Original Ammeters

JWW - What exactly is "modern electrical technology"? Your car still has wiring, connectors and fuses. My Barracuda has new forward harnesses but the dash interior and trunk harnesses are factory original and the ammeter is still in place and hooked up thru the factory wiring. Ive owned the car since 1982 and been driving it "restored" since 1996 with ZERO electrical issues. In fact I have owned Mopars since 1979 and NEVER had an electrical issue that wasn`t caused by corroded connectors or some previous owners hack work. I`ll keep mine all factory as designed as they are perfectly fine and look beter than any aftermarket gages.
 
Looks like I hit your hot button‼️ After returning home from Vietnam in late 67 I ended up a team member of the Apollo Program as a senior design engineer. One of my designs was responsible for the first moon landing going without a hitch!! At that time I was also designing and building “pro-stock” dragons racing cars (all Mopars) and even back then all the poorly designed electrical “spaghetti” was removed and replaced with advanced (for the time) technology… for safety and reliability. My original 69 Road Runner caught on fire (under the dash) while racing at Orange County Raceway in 1970. That’s when I dumped the hazardous poorly designed wiring for a much advanced safe system and never had any problems after that. You are likely too young to recall all the under dash issues back in the day. I lived it and saw a lot. Everyone has an opinion. I’m not knocking your opinion. Just sharing some “actual” experiences and what I learned from those experiences. I personally know quite a few oldies (like me) that have had the same experiences. Have fun with your cars and be sure to keep a close eye on anything abnormal under the dash
 
V.R.D said:
If you read the whole post on bummer the guy with the 64 the just said his dash smoked and melted the wiring and the fuse link save the car he has no external components on his system and it is stock as I said before different environments cause different problems on cars please be willing and open to others opinions it would be nice
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Interesting development over on that post;

"The harness itself passed my continuity test with my multimeter, showing no short circuits.
I decided to look elsewhere for the source of my electrical problems, and found it. The power wire from my alternator was resting up against a metal sparkplug standoff, which is bolted to the front ear of the exhaust manifold. It looks like, over time, the heat of the manifold was transmitted through this standoff and melted the insulation on the the power wire. ZZZot! So now, it just needs some time soldering new wires in, and reinstalling the harness."
 
Sounds like problem solved. If there’s one thing that seems to be a constant with all these vintage cars is they will always spring an unexpected surprise when least expected!
 
Have a 73 Scamp 318 and a 1970 R/R with both original wiring an ammeter. Have no additional power accessory added though. In my 1970 Charger I bypassed the ammeter since I redid all the wiring harness under the dash. Never had a problem on my two Plymouth but I'll keep a battery terminal wrench and fire extinguisher in the cars
 
You haven`t explained exactly what "modern and advanced technology" you are using? If you have wiring and connections they can still get corroded, overload and melt or burn up. I know some eliminate the bulkhead connectors and run the wires all the way thru which at least eliminates that issue.
 
All the dash gauges are Dakota Digital and are located in a single cluster with a single cable and connector from the back of the cluster case to an updated harness. Several (also updated) harnesses are fed through the firewall to respective locations. A digital readout screen connected to my EZ-FAST 2.0 injection system, mounted directly behind the B&M shifter, informs me in real time of virtually everything going on with the engine and electrical. I like knowing what’s going on with everything while I’m driving. I may have a lot of updated goodies scattered about, but in the end it’s always going to be a fussy car

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As a retired aerospace electrical engineer of 40 years (who grew up in 60’s building serious race cars) all I can say is there is too many reasons to list why you should dump that outdated (fire hazard) amp meter for a significantly more accurate and dependable voltage meter!!! About half the readers will agree while the other half will be very offended!! For this site opinions are like Road Runners… we all have one‼️
 
Newbird said:
How many still have the original ammeter and have you had any problems with it. I'm trying to reinstall the original instrument panel and the PO cut the 10 gauge wire that I assume went to the ammeter. Being a prior Mustang restoration guy I continued to use the old ammeter even though there were discussions about fires and shorts. I never had a problem but wondered if Mopar was any different?
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Old school (outdated) amp meters are wired in parallel with direct wiring from the alternator passing through the firewall to the amp meter and back through the fire wall thereby carrying the full electrical load of the entire electrical system. When extra updated components are added like AC and high output sound system, extreme stress is placed on the weak link in the system (the amp meter)! Where short circuits (and fires) occur… typically where the wire passes through the firewall. A volt meter, on the other hand, is wired in series thereby carrying very minimal load with virtually little to no chance of it causing a dangerous situation. Amp meters and volt meters are apples and oranges… completely different technology. The only purpose for both is to insure the battery output is where it should be at any given time while driving.
 
Made mistake in above post.
The amp meter is wired in series and the volt meter is wired in parallel. Everything else is the same and accurate. For those skeptics do Google search.
There’s a ton of good information out there to support a volt meter over an amp meter.
 
jww69rrpost said:
Old school (outdated) amp meters are wired in parallel with direct wiring from the alternator passing through the firewall to the amp meter and back through the fire wall thereby carrying the full electrical load of the entire electrical system. When extra updated components are added like AC and high output sound system, extreme stress is placed on the weak link in the system (the amp meter)! Where short circuits (and fires) occur… typically where the wire passes through the firewall. A volt meter, on the other hand, is wired in series thereby carrying very minimal load with virtually little to no chance of it causing a dangerous situation. Amp meters and volt meters are apples and oranges… completely different technology. The only purpose for both is to insure the battery output is where it should be at any given time while driving.
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You must be stating your opinion once more, that description of how this system works is not factual at all. Facts are, as originally designed, all stock, no modifications, everything healthy and operating normally, all vehicle running loads do not flow through the ammeter while the vehicle is in operation, needle centered indicating little to no current through the ammeter while in operation. All factory running loads are on the alternator side of the ammeter, at the main dash harness splice, alternator is providing that current, not the battery. Only current flowing through ammeter while in operation is battery charging current, very little with a heathy fully charged battery. In fact, the ammeter is wired in series between the battery on one side and all stock running loads and the alternator on the other side of the ammeter. Only with misplaced added vehicle running loads at the battery or starter relay (or anywhere battery side of the ammeter) will running load current flow through the ammeter while in operation. Fact is, all current drawn by any and all non-factory added loading (all the race car stuff, MSD, colling fans, lights, amplifiers, fuel pumps) connected on the battery side of the ammeter will current stress and place the stock ammeter, and all related connections well out-side their originall design current limits. Load placement matters this all-stock Chrysler electrical system.

More facts, the Packard terminations in the charge path at the bulkhead connector are by far the weakest link in this ammeter-based charging system, always have been. More factory electrical options will place more current stress on the one set of Packards in the wire run from the alternator to the main splice but has nothing to do with the ammeter, it is the load distribution for the entire vehicle.

And yes, there is a ton of misinformation circulating about these ammeters and how they were designed to function in this system, a lot of opinions short on facts. The designed function of this system is described in detail in all factory service manuals from the time, as well as all factory dealer tech training materials on the subject, Google that.
 
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This will be my last and final post for this subject, which has got at least one person up in harms!! In October of 1968 I purchased a new 69 Road Runner. One of my engineering colleges, who drove a pro stock Cuda to work, educated me of the design shortcomings of portions of the electrical system that resulted in bypassing the amp meter. I later installed a volt meter… and over the many years since then have done the same swap to over 10 Mopars, with great success. With that said, for you amp meter lovers, take care and be sure to keep your fire extinguisher handy and charged. That’s all from me on this subject. No more responses!!
 
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