Volt gauge

[bigmanjbmopar]

easyrider, do you have a wiring detail for your car? If not get one even if you don't understand it you can follow the wires from point a to point b to understand how and where they go. You are lucky you didn't catch fire and burn your car down.

 

[440roadrunner]

When you have 1mA FS meter, the meter will draw 666 uA .

I'm done "discussing" this with you. Car makers do NOT use no12 wiring for voltmeters, and you can't find one example. I don't care if it draws one microamp. Leaving uneeded loads connected is not the way it's done. Bye.

 

[mjb765]

I'm done "discussing" this with you. Car makers do NOT use no12 wiring for voltmeters, and you can't find one example. I don't care if it draws one microamp. Leaving uneeded loads connected is not the way it's done. Bye.

:headbang:

I have NEVER seen a permanently installed voltmeter in a car hooked up to constant power!! It's just not the way it's done!

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Thanks for the wealth of information. What you are saying makes sense. So I need to take the amp wires and hook them together. Then, find another source for my switched power and ground. Can you put a wire under a fuse at fuse box for power? Or is that a bad way to get a connection?

Easyrider, on the back of your fuse box where the factory wires are attached, usually there are flat blade connector attachments added for convenience of adding accessories, use a switched 12vdc source from the out side of a fuse. Do not cut into your wire harness to "find" a switched 12vdc power source. the gauge of the wire can be anywhere from 18-12 awg.

DO NOT put a wire under the fuse itself! this could be a fire hazard. the fuse needs to blow if there is a short circuit. using the factory connectors on the back of the fuse box is the only correct way to attach additional equipment and doing so safely.

Having a wiring diagram will help you determine a switched source at your fuse box and show you the
"out" side of the fuse. 12dvc from the battery is in then through the fuse and out.

If you give me the year and model of your car I can help find you the factory detail.



Here are the wiring diagrams for your car.

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1965/65BelvedereB.JPG

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1965/65BelvedereA.JPG

 

[69Bee]

I'm done "discussing" this with you. Car makers do NOT use no12 wiring for voltmeters, and you can't find one example. I don't care if it draws one microamp. Leaving uneeded loads connected is not the way it's done. Bye.

We are talking about wiring on cars that are 40 plus years old, not a 2010 Toyota. Mopars never used voltmeters until the late 70's - early 80's.

And, I will again reiterate for the reading challanged, use whatever size wire you have, or want to buy, IT WON'T MATTER.........

And, as far as loads go, we all know that we had to reset our clocks evertime we drove our cars, because be damned if we are gonna have those pesky microamp loads draining our batteries. I am finished with your inclination to argue a moot point.

Back to the OP issue...

 

[69Bee]

Bigman and Easyrider, if you cannot find an extra terminal, they make splices that crimp on your wire and tap into the desired wire. No need to strip anything.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/150754703418?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

Or piggyback connector terminals:

http://compare.ebay.com/like/271016870337?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

 

[383man]

The only thing I can say is all the voltmeters I have ever seen in cars were hooked up to key on voltage and were not hot with the key off. Of course voltmeters get hooked in paralell where ammeters are in series. The easiest place to hook a voltmeter on a Mopar to me is to tap into the J2 circuit and ground the other voltmeter lead. All the 70 Mopars used the J2 12 volt circuit to the voltage regulator so it monitered the volts from there to adjust the regulator settings and maintain battery charging volts. So it makes sense to me to just tap into the J2 circuit for a voltmeter and it will only work with the key on. Ron

 

[HT413]

Lol, good god did you guys mind **** this. Series / parallel, miliamps. Hahaha bla blah blah. Easyrider, if you're gonna hook something up to the fuse box, hook on the back side, where the spade connections are. I dont remember off the top of my head if there is an ignition switched circuit there, but the gauge cluster light IS there and you'll need that if you plan on this gauge being lit and dimmable with the dimmer switch. In my 69 B body its the 1st circuit on the left (from the back side of the fuse box) and has orange wire coming off it. If you run out of spade connectors to hook to, either go to a hardware store and get a splitter type thing or just cut an old one off and connect your new wire in with the old and reconnect the spade. Or get one of those wire splice connectors (heres a pic. http://www.boatersland.com/anc230615.html?gclid=CLWxu7-elLICFcXb4Aodk0gABg )

I would guess you'd want this gauge to turn off when u turn the car off, so fnd a wire that does that and use a wire splice connector. Might wanna chose wisely though, so maybe consult a wire diagram? If by some freak chance you choose a wire that is just after a light bulb or whatever and the bulb goes out, you'll be scratchin your head for days as to why that nifty volt gauge just died.

 

[440roadrunner]

The only thing I can say is all the voltmeters I have ever seen in cars were hooked up to key on voltage and were not hot with the key off. Of course voltmeters get hooked in paralell where ammeters are in series. The easiest place to hook a voltmeter on a Mopar to me is to tap into the J2 circuit and ground the other voltmeter lead. All the 70 Mopars used the J2 12 volt circuit to the voltage regulator so it monitered the volts from there to adjust the regulator settings and maintain battery charging volts. So it makes sense to me to just tap into the J2 circuit for a voltmeter and it will only work with the key on. Ron

The only thing I don't like about tapping into J2 (dark blue, ignition run, or IGN 1) is that it is not fused anywhere. The way some guys do added wiring, it would be safer to use the fuse panel

. Easyrider, if you're gonna hook something up to the fuse box, hook on the back side, where the spade connections are. I dont remember off the top of my head if there is an ignition switched circuit there, but the gauge cluster light IS there and you'll need that if you plan on this gauge being lit and dimmable with the dimmer switch. In my 69 B body its the 1st circuit on the left (from the back side of the fuse box) and has orange wire coming off it.

But thanks for making my point. The dash lights are always a fuse by itself, fed with a tan, and with several orange wires coming off the output. The dash light fuse IS NOT HOT until the headlight switch is either on park or head. What I mean is, if you are poking around looking for power, the dash lights must be on.

So far as gauge power, the rest is correct.

Below is the rear of a fuse panel, 67 Coronet. This is just as example

The dimmer fuse is at far right. Tan is INcoming power from the headlight switch, orange is OUTPUT to dimmer controlled lamps

Notice how the two left hand fuses are connected at the top, and the third is jumpered as well . You can SEE this looking at the panel, it's a brass strip in there. these are the "hot buss" fuses --- the ones that are hot at all times

Notice how the next two fuses are connected at top. These are "switched" fuses, and hot when the ignition is in "run" or "acessory" One of these three is where you need to pull power for your voltmeter

Your panel may be different. You want to connect at the BOTTOM of the fuses, as the top is incoming power, bottom is fused power going out. IF there is no place to connect a push-on connector at the bottom line then do so at the top buss, but ADD a small inline fuse. Most fuse holders you buy come with a 20A fuse, way too big. Replace it with nothing larger than about a 2 or 5A, but 1/2 amp is oodles big for a voltmeter.