I need to change the battery gauge in my 1969 Corvette. Can anyone help me with the easiest procedure to perform the R&R. Thanks

 

I would first ask why you think the ammeter gauge needs to be replaced? The gauge has one of the lowest probabilities of being the problem; the gauge wiring, fuse-links, and various connections are much more likely to be a problem than the gauge; and those issues can [nearly] all be corrected inside the engine compartment.

Perhaps you can describe the symptoms of your problem and any incidents that led up to the failure. That might guide us in providing you with useful advice.

 

The battery gauge doesn't move and the needle is bent. The nose of the needle (long side of the pivot point) is bent at a 45 deg angle and is pointing at 8 o'clock. The only electrical problem I've had with the car is the turn signals didn't work so I replaced the turn signal flasher relay. They seem to work fine now. I didn't try to trouble shoot any of the wiring and I didn't really notice when the gauge stopped working. Hope this helps.

 

If the gauge needle is bent, then the circuit has had a MAJOR overload at some point. If that is the case, a fuse-link may be fried and/or one of the gauge coil wires has melted. That doesn't mean that the gauge is "toast". If you are a 'tinkerer' and want to attempt a fix with the gauge [you have nothing to lose but the time you spend trying to fix it], I can tell you what you need to do. The gauge has to come out of the cluster, anyway. And that is the biggest piece of work. Once you get it out, diagnosing what is wrong with the gauge...and determining if it is salvageable...is fairly simple. If it can't be fixed, just buy a new one; you were going to, anyway. Send me a PM if you are interested.

P.S. You should know that the ammeter is NOT a current measuring device; it is a millivoltmeter with a 'current shunt' built into the Corvette wiring harness. So don't go applying any current to it for testing purposes or you will fry it.

 

This should help you out.. This is step by step on how to get the bezel out of the car.

http://willcoxcorvette.com/repairand...lp.php?hID=112

On the gauge, is the lower portion of the needle still straight? If the needle is bent, in some cases if you take your time you can straighten them out. You will need to take you time and go slow.

7t1 beat me to the post... I'm getting slower these days..

I've posted this test as recent as two days ago on how to check the gauge.. so I'm just going to copy and paste it again... If you do get the needle straight, this will allow you to test the gauge.

All Corvettes made after 1962 used a ammeter and not a volt meter. The ammeter is actually a milliammeter that measures the flow of current in amperes. You really don’t want to hook up 12 volts to this gauge, generally it will cook it!

About the best way to test the gauge is to check for polarity between the poles. If you want to do a low volt quick check you can use two double A batteries and solder them in a series. Then solder a power wire from one side and a ground to the other side.

When done, you can touch this over the poles and the gauge should move one way, reverse this and the gauge should move the other. Aside from this there really is nothing else you can do to the gauge. If the gauge pass’s this test it is working and I would look for a wiring issue with the car.

Oh and another quick test is to just check the continuity between the two poles. If you have continuity the gauge should work fine!

Willcox
18243

 

Actually, the ammeter is a voltmeter...it does not measure current. It measures the voltage drop over a section of wire in the harness. That section of wire has the car's current flowing through it, so it acts as a current shunt. The dial face on the meter is calibrated in amperes...but the meter responds to a millivolt signal.

[This is not intended to be argumentative...but informative.]