Pretty good article on the madelectrical site, but it was misquoted above. The actual quote is: "amperage is a measure of current flow, and all of the current used to recharge the battery was routed through this guage.....". The main point of the article was the problem of inadequate bulkhead connectors on the early Mopars.
The amp guage merely shows current into, or out of, the battery. Nothing more. (check the wiring diagram in the article)
A common misconception is that ALL the current your rig is using runs through the ammeter. Not true. I can be running with my lights on high beam, heater blasting, wipers cranking, and still show "0" or neutral on the ammeter. The load is being supplied by the alt/gen independent of the ammeter.
Hey, I have no problem with relays, breakers, or whatever if that's what you want to do. All's I'm saying is that the GM engineers of the day designed our old trucks this way, and I've been around them all my life and haven't seen an ammeter or any associated wiring catch on fire yet.
And the "real high amperage stuff" i.e. the starter motor, IS out of the cab.
