1Redctoo

So the "battery" gauge in my '66 hasn't worked since I bought the car 12yrs ago . I'm retired now with a little more time and figure I'll try and get it to work . My first problem is I can't find the diagram for it in my AIM and if I did my copy is so bad I can only read about half the prints .
Can someone help my out with a wiring diagram with wire colors and maybe a hint or two on how to test the gauge ?

Bluestripe67

JohnZ shared some wisdom on this subject in the past. Do a search. Dennis

1Redctoo

couldnt find it by searching . can someone tell me where the wires go from the gauge and what color they are ? I do have a wire that is very burnt under the dash , I dont know where it was attached to , maybe the gauge , or maybe it was something that was added to the car later. The only things that dont work on the car are the battery gauge and the courtesy light under the convertible deck lid .

62Jeff

Both wires are black, or black with white tracer. One terminates at the starter, the other at the horn relay.

The gauge measures voltage differential across those two wires.

You can test the gauge by connecting a 1.5 volt battery at the two terminals and observing if the needle deflects. Swap the polarity of the wires and observe if the needle deflects the other direction.

magicv8

If the meter doesn't work, open it up and solder a wire bridge across the broken connection in the wire coil. Either way, a 1 or 2 amp fuse added to one of the meter terminals will save it when disaster happens. Disaster happens when either of the two 12volt wires gets grounded for an instant.

PS I used a 9 volt battery to test my meter. That works too.

1Redctoo

Thanks for the input . I'll check the wires and the gauge in the next couple of days !

magicv8

When you disconnect the meter, a voltmeter check of the harness connector should show about 12volts on both connector terminals. If not, the line without 12volts has been fried in the harness somewhere (possibly by whatever killed the courtesy lamp), and if an ohm meter between the dead connector terminal and a ground shows zero ohms, that's what kills meters. If it shows infinite ohms (a broken wire or open connection) the meter may still be good.

1Redctoo

Update - checked the resistance across the gauge terminals (good), checked voltages on the blk and the blk/wht wires (12.3) . Plugged it back in and .......IT WORKS.
The easiest fix I've ever had on this car .

kawils2

Dare I say.......... For now?

Seriously though, I hope it holds up & in fact it was an easy fix. Sometimes they are.