Wires everywhere!!!

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Apr 10, 2005 | 08:27 PM

bugser

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Joined: Sep 2003

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From: Vancouver,USA

Wires everywhere!!!

I'm out under the dash of my truck trying to remove the aftermarket gauges that a previous owner(which one I don't know)installed. Talk about a mess! Anyhoo...apparently,the ampmeter?was never hooked up,but the original isn't working. If someone could tell me where this is fed from in the engine compartment(voltage regulator?)I'd appreciate it. I'm basically trying to get the original gauges working again. The oil and fuel are working,just gotta figure out the other two. What's interesting to me is the circuit board? on the back of the panel. Wouldn't a straight feed to each gauge from their respective sending units have been easier?
This is a 70 f100 w/302.

Thanks gentlemen,Ron

Apr 10, 2005 | 09:49 PM

Franklin2

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Joined: Jan 2001

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From: Virginia

Quote:

ampmeter?was never hooked up,but the original isn't working. If someone could tell me where this is fed from in the engine compartment

Find the heavy output wire of the alternator, and follow it up to the starter relay. You may have to unwind the tape from it, but somewhere along this wire you should have a splice with two smaller wires coming off of it. This is a shunt, which is a very small resistance. Your original ammeter is actually a very small voltmeter that reads the voltage across the shunt. These two small wires on either side of the shunt are the ones that go to the factory ammeter. If you do not have the original wiring out at the alternator, and don't have the shunt, then the factory ammeter is not going to work.

Quote:

What's interesting to me is the circuit board? on the back of the panel. Wouldn't a straight feed to each gauge from their respective sending units have been easier?

I don't know this for a fact, but I am guessing the dash panel was made as a sub-assembly off the production line. So it's far easier to slap the dash panel in place and plug in one big plug rather than someone on the line hooking up every little individual wire.