The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Generator to Alternator

Changed it over this afternoon. Almost too easy, just follow the elders advice! I do have a question, when the engine is started and the alternator starts to charge the ammeter jumps to the upper end. Will this harm that gauge at some point? Is that why there is tips on changing from ammeter to voltmeter? Thanks for any info
Jerry

The ammeter going full scale isn't uncommon, as most alternators are capable of 50+ amps right after startup. A good battery should recover from the starter current draw in a couple of minutes and the ammeter should drop back to 20 amps or less. The pegged ammeter is worrisome, but it shouldn't be damaged by the off-scale reading. One sneaky way around the meter-pegging problem is to put a 2" long thin (.020-.030" thick) strip of stainless steel shaped into a horseshoe contour between the ammeter posts as a shunt. It will allow a small amount of current to pass through the ammeter to get some deflection of the needle to indicate charge/discharge, while the majority of the charge current bypasses through the steel strip. The ammeter reading won't be accurate, but they aren't famous for indicating correctly anyway.
Jerry