amp meter
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 0
From: staten island ny
amp meter
i notice my battery not charging at all i decided to put in a new alternator 60 amp i notice my meter will ping to +40 then come down but not all the way to 0 it stays at the first line past 0 i can see it working correctly showing charge and discharge when i use the ac or signals once i shut the car off the needle stay a little above 0 should i be concern the thin green wire at my horn relay dissconneted will this have anything to do w it
thanks
thanks
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,443
Likes: 326
From: Indy Indiana
unplug your ammeter and see if it stays sightly above zero, if so, then it needs to be zeroed out. remove the needle and replace it at zero.. or replace the meter, they are not that expensive. i would guess your system is working since to does show chargng while running.
they are not exact, but it should show zero when not running and show charging while running. while running it should slowly and eventually drop to near zero as your battery approaches full charge.
they are not exact, but it should show zero when not running and show charging while running. while running it should slowly and eventually drop to near zero as your battery approaches full charge.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,112
From: Crossville TN
If your ammeter needle goes to +40 amps immediately after starting, then quickly drifts back to 0 amps, you likely have a worn-out battery. That ammeter response is indicative of a battery that is quickly depleted, because it has little storage capacity left. Normally, (when the battery was fully charged and car turned OFF), the needle will go to +10 amps (or so) and take a few minutes to charge completely to 0 amps. That indicates that the battery didn't lose much of its capacity when starting and took some time to fully charge it back up. [I hope some of that makes sense.]
To test the battery properly, you would need to do a "load test", which draws a fairly high load from the battery for a set period of time, then checks the cell voltage and specific gravity of the battery acid to determine how much capacity the battery lost. {Ref. Chevrolet Chassis Service Manual, "Engine-Electrical/Battery" section.}
To test the battery properly, you would need to do a "load test", which draws a fairly high load from the battery for a set period of time, then checks the cell voltage and specific gravity of the battery acid to determine how much capacity the battery lost. {Ref. Chevrolet Chassis Service Manual, "Engine-Electrical/Battery" section.}
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 16,528
Likes: 53
From: Dayton, Ohio
Sounds about normal to me. 0 is no big deal unless it bugs you. The thin green wire is to make your horns blow,the black is ground and the pink/black is the annoying key buzzer.
Does your horn work ?
Does your horn work ?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 0
From: staten island ny
no it does not i tested the horn and it is is the culprit so i dissconnected the green wire till i get it fix, taking the car to English town race track sat for the corvette show making sure i am all good.
thank you
thank you
