I want this early FARGO I found in town...

nor me

color=white]size =24]I guess the default color is orange and the font is 8?
I choose the white and then I type in (size = 4 to 24) before my text and (/size) after it to change the color and size of my posts,,,,,if I didnt remove the bracket signs in front of the size and color words right now (which disables my changes), you would be reading this post in BIG WHITE LETTERS./size]/color]

I guess Don loves those plug' n play GM devices. lol

Here a link for the conversion:

http://www.mymopar.com/charging.htm

I don't know if the old alternators have the field grounded internally, the only ones I've seen have the two field terminals plus the output terminal and will work with either system.

Don, I'm slightly confused and know little about fusible links. I assume you are saying "wire gauge + 4 = fusible link gauge" so the link will be thinner? Are they rated as far as amps?

While we're on the subject, what gauge wires are typically used for lights and heater motors? 16?

Corey, I love the ammeter. It'll tell you instantly if something is wrong and if your system is putting out a lot of juice while giving someone a jump. The downside is that it links the battery to the electrical system and if the ammeter goes out (i.e. charging a dead battery), then your SOL. I don't know how problematic they can be though.

I'll probably be drilling a large hole next to the headlight switch and filling it with a voltage meter to make sure the regulator and alternator aren't over or under charging the battery.

Has anyone come across a device that looks like a Mopar VR, but has three terminals. I have one that is mounted to the back of the doghouse. The left terminal goes to what looks like a condenser, the right to ground and the center to who knows where. Everything is taped and spliced, but will be re-wired this winter. I went to install the electronic VR yesterday and found the best thing to do is just run new wires from the VR to the alternator, but now I thinking maybe the system is rigged to this mystery VR to work with the electronic ignition.

I just replaced the fusible link in my '72 Dodge. New 10ga wire to ammeter with a 14ga link off the battery. This is basically how the factory did it. The reason I haven't swapped over to the voltmeter in the '72 is the wiring is in primo condition and I don't want to mess with it.

Great info over at MyMopar! Loving the discussion that's coming out of this, too! Thanx guys... I'm still listening!

Ok Corey, grab some popcorn...

Don, I totally agree that the Voltmeter is very important and the ampmeter doesn't tell you a hell of a lot other than if the battery is charging or discharging.

I just like to look down and see that "yes, everything's off" or "looks like something's not quite right". I've had an alternator with a bad field cook the battery and a bad regulator leave me with no juice in the battery. The ampmeter told me something was wrong for the alternator, but I didn't pick up on it with the regulator.

I'm just saying that it's nice to have both.

Oh... it would tell you if you have a key-off drain... never thought of that... but it wouldn't really tell you if there was a problem while the key was in another position... discharging if the alts not turning, charging if the alt is turning...
not really much more info than a voltmeter... tell you if your regulator is allowing (or possibly receiving) too little or too much voltage...

Big thing that bugs me about an ammeter is that it is a device in the main path that can fail...

I have had more than one occasion where I walk out to my vehicle to find a completely discharged battery though, so maybe an ammeter is a good thing!

I've never been a fan of idiot lights either, but the use of them could help to remove clutter from the cluster... could happen... even for me!

I still feel more comfortable driving along and seeing a voltmeter indicating 14-15 volts...

My '76 Chrysler Newport was cool in that it had tiny idiot lights in the gauges.
I'd love to put a row of idiot lights in my van in-case it suddenly looses oil pressure or starts to overheat. (Almost) nothing grabs your attention like that bright red light.

The ampmeter gives readings if the engine is running (i.e. 'C' if the battery was drained, 'D' if you have something overloading the system, broken fan belt, or the alternator or VR is bad). It should almost peg over to the 'C' when you're jumpstarting someone else, indicating your jumper cables have good connections and your alternator is working it's a$$ off.

FYI - Speaking of dead batteries, this spring I put dual batteries in my boat with a nice battery switch. Man does that thing give me piece of mind (although I still carry a jump-it for the other poor bustards out there). The switch has OFF/1/both/2 positions plus it has a alternator field cut-out so the alternator won't blowout from not having a battery connected to the system. If you guys are running accessories all day, it's something I would look into doing.

Hey...you can always run an ammeter and a voltmeter.

I've thought about simply popping in a single red LED in the oil gauge face, for example... I think it would be cool! Kinda like a tach with the shift-point light...

I think I will bypass the ammeter, and in future I'll reconfigure my instrument cluster to eliminate that gauge in one way or another. Thanks!

sasktrini wrote:I've thought about simply popping in a single red LED in the oil gauge face, for example... I think it would be cool! Kinda like a tach with the shift-point light...

Exactly.

Yeah Nate, that's what I've been suggesting. If your ripping out the factory dash cluster, screw the ampmeter. If the thing can be a problem, bypass it. I've had them on all my Mopars and Fords and appreciate them. It would have been nice for the manufacturers to throw a few more bucks at a voltmeter as well. I just wonder why they went through the extra expense of the ampmeters anyway.

FYI - according to a post from the Yahoo group, you might want to stick with Autometer gauges. You may find a company that has little or no customer service.

Found my VR problem - bad eyes. It wasn't a special three post regulator. The idiot that installed the electronic VR left the mechanical VR active, put the previously grounded alternator field wire to the Field connector of electronic regulator in the doghouse. They then ground the I (input) connection. Two regulators and the thing was cooking the battery at 16 volts when the engine was revving.

Man this thing needs wiring enema.

Open net... Goal!

Thanks Don, tell me about it. Had one sitting in the shoebox by the spare tire. Just never got around to doing the world simplest install, I mean big ass hole in the dash or under dash mount?

Now that is truly a mini(me)van. Nice.

I'll try to get some pictures up next week. A previous owner took a piece of brushed stainless and went door to door across the dash covering the glove box and speaker hole. It just occurred to me that maybe in the steering column support...

Holy!!! You guys are truly entertaining and informative!

An update... I've almost finished replacing all my engine wiring and ammeter wiring in the harness. I decided that FOR NOW, I will KEEP the ammeter in... I can't spare the cash for a voltmeter, and while I'm testing things out I can just use my hand-held. Maybe it wasn't the ammeter that caused the problem, but rather a chafed wire or the alternator...

Plus I don't really want to fiddle with the cluster yet. Really low priority at the moment. If and when the time comes, it's probably worth saving for the Autometer stuff, rather than cheaping out piece by piece, gauge-by-gauge, cutting up my cluster for no reason.

Good luck with your VR Larry!

Donivan, nice goal! Nice model, and gauge installation pic.

It's A-OK now Corey. Disconnected the mechanical VR and hook-up the electronic VR in the doghouse. Tops out at 13.8 Volts at high idle.

The Optima battery is in and the old battery is in the parts van.

I'm thinking of eventually going to a bigger alternator. While testing things out the ampmeter's showing a charge at idle, but when the blower, high beams, and 3 interior lights are on, it seems to just be holding it's own (gauge is at center). It's totally fine for right now, but if anything else is going in, it might not make it. Anyone know how much juice the ampmeters are rated for?