Frick,
It does appear that I have blown my ammeter...Or the wire taht feeds
it got disconnected or something... Don't know how it could of blown..I have
all my high draw stuff fused right to the batt.. nothing but whats left of
the original lights etc goes thru the stock harness... hmmmm
On your wiring thing where does the original hot wire form the stock
alt feed into things?? What you describe is the batt running everything.
And if I am jumping aroung the ammeter by powering the old alt hot wire how
in a regular set-up does the ammeter measure the juice produced by the alt??
Daniel
> You commented:
> > There was not any direct juice going into the old harness thru the old
> > alt hot lead without the fuse in place.
>
> Here's my thinking, FlameMan :-) (I almost bought you a set of
> 'eight ball' fuzzy air fresheners the other day)
>
> Your new alt goes straight to the battery. You've probably hooked some
> other goodies straight to the battery (perhaps fused but it doesn't matter),
> but the car itself is still getting its juice thru the existing harness. From
> the sounds of it, you've also got a fused wire (the 35 amp missing fuse)
> that goes from the alt to the main car wiring, almost certainly bypassing
> the ammeter.
>
> The wiring, BTW, runs this way: From the battery, down to the starter.
> >From the starter, a pair of wires feed the car: the 'w' wire goes to the
> ammeter and from there the fuse block and the rest of the car; the 'gw'
> wire goes thru a separate fuse to the hazard switch; and thru a 20 A
> fuse on the fuseblock to the brake lights, brake check light, and horn.
> Note that if the ammeter blows, you have power to the brake lights,
> horn and hazard but nothing else.
>
> If you have an additional wire (the 'missing 35A fuse' lead) that ties into
> the main wiring PAST the ammeter, then you will have an additional
> path for current when the fuse is inserted. No fuse: power flows thru
> ammeter only. Add fuse: ammeter reading is severely reduced (the
> resistance of the alternate-path wiring determines by how much) and
> most of the current is bypassed.
>
> If you look on the fuse block you'll find a heavy white (as I recall it has
> a red stripe, but it's the heaviest) wire. You should see +12 on this
> wire. I suspect you see zero with the 35A fuse removed and +12 with
> it installed. This wire is the feed between the ammeter and the fuseblock.
> If the ammeter has voltage going in (that heavy 'w' wire from the starter)
> and it is still OK then it must have voltage going out (this wire at the
> fuse block) - assuming the wires and connections themselves are OK,
> of course.
>
> The symptoms you describe just scream out 'bad ammeter!' If you're
> really brave and aren't afraid of a few flames :-) you can CAREFULLY
> try shorting out the ammeter with a jumper clip. But be CAREFUL, if
> you pass much current thru a lightweight jumper you'll see for-real
> smoke!
>
> -- John
> John F Sandhoff sandhoff@csus.edu Sacramento, CA
>
> p.s. Saw the 'Devil Ride' at a car show Saturday - a converted hearse.
> He had a flame steering wheel - flames carved into the metal spokes!
> I forgot my camera, alas..
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