The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Knurled nuts

I read in posts by several about using knurled nuts on the gauges for installing them. Is it acceptable to use these to also hold the wires on with ring connectors to ammeter and other gauges that take nuts? And if ok do you also need a lock washer? I am going to make a new wire for my horn (so I can beep at my friends) and the wire going to my starter and then connect my circuit breaker in before the starter on my 46 1/2 Chevy truck with a 6 volt system.

Thanks, Glen

I don't see why not. The wires don't care what kind of nut is holding them in place. Make sure you get them tight enough. If there was a lock washer on the hex nut, I'd use one on the knurled nut.

I had tiny little lock washers on all the gauge posts.

I’ll have to check if lock washers or not but sounds like a good idea to me

Use star washers with the serrations on the inside- - - -not split locks or outside stars.
Jerry

With the locations of the studs on the gauges, I have a hard time just getting the knurled nuts on so I forgo the washers. I haven't had any issues with them loosening up.

I think it will be ok to reach except for positioning my self to get wires off!! It is quite a mess under my dash. I took off some tape to figure out where my starter wire was going. There should be 3 wires on the one side of ammeter but I was able to follow starter wire which is by itself. I’m just adding horn wire now but there 4 red connected together by light switch. That’s another day.

I've attached a short piece of 1/2" wide solid copper bar stock to the ammeter with 3 or 4 machine screws attached to make a bus bar- - - -one for each wire terminal, instead of stacking all of them on top of each other. For the ammeter to work properly, only one wire should be attached to the starter terminal side of the meter, probably 6 or 8 gauge.
Jerry

The bus bar sounds like a great idea. 46 wire diagram say to connect same side as starter but I probably don’t need it hot all of the time. Thanks
Glen

The issue with a bus bar is that you have to be careful about clearance for it. You don’t want it to short against something.
Both sides of the ammeter are hot at all times. If you stack the horn wire on the starter side you won’t be able to see it draw amps on the meter, for what that’s worth.

A 90 degree bend in the copper strip where it attaches to the ammeter points the extra connection terminals away from the dash, and also makes them easier to access if one wire needs to be removed or tightened. Those electrons don't mind making an extra turn!
Jerry

Is there any reason that the horn is diagramed to be with starter. I guess I am ok with putting it to the other side.

I have star washers of the correct kind. Are the copper strips available most anywhere. I’ll double check but I think I have plenty of room for it

It doesn't matter where the horn wire is connected as long as it's hot at all times, so you can honk to let your date know you're there to pick her up after turning off the engine. On the 48-49 wiring diagram, the horn power is connected to an isolated terminal on the fuse block, then to the downstream side of the ammeter. The horn button wire also connects to an isolated terminal on the fuse block on the way to the button. On the 50-51 wiring diagram the horn feed connects directly to the downstream side of the ammeter, and the horn button wire also connects directly from the horn to the button.
To make a copper bus bar, you could get a piece of scrap copper pipe and cut it open and flatten it.

I like idea of removing only the wire you are working on without having to deal with the others would be nice as I am replacing all but not in a fast hurry. I also have to figure out why I have 4 power wires going together coming from my light switch. On my ammeter currently I have my starter alone. And the 2 coming off the other side. I need to unwrap electrical tape to see what’s what. For now I’m going to get my horn working and I think if I have room for a bar I am going to do that. For some reason I thought power going out ammeter was not hot till key turned on. 🤷‍♂️. Learned something today.

I found a piece of copper pipe with wall thickness about 1/16th of an inch thick. From a pipe 7/8” OD. I think that might work. I do have another pipe I keep moving around that may be a little thicker

Update: Found the 1 inch pipe. Same wall thickness

So maybe drill holes 3/4 apart. Then bolt, copper, nut, ring terminal, star washer, nut?

Plenty of room, doesn’t look like it!

Use Jerry's idea of bending the copper 90 degrees so it sticks out away from the instrument panel. You could drill holes for your other terminals 1/2 inch apart, which should be enough to bolt them all on to the bus bar.
I hadn't looked closely at a wiring diagram for a 1946 truck. Interesting that it has NO fuses. 47-49 trucks have 5 fuses and 50-54 have only two for taillights and stoplights.

Any local plumbing or refrigeration shop will probably give you a short piece of 1/2"copper tubing. A couple of minutes with a hammer will produce a flat piece twice the wall thickness of the tube which you can trim, bend, and drill to suit your needs.
Jerry

This sounds great. The only fuse that I know of is on flasher board. I am adding a 30 circuit breaker to starter wire. Hoping to get this done this weekend. Thank you

Glen

Another solution as opposed to the bus bar would be a single wire from the ammeter to a small fuse block, attaching your other circuits there.

That ma be the answer then I could bolt that to firewall for easy access. Thanks