Ammeter wires question

[megaivtes]

I decided I wanted to do the easier ammeter bypass in my 67 Sat by bolting together the feeds and taping up really good.
My question is would you expect them to get warm?
Secondary question, if I wanted to wire ammeter back up, is there a sequence putting it back on stud, meaning is there an insulator, eyelet, washer , nut sequence?

 

[493 Mike]

I decided I wanted to do the easier ammeter bypass in my 67 Sat by bolting together the feeds and taping up really good.
My question is would you expect them to get warm?
Secondary question, if I wanted to wire ammeter back up, is there a sequence putting it back on stud, meaning is there an insulator, eyelet, washer , nut sequence?

Heat is caused by resistance in the system. Either the connection is not clean/tight enough or the current flow is more than the wire size allows. Do you have a greater than OEM alternator output?
The wire terminal should go on the stud, followed by the washer and nut. I am not familiar with any insulator?
Mike

 

[megaivtes]

@493 Mike ,
i'm running a 60amp alt. Previously, i checked, cleaned and greased the alt and batt connections at the bulkhead connector.
The ammeter connections looked good but I decided to tie the eyelets together with a nut/bolt and wrap well with elec. tape.
When i say warm, maybe 100 deg. at most?
I suppose it should be warm with all the current passing thru that connection.

Secondary to that, I plan on adding a 10ga from Alt output to Starter relay with 14gauge fusible link to reduce load at ammeter.
I also have @Crackedback headlight relay setup.

 

[72RoadrunnerGTX]

I suppose it should be warm with all the current passing thru that connection.

What current? In a stock configuration, healthy/charged battery, there should be little to no current flow across those connections while in operation. Any aftermarket loads connected directly at the battery or starter relay?

 

[megaivtes]

@72RoadrunnerGTX ,
not sure i understand. While having ignition in on position, i noticed my now tied together red/black ammeter wires (bolted/taped) got warm.(maybe 100 degrees). Battery was charged, headlights on, so full battery voltage is passing thru this connection.
I would expect some heat, due to resistance within the system, but surely this is not hot enough to melt anything and would have been doing the same thing attached to the ammeter.
Just based on this modification, are my thoughts valid?

 

[72RoadrunnerGTX]

As originally designed, all vehicle loads are connected to splice 1 in the dash harness, on the alternator side of the ammeter, with all power supplied by the alternator while the ignition is on-engine running. The ammeter should only register battery charge/discharge current (that’s it’s purpose). With a fully charged battery in good health, this charge current should be very little, not enough to generate noticeable heat at the ammeter connections. The factory molded ammeter ring terminals screwed together should handle quite a bit of current without any perceived heat under normal circumstances. If the ring terminals have been replaced with aftermarket connections, likely some poor crimping is involved.

Things that commonly alter the original design and can over stress the ammeter and ammeter/bulkhead chare circuit connections on these ammeter equipped older cars include improperly adding aftermarket loads to the battery side of the ammeter (battery/starter relay terminals). In this case, while in operation, the alternator is the source of power, not the battery as some seem to believe, and all this added current load is pulled across the ammeter and all related connections/conductors. Likewise, a failing alternator, or one undersized for the application, will allow vehicle loads to be pulled from the battery while in operation, again placing the ammeter and charge circuit outside of its original design limitations.