stu’s68furyiiirat
Active Member
I just now seen that thanks so when I bypass amp meter do I tie both big wire together and run one from starter relay to hot side of ammeter 8 ga or 10 ga wire
How crispy do you like it?
- Thread starter Missourati
- Start date
1970FuryConv
Old Man with a Hat
If your ammeter is a problem, yes, tie the big wires behind it together.
I ran a 2nd 10 gauge wire from alternator output to starter relay battery terminal, so charge can run directly to the battery.
You then have 2 black charge wires coming off alternator output.
If you don't tie the wires behind the ammeter together, your ammeter will show discharge when charging system is not really discharging the battery.
Missourati
New Member
Alright sorry for the delay. I got a nice clamp multimeter and read the amps going through the now spliced ammeter wires. On accessory it draws about 7 amps, with brights and hazards it draws nearly 23 amps and gets the bypassed ammeter wire hot. With engine idling its in the high teens. With engine at speed it spikes to around 35 amps. At speed it gets super hot but no smoking like before. The max amperage for a 12 gauge wire is 20 so I'm either running an 8 gauge wire through the harness or finding some way to sap the alternator output to the battery or both. My question is was the car always like this or has something gone horribly wrong? The harness wires are intact so no shorts I can think of. 23 amps through 12 gauge wire with the car off is insane to me. Anything else I'm missing?
stu’s68furyiiirat
Active Member
1970FuryConv
Old Man with a Hat
*It could mean that the ammeter is bad.
*BUT: Firewall connectors for power output from alternator commonly go bad on their own. I would drill a hole in the firewall, use a rubber grommet in the hole, then run alternator output wire thru the grommet. That way you bypass the firewall connector resistance/deterioration.
*Bypassing the ammeter also and installing a voltmeter for ignition-on charge would complete that part of the job.
*I would still run parallel wire: alternator output stud to battery connector at starter relay.
That finishes the job until you test the voltage. Should be 135V to 15V at battery, depending on state of charge of the battery and number of accessories in use.
1970FuryConv
Old Man with a Hat
Hi Missouri
Your amperage output is higher than stock. You have a 60 amp alternator, so at speed the alternator is going to output more amps than stock 30 amp or 35 amp alternators. Your voltage regulator is regulating voltage, which is the electrical force pushing those amps. That is not the same as amps. The voltage regulator cannot reduce your 60 amp alternator output to stock output. I wouldn't do it, but you can put a larger pulley on an alternator to reduce output.
On the plus side, Rick Ehrenberg wrote that 60 amp alternators is the max size that a stock wiring harness can handle.
But he recommends the following alteration: Run parallel alternator output wire: alternator output stud to battery connector at starter relay. I used a 10 gauge wire with 60 amp alternator on 1970 Plymouth Fury. That eliminated a host of charging problems.
Voltage regulators: mechanical voltage regulators have a host of problems. You can buy single wire electronic voltage regulators for your 1961 Dodge. You can also convert to the later flat pack 2-wire voltage regulators. Flat pack is great particularly if It has a Mopar label.
@halifaxhops is a fantastic source for electrical parts. I recommend you PM him.
stu’s68furyiiirat
Active Member
I know people will hate me I plan on airbags big stereo I think I’m plan on passing ammeter and put volt meter I like to have good current and reliability
1970FuryConv
Old Man with a Hat
I don't hate you. It's your car.
Bypass ammeter, install voltmeter: OK
Big Stereo: OK.
Airbag suspension: these guys say average cost is $3500. Rebuilding your current suspension would cost way less. My opinion is not enough benefit to justify cost. From what I have seen, airbag suspension is hard $ to recoup at time of sale.
Bag Riders Air Suspension.
stu’s68furyiiirat
Active Member
I have the stuff laying around and my cousin is a fabricator and helping me with it I just like being different
Missourati
New Member
Alright I got some 8 gauge wire from Lowe's and some ring connectors. I bridged the alternator battery output terminal with the positive battery stud on the starter relay and was going to test out how much amperage it sucked from the ammeter wire but I left my park lights on and have a dead battery :/ so I'll charge it up, test out the ammeter wire with my multimeter and if it's drawing current away, I'll then peel open the wiring harness to replace the ammeter wire with 8 gauge as well just to be safe.
Missourati
New Member
One question I have is why would just the brights and hazards on put over 20 amps through the ammeter wire with the ignition off? Because that means the overheating problem isn't just a 60 amp alternator overloading the ammeter, it's also pushing too much current from the battery through improperly sized wire.
Missourati
New Member
Alright I hooked everything up, got a new battery, cables, alternator, and voltage regulator. I'm going to put fusible links on both ends of both ammeter and bypass wires just to be safe. I tested it out and the bypass is working very well. I'll keep an eye on it but I think once everything is in place this headache will finally be over.
Missourati
New Member
So I replaced the alternator, voltage regulator, starter solenoid, ran my bypass wire, eliminated the ammeter entirely and she's running beautifully. No overheating, battery charging fine. I put fusible links on the positive battery wire, both ends of the ammeter and bypass wires so it's much safer now. So thanks everybody for the tips.
