Easy way to wire ammeter and CHT meter Options

[bd1308]

where would the wires go in each case and how would i get them to where they need to go

[Joe Ricard]

CHT needs no extra wires unless you want it lit. Use the dash light circuit and tap off the power. Caution to many extra dash lights will over load the dimmer switch.
Ammeter well what do the directions say? Oh I mean sorry can't help with ammeter

[TravisNeff]

I think an ammeter would go directly to the terminals of the battery, no?

[Joe Ricard]

QUOTE (Travis Neff @ Mar 24 2005, 02:27 PM)

I think an ammeter would go directly to the terminals of the battery, no?

Well maybe off the main power terminal @ the fuse panel (in line power lead). I would imagine a ground would be required somehow. But now I am pulling this out of my ass.

[lapuwali]

IMHO, lose the ammeter and get a voltmeter instead. Ammeters require way too much current to pass through them to be useful on just about any car made after 1960, when 20amp charging systems were commonplace. The 914 can have as much as 50 amps, which requires BIG wires to prevent a fire. You could probably get away with even a 60amp gauge on a front engined car, as the wire runs will be relatively short and mostly in the engine bay. In a 914, you'd need to run 8g wire from the battery up to the dash, through (or more likely alongside) the center tunnel.

A voltmeter can use 20g wire, as almost no current flows through it, and the combo of the voltmeter and the G light will tell you everything you need to know. You can hook up a voltmeter to a convenient switched power source in the dash, like the cigarette lighter. However, for best accuracy, run wires all the way to the battery terminals. With a voltmeter, expect to see 9v during cranking, 12v with the engine off, and 13-14v with the engine running.

The CHT gauge can really only be wired one way. Both wires from the sensor must go all the way to the gauge. The VDO gauge is powered by the sensor, which generates a small voltage. I think the Westach is the same.

[TravisNeff]

Thanks for the visual buddy (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/ohmy.gif)

must have been a trick to pull wires out the sphincty though.. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/lol2.gif)

[sanman]

drop the ammeter get a volt meter
easy to wire and safer all you need is 12v and a ground
ammeter need to be wired as an iterupter(sp) to your alternator charging wire, has to be the same gauge wire with no fuse, read ( fire) I just Got one last week $26 from CIP.com

[bd1308]

okay....well i just wanted the look of the bouncy ammeter ( saw one in a 59 Jaguar XKE [LUCAS] (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif) ) anyway, ammeter dropped. I need another hobby, computers and cars are KILLING my money flow. It's like negative now. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

[Rouser]

QUOTE

well i just wanted the look of the bouncy ammeter

Wire up a console voltmeter in a 914 as they came from the factory, and all you'll have to do is tap the brakes; that voltmeter will bounce as much as you'd like!

[bd1308]

QUOTE (Rouser @ Mar 24 2005, 05:23 PM)

Wire up a console voltmeter in a 914 as they came from the factory, and all you'll have to do is tap the brakes; that voltmeter will bounce as much as you'd like!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

[94teener]

You don't need big heavy wires running to the dash in order to have an ammeter.
You just use the appropriate sized shunt and run little 22 gauge wires to the ammeter.

http://cloudelectric.com/item.html?UCIDs=8...28&PRID=1114616

Phil

[lapuwali]

QUOTE (94teener @ Mar 24 2005, 06:03 PM)

You don't need big heavy wires running to the dash in order to have an ammeter. You just use the appropriate sized shunt and run little 22 gauge wires to the ammeter. http://cloudelectric.com/item.html?UCIDs=8...28&PRID=1114616 Phil

Only if you're using a meter designed to be used with an external shunt. In most aftermarket automotive ammeters, the shunt is in the gauge itself, so full current has to go to and from the gauge.