non conductive heat resistant washers

[cwhubb]

Hey everyone, a few questions...if you bought a brand new ammeter does it come with the non conductive washers that go under the stud nuts? do they make a non conductive heat resistant washer and who has them? and if that fails where can I get a ceramic washer?
thanks
just thought of something, are fiber washers non conductive/heat resistance?

 

[62 Dart Convertible]

Hi Mate

Fiber washers are what you need..

 

[cwhubb]

thanks Frank nice to meet you

 

[Chargerjase]

You can make a gasket out fiber material. The ammeter should not generate heat if terminated properly. The originals were made from a bitumen type material I believe. When you do your assembly, make doubly sure your connections are tight to avoid problems.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

originally is used a material called MASONITE or something like that.

They are available on ebay already cut to fit in a couple of bucks for the pair, inner and outer ( I was pretty sure had it saved on my watch list but it seems not... will search and post )

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The ammeter should not generate heat if terminated properly.

actually they get some heat with low charge capacity from stock alts, with the load coming back and forth from and to batt

 

[Shorthorse]

Don't forget, non-conductive washers are soft so getting a tight connection is difficult. The studs on the amp gauges are usually brass and cannot take extreme torque. Most amp gauges have double nuts explicitly for that reason. Make sure you use both for proper tightening.

 

[cwhubb]

masonites the material some circuit boards are mounted to, peg board made from it, it's also used by artists as a canvas, and some furniture uses it for backing, don't confuse it for cheapo press board. nylon fasteners would work they aren't conductive and they are heat/uv resistant with a fairly high psi strength, you can't use them in marine or wet environments because they absorb water molecules and they will swell. Per a few hours research by me.

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the studs on my 70 charger's ammeter are pressed in steel, I'll take a look at the new one to double check, I descided to go with nylon nuts

 

[Shorthorse]

I'm not sure it's a good idea to use nylon nuts. The ammeter connections carry the load of almost everything in your car. That connection must be and remain tight or bad things happen. Personally, I don't have any confidence in the ability to get nylon nuts tight enough without stretching the threads. Once that happens, the integrity of the connection is gone.

 

[cwhubb]

I like your idea shorthorse, what do you think about using a nylon washer in between instead of a fiber one

 

[Shorthorse]

I didn't intend to make this so complicated but I took a quick look at the properties of nylon and and it's not very encouraging when it comes to moisture, heat and chemicals. You might want to check the properties of other materials. My local hardware store has those specialty bins with just about everything you might need including nylon, rubber, mica, fiber and so on. I'm a sucker for those bins and always end up with more than I need but I usually only have to go once. While your at it, don't forget to pick up a small tube of dielectric grease.
Here's an example of nylon issues -
http://info.craftechind.com/blog/bid/327155/6-Reasons-NOT-to-Use-Nylon-Fasteners

 

[A383Wing]

if you can't locate any of those special non-conductive washers for the ammeter, I have a bunch here from 66-67 Charger gauges

 

[Nacho-RT74]

this is the ebay listing for the ammeter insulators ( ended though )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ammeter-Ins...fi6GP1EtxdDn687%2BdzE%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc