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thanks Dan. I think after reading your post and 67*427's post, I finally understand. You guys have given me some good ideas to follow up on. I appreciate it. I will be in touch.
Kelldad, thank you for the info. I will check the voltage as you suggest and let you know. So from what you are saying, the ammeter is hooked up in parallel with the load or in series with the load? From what I can tell on the prints it looks to be in series but not sure if my prints are accurate. Chiz
Look at post 17 again. The battery indicator which is not an ammeter is wired across the horn relay lug and the starter solenoid, just as the wiring diagram shows it.
Thank you everyone for your responses to my 'red wire syndrome'. I appreciate your time and effort. (and explaining to me about the ammeter) lol This is all very new to me...Lord give me patience....and I would like it 'NOW'..
Chiz
Chiz,
About 20 years ago I was looking at the wiring diagram and wondering how that gauge could possibly function as an ammeter. I think it may have been JohnZ who finally described to me what it really is and how it works. We engineering types use technical words very specifically and that can lead us astray when a lay person uses it generically. So you are not the first person to struggle with how the BATT gauge works and you won't be the last.
All good stuff. The ammeter, as pointed out, is really a voltmeter calibrated in amperage. As suggested a shunt type ammeter may have been more accurate but Chev uses a known length of copper wire as the shunt, usually running from the near the battery to the horn relay (on 65 Chevelles and I believe 61 Corvettes) as the shunt. The ammeter (really a volt meter) simply shows a trend of current flowing into or out of the battery. There are many possibilities for the needle to deflect + or - but with a fully charged battery and the alternator carrying the needed current for a given load the needle will read in the middle. The wires from the engine bay running to the ammeter are unfused but small gauge and probable act as a fuse if shorted.
Thinking about this, if someone were to install a larger alternator and increase the wire gauge to accommodate the higher amperage the calibration would no longer be correct and smaller deflections on the ammeter would be expected... Al
fwiw, and not to keep beating a dead horse, my buddy had his '65 sb 'vert over yesterday and i took the opportunity to check current draw on his car. with the ignition switch in the acc position my meter showed 15 mA.
of course it's a 55 year old car and very little under the hood could still be considered original.
Acc position feeds the Voltage Reg, Radio, W/Wipers and Heater. Except for the regulator you have to turn on them on to draw current. 15mA looks to be an electronic voltage regulator.
interesting, my friends car does have an electronic regulator. but so do i and i'm still seeing a 2.5 - 3 amp draw. my new harness should be here early next week and i'll check again after the install. the car currently has a nice mix of factory and bubba wiring.
did find this as i was opening up the loom. appears to be factory and i guess is designed to keep runs short. the black stuff is tape residue.
Your going to have to isolate the other circuits to determine what it is. Pop the radio fuse out first Then look for a change. If non Then unplug the wiper motor. Then the blower motor.
The voltage regulator would be a lot more than .015 amps. If the battery is below 13.7 or whatever, the regulator will turn the field hard on. That's 2-3 amps as I recall.
I dont I ever recall having come across doing a test like this unless there was a melted connector/fuse holder or an open or short. Its a switched circuit why bother?
reply #25 is actually on to the 'how' the socalled ammeter is working ... everyone mentions the connection from the horn relay but fail to note that the connection (at least on a c2 63) is a resistance wire cutting the voltage to about 9.3 volts to one side of the meter with 12 volts on the other .. this allows for the deflection of the needle as the alternator puts out or doesn't and that is all that meter is good for .. shows there IS an output or not but not any actual value
reply #25 is actually on to the 'how' the socalled ammeter is working ... everyone mentions the connection from the horn relay but fail to note that the connection (at least on a c2 63) is a resistance wire cutting the voltage to about 9.3 volts to one side of the meter with 12 volts on the other .. this allows for the deflection of the needle as the alternator puts out or doesn't and that is all that meter is good for .. shows there IS an output or not but not any actual value
voltage on the two sides of the battery gauge (and it's polarity)are determined by the direction of if it's flowing from the alternator toward the battery to charge, it's gonna be higher on the alternator side. (Black wire with white stripe.)
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