Originally posted by Bakerallen:
The 6400 was a 6 volt when new, but before I bought it someone had "converted" it to 12 volts. By converted I mean I think they stuck in a 12 volt battery and changed all the light bulbs. I can't get the gas gauge to work, and I have a new sending unit, so l think the gauge is fried.
Okay, that's bad. There's more to a 12 volt conversion than just changing lightbulbs and the battery. The stock generator and voltage regulator
WILL NOT charge up a 12v battery properly.
Which could explain why it's not working.
Yes, if there isn't a voltage reducer on that gas gauge, then it's fried. You may want to look at the coil, as well. There should be a ballast resistor in there ahead of it to reduce the voltage after the truck starts to extend the life of the coil. 6v coils are available from the various vendors that support this website.
Originally posted by Bakerallen:
I'm not sure about the Ammeter. I don't know if it is working. I get a little movement out of it, but only very little. It never moves much to the right, and I only get a very small movement to the left when I turn on the lights. (I still don't have the headlights working. Don't know what that's all about)
The ammeter doesn't care about voltage. It just cares about amperage. If the ammeter was bad, you'd not be able to start the truck (or you'd have a fried wiring harness). the fact that it moves means that it works.
As for the headlights... are they 6v? Check the fuse on the switch. There may be a short in the old wiring and it may have blown.
Originally posted by Bakerallen:
I thought that if the generator is working, then I probably have a bad gauge. Does that make sense?
I think if the generator is working, then the only other place I could have a problem would be with the voltgage regulator. Does that seem correct? How do I check that with my new toy?
The first order of business is to figure out what that generator is. If it's 6v generator, then you probably will want to replace it and the VR with 12v equivalents or go back to a 6v battery. (Personally, I'd go back to 6v... less of a pain in the butt.)
Originally posted by Bakerallen:
The Buick was 12 volt when new. I just did a rough redo on it, and am still messing with the original wiring. That has been a lot of fun. The horn has recently quit working, and I keep putting off looking for the problem because I really hate working with wiring and electrical problems.
Yeah. I know how that goes. I was checking my horn out the other day. It works, it was just wired bass ackwards by someone somewhere along the line. That, and I think that there's a blown fuse somewhere along the line, cause nothing on circuit works.
Originally posted by Bakerallen:
The meter is digital {thank God}, but I still think I get the general idea from Stuarts messsage. Thanks Guys. Allen
PS: I did try reading the directions, but they seem to assume that I already know how to use the meter. I guess it's not really that hard, but having never tried using one before, it looks confusing.
The meter is Digital. That is good. If it has several settings for each measurment (DC, AC, Resistence, et cetera), then be sure to start out at the biggest setting and work your way down. This will prevent meter fryage. (Granted, on a car, the voltages involved will only be like 18v max, but still...)
If you have just one setting for each, then you're golden. It's autosensing and a piece of cake to use.
In closing, We need to figure out what that generator is. Get the numbers off of it, and we may be able to look that up for you.
Then we can give you advice from there.
