Ammeter

[RPMCK]

I'm having trouble getting my ammeter in my 1970 1100D pickup. Grounded fine, but hooking the positive to ignition blows the main fuse. Any ideas on best way to wire the ammeter?

 

[RPMCK]

I'm having trouble getting my ammeter in my 1970 1100D pickup. Grounded fine, but hooking the positive to ignition blows the main fuse. Any ideas on best way to wire the ammeter? Direct to Alternator or ignition switch?

 

[FDChappie]

The ammeter is not grounded, it measures the current that flows through it. On a a Scout it will measure current flow into and out of the battery. So it will inline with the wire that goes to the + terminal of the battery from the fuse block.

 

[Scoutboy74]

If you ground the ammeter, you create a short circuit. Sparks and smoke are likely to escape from your wires when you do that. The igntion coil is another example of a device in your vehicle with + and - markings and neither of them should be connected to chassis ground.

 

[Hondo]

If you are hooking up the stock amp meter, wiring should look something like this (in a Scout the wires going to the amp meter are usually light blue). If you are hooking up a voltmeter, which basically just tells you if the alternator is working or not, then you go from a 12v source (preferably the "welded splice" junction) to ground. Note that if the 10 gauge wire going to the amp meter shorts someplace, you will be arc welding with whatever the output of your alternator is, usually about 35 amps, or the battery output which can be several hundred amps.