Thanks everyone for the constructive inputs to my query about my TD's
ammeter. It gave me the courage/initiative to dive into it and open it
up FULLY. What I found probably shouldn't have surprised me, but it
did. There were absolutely no thin gossamer wires for the meter
movement. No wonder the previous owner said it was bad. Not only that,
but the movement was rather rusty.
So what did I do? The UNTHINKABLE. When I purchased the car, the
seller had given me another ammeter of the same size and center
scale. He suggested I try to somehow put the two ammeters together. Of
course I tested the replacement and it was good. To make a long story
short (4 hours of labor), I was able to put the movement in the Lucas
case. However, the purist would cringe. Why? First, the replacement
movement is plus/minus 60 amps, not 30 amps like the original. Also,
the replacement was designed so the movement poked above the meter
face. Thus I had to cut a hole in the original face. . . there goes
the possibility of ever returning to originality.
RESULTS: I put the meter in the TD and it works like a charm. Tested
with just ignition on (see little fuel pump current), all lights on,
etc. Glad the wiring was correct, so I didn't have to trace this out
any further. Of course the needle moves only half the distance of what
the original would have done when it was working, because the
replacement meter movement has twice the range. However, my only
intention was to get a working meter. I am not so much interested in
how much the needle moves, just that I can observe that it does. As
for the hole in the dial, not even a concern. Not even noticed. My
basic goal was achieved.
Now that I have fixed this long standing fault, I probably will never
refer to the meter again, just the ignition light. But it IS FIXED and I
can now delete it from my check list.
Stu Keen
Venice, FL
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