle from doing a 160 didn't stop it. I don't like option 1 at all but if it works it would save some time. What is your solution to the problem. Rob
2. remove the guage and just move the needle to the north position. The little pegs that should have stopped the needle from doing a 160 didn't stop it. I don't like option 1 at all but if it works it would save some time. What is your solution to the problem. Rob
12-04-2012, 04:50 PM
#2
Robbie
The battery gauge in a 63 is actually a sensitive volt meter that measures the voltage drop across a shunt. The shunt is the #10 red wire that runs from the starter battery terminal to the horn relay. Shorting the two meter terminals won't do anything. They are already "shorted" by the shunt.
When you momentarily touched the horn relay terminal to ground you put full 12 volts across the battery meter causing it to deflect violently.
If it still moves with load changes you must not have burned it up.
Never happened to me but I think you're going to have to pull the meter and move the pointer back to the correct position.
CUL Jim
The battery gauge in a 63 is actually a sensitive volt meter that measures the voltage drop across a shunt. The shunt is the #10 red wire that runs from the starter battery terminal to the horn relay. Shorting the two meter terminals won't do anything. They are already "shorted" by the shunt.
When you momentarily touched the horn relay terminal to ground you put full 12 volts across the battery meter causing it to deflect violently.
If it still moves with load changes you must not have burned it up.
Never happened to me but I think you're going to have to pull the meter and move the pointer back to the correct position.
CUL Jim
12-04-2012, 05:28 PM
#3
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Rob...if you are certain it still works, I think you have to pull it out in order to flip it back to the proper position. Mine was flipped upside down when I bought it. Easy problem to correct once it is out of the dash. Good news is that it is one of the gauges that you can get out without taking out the whole dash...if you have small hands and a roll of quarters for the 'cuss jar. Good luck.
12-04-2012, 07:28 PM
#4
Team Owner
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Fellow member Chuck Gongloff has the fix for this - he went through exactly the same thing on his '63 years ago, and posted the non-invasive fix; I filed it somewhere back in the day, but haven't located it. 
12-20-2012, 09:53 AM
#5
Instructor
Thread Starter
Thanks to this forum I fixed my ammeter needle problem without pulling the meter. I disconnected the two prong plug on the rear of the meter and using alligator clips attached to the prongs, I touched my trickle charger to the opposite end of the clips. After several attemps the needle went north! I started the car and the needle works great. Again I used my 1.5 amp trickle charger.
12-20-2012, 11:05 AM
#8
Le Mans Master
If this had been me i would have been sure that the ammeter was broken 
So if the ammeter get to much power it can move the needle and to correct it again give it a power boost again
Noted and stored on my computer
So if the ammeter get to much power it can move the needle and to correct it again give it a power boost again
Noted and stored on my computer
Last edited by TheSaint; 12-20-2012 at 11:08 AM.
12-20-2012, 10:08 PM
#9
Instructor
Thread Starter
rdc I would try my method to see if the needle flickers. if it doesn't then I would have to believe the meter is broken. RYanulis you will have to tap the clips a lot. It will flicker to east or west but keep trying. Are you sure the meter is not broken? My meter while in the south position would still move when a draw was put on the battery. The Saint I'm glad you fine the thread helpful enough to save.
Last edited by robbie shirkowski; 12-31-2012 at 10:26 AM.
12-21-2012, 11:21 AM
#10
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correct ammeter needle position on63 swc
I had this happen several times over a period of 20 years on my 63. AT YOUR RISK ! i TAPPED THE REAR OF THE AMMETER CASE WITH A SMALL HAMMER The needle went straight up! Good luck, Abe G
12-21-2012, 12:07 PM
#11
Melting Slicks
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Well. I thought.......what the heck.
My ammeter needle was pointing down, so I tapped on the back of the gage........nothing happened.
Turned on the headlights (electrical load) and the needle immediately went straight up
Easiest repair I have ever done.
Thanks Guys
My ammeter needle was pointing down, so I tapped on the back of the gage........nothing happened.
Turned on the headlights (electrical load) and the needle immediately went straight up
Easiest repair I have ever done.
Thanks Guys
Last edited by Rich Yanulis; 12-21-2012 at 12:11 PM.
12-21-2012, 01:09 PM
#13
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Thanks to this forum I fixed my ammeter needle problem without pulling the meter. I disconnected the two prong plug on the rear of the meter and using alligator clips attached to the prongs, I touched my trickle charger to the opposite end of the clips. After several attemps the needle went north! I started the car and the needle works great. Again I used my 1.5 amp trickle charger.
No need to pull it out.
When my amp meter gauge went southbound, it was because I inadvertently hooked the + to the - on my trickle charger. When the red "caution" light lit up on the charger, I realized my error..........
Chuck
12-30-2012, 05:46 PM
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A friend purchased a so-so restored '63 coupe with a bunch of gremlins in it. One was an inoperative ammeter. I had read in an NCRS technical paper that due to the design of the ammeter circuit an increase in resistance of only 2 ohms in the circuit will cause the meter to stop functioning. I thoroughly cleaned all the terminals I could easily reach. No help, so I dug further. I pulled the main harness connector that goes through the firewall apart and found a lot of corrosion inside. I cleaned all the connections thoroughly, put the connector blocks back together and the meter worked.