The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Ammeter Hookup Question

I purchased a new wiring harness from Classic for my 59 Apache. It was well made and the instructions were easy. I found the old hookup to be different then the new instructions.
Ammeter C to headlight switch,horn relay and volt reg.
Ammeter C to ignition sswitch.
Ammeter D to starter switch.
My wiring diagram is to small for me to follow. Does this seem correct?
Thanks Larry

sounds good - and here's a good diagram that's legible and can be printed larger than the shop manual one

Bill

That is correct. Ammeter D should be a black (12 ga I think), and the other two should be red (12 and 16ga if I remember right). I just pulled mine apart this weekend to rewire for an alternator.

Also, that diagram is for a '55. It doesn't quite match up to the '59, so keep that in mind. For example it shows two wires from started to ammeter, and three coming in to the voltage regulator, both of which are incorrect on the '59. At least on the 3/4 ton.

If the wiring from the ammeter to the starter battery cable connection is doubled up, it might be for extra current carrying capacity. For instance, two 12 ga. wires will carry more total current than a single 10 ga. wire. The ammeter wiring should be able to carry the total generator output, maybe 35 amps or slightly more, to recharge a seriously low battery. Whatever current draw there is from ignition, lights, wipers, heater blower, etc. will be deducted from the amount available for battery charging. In a cold-start situation with nothing but ignition operating, the rest of the generator (or alternator) current will be applied to recharging the battery after the heavy current draw of the starter. Bigger is always better where charging system conductors are concerned. There's no such thing as having too big a wire between the generator and the battery.
Jerry