Big Thanks to the Help on my Last Problem and now....something new

[19bee70]

Alrighty, again I do appreciate the helping hands we get on this Forum. It's amazing! My last issue was the "leftover" bare post on my starter relay and it turned out after fabricating a ground wire from that post to the firewall....problem solved starts and stops with the key! I'm so thrilled! (after being apart for 20+yrs) However, that aside, my cluster was redone by Instrument Specialties and since I have nothing other than the factory "electronics" in the car I opted for an amp gauge refurb. The problem is when the car idles, cause that's all I can do right now, the amp gauge pegs off the dial to the right. With a multimeter on the battery, the amp reading jumps all over from zero to +70 amps and back down and all around. Nothing steady. What points for testing and what should I be looking at? Help

 

[dvw]

Make sure the regulator is grounded well. If it isn't, it will over charge. I'm assuming this is an original single feed wire (along with the thick bolt on battery feed) style alternator.
Doug

 

[twecomm]

Not sure how a multimeter "on" the battery would get you to an amp reading ? What type of multi meter do you have ? Is it a meter that clamps around the main battery lead to read DC amps ? 70 amps is wire melting territory for stock Mopar wiring. What is your DC battery voltage measure running and when not running ?

 

[19bee70]

Make sure the regulator is grounded well. If it isn't, it will over charge. I'm assuming this is an original single feed wire (along with the thick bolt on battery feed) style alternator.
Doug

Let me take a pic of the back of the alt and double check the ground. The reg is bolted to the stand off bracket so I have to check contact with the painted firewall.

 

[Geoff 2]

Make sure you have a ground strap from the engine to the body somewhere: f'wall, inner fender etc. Often left off after a resto.