Ammeter

[Merlin]

quote:
I think the ad says 100,000 miles warantee. I'd like to see the small print, and who keeps a car for that long these days anyway.


Me the last Passat 292,000 current one 146,000.Edited by - Merlin on 07 Aug 2010 5:09:50 PM

[Malleon]

quote:
I see Vauxhall are "AHEAD " of the best now with ,
LIFETIME Gauarantee,
What a difference ,Wonder if that includs the Body.
Ride with Care and Live Long.


Rex,
Have you been dreaming about Ellie McPherson again, or some other Body ?

[Cerberus]

A minor postscript. I've just had to replace the ammeter on my 1961 M16. The case of the previous one had shattered all around leaving the meter dangling inside the headlight shell and the bezel and glass hanging on by an old bit of araldite the previous owner had used to bodge, sorry repair something like this before. Anyway on to the reason for this post. The replacement I fitted is a Lucas from JSL and from comparison, the previous one was a pattern part. Having taken careful note of which lead was connected to which terminal of the meter, I wired it back up again. The meter deflection was reversed. Neither ammeter was marked with any form of polarity, so I simply conclude that the internal wiring of the two parts was reversed which might cause confusion to anyone who was doing anything more a simple component replacement. (I simply swapped the connections on the meter over as apart from the marking on the dial a +/- reading ammeter is not polarised.) A check would be to put the ammeter in series with a light bulb and put a battery across it. Note which terminal on the ammeter the positive side of the battery is connected to when the meter shows a positive defelection, then this should be "engine side" and the other terminal "battery side".Edited by - Cerberus on 21 Aug 2010 6:06:51 PM

[kernow kid]

For what its worth (sod all), I reckon ammeters are a total pain in the botty anyway. I'll be putting a neat voltmeter on my AJ..no need to run thick wires all the way up and back to the headlight shell and still an indication of what the charge situation is coz you can see the battery volts at all times.
Yes, it wont look original and yes I wont care.
Regards KK

[Groily]

Understand the frustration KK - but the voltmeter may not tell you anything important until it's a bit too late! Gradually declining voltage reading as the uncharged battery is consumed by hungry bulbs on wet dark nights . . . then . . . norralot to get you home. At least an ammeter tells you NOW and for real.
And you still have to run some battery power to the switch, which is probably in the headlamp shell?, even if it doesn't go via or to an ammeter.

Cars went voltmeter mad from the late 60s- calling it Battery Status Indicator or some such - and led people to think you couldn't safely run an ammeter with an alternator installation. Which is total caca.
Only my view and also worth sod all, but I reckon the ammeter is the one instrument this side of an oil pressure gauge actually worth having. Doesn't matter how fast you're going in road or engine speed if there's no 'lectrickery. And all the more so if there's no magneto . . . .

[greasemonkey62]

acording to the matchless and ajs bible writer Roy Bacon, the earth was changed to a positive earth in 1952 for the ajs and matchless brands.

[mikeydpippin]

To update this thread i had no electrics again and a flat battery i removed the battery to re-charge and found on replacing the battery in the compartment the neg live of the battery had touched the compartment frame and i had a big spark.
Pretty sure this was my problem.
No protection over the battery terminals,foam around battery must have went round a corner and short circuited and melted the positive earth cable.
Wot a plonker.
I have now put battery in the compartment with the positive earth terminal inside.