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Does anyone make a Volt meter for our original dash cluster

reamer

Contributor
Bronco Guru
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Mar 20, 2008
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Is there a "plug and play" to swap out our ammeter and put in a volt meter and keep the Stock look?
 

marty

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Apr 18, 2008
Messages
867
Loc.
massapequa, n.y.
just my honest opinion the ammeter is a much better source of information. you can atleast see how much amperege is being pulled from the alternator.
 

scsm76

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Joined
Oct 6, 2005
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1,433
Loc.
Shaver Lake, CA
just my honest opinion the ammeter is a much better source of information. you can atleast see how much amperege is being pulled from the alternator.
But you can't run a 100-200 amp alternator charge wire through the stock amp gauge.
 

Socal Tom

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Feb 12, 2004
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2,442
Loc.
San Diego, CA
just my honest opinion the ammeter is a much better source of information. you can atleast see how much amperege is being pulled from the alternator.

I disagree, the only thing you can really tell with an ammeter is if you are charging or not. With a voltmeter you can tell if your battery is going bad, and if you are charging or not. You can tell almost as well how bad the discharge is with a volt meter as with an ammeter. Plus, you rarely see ammeters that are working properly. Voltmeters are simple, reliable and if you know how to read them full of information.
Tom
 

DirtDonk

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Nov 3, 2003
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I like both. I got used to ammeters over the years and like what I see (when they work though, as you pointed out). I just like knowing how many amps are being used up at a given moment, as well as what the overall system voltage is.

That e-Bay voltmeter is a nice unit. Many of the ones I see for some reason don't dilineate each volt like this one does. Instead they use some odd number of hash-marks in between the numbers. Strange. Guess they think you only want to get a general idea of what's going on?
Even still, you'd think they'd at least put a "12" somewhere in the middle for quick referencing.

Paul
 
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reamer

reamer

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Mar 20, 2008
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I'd like to do the 3g upgrade, but I dont want to pop the ammeter, and then have to find a placec for a voltmeter, and worry about burning the harness.
The rest of the harness should be alright? right?
 

Steve83

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Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
8,981
Loc.
Memphis, TN, USA, Earth, Milky Way
I'm about to do this swap, and I plan to come up with a Ford voltmeter that will do the job. When I do, I'll add pics & details to Frank's registry on SMN. I'm going to be converting all his gauges to modern ones, including the speedo to get rid of the (*@#^$#!!!! cable. But he insists on maintaining the look...
 

DirtDonk

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Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,355
I'd like to do the 3g upgrade, but I dont want to pop the ammeter, and then have to find a place for a voltmeter, and worry about burning the harness.
The rest of the harness should be alright? right?

Do the upgrade if you want to anyway. The ammeter and original charge wire are not an issue because, if you do it right, you won't be using them anymore.
Yes, the rest of the harness will be fine, assuming it's fine now that is.

With the 3G upgrade, you completely bypass the original charging "loop" wire and run a single, larger gauge, wire from the alternator's output post directly to the battery's positive cable.
Then you cap off, or eliminate completely, the old charge wire that used to connect to the alternator. That way it won't short out on anything (since it's still powered from it's other end).
This is why the ammeter no longer functions properly. You're eliminating it's signal source.

I'm not sure if by "pop the ammeter" you meant electrically (by putting too much current through it), or physically (popping it out), but it's not the ammeter that can be damaged by running too much current, but the wire itself that can melt because it's too small for it's length.

Paul
 
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