Installing an Ammeter, Amps / Gauge / Wire Options

[Jaws4God]

I just ordered an Ammeter gauge for my car since I had some problems with my alternator going bad and not knowing because my volt meter read 12 volts...

Does anyone have some tips on how to install it?

Thanks!

This post has been edited by Jaws4God: Jan 23, 2007 - 10:45 PM

[Jaws4God]

nah, I like you idea but I already have the gauge in and mounted...

the instructions say the best place to install the gauges is the wire after the battery and just after the starter.. i see the bundle and where it breaks off to the starter, but I have a feeling there isn't 1 wire there, so I wanted to see if anyone knew which one came from the altinator and also powers other devices so i can get an overall reading.

Thanks!

[Mangozac]

nah, I like you idea but I already have the gauge in and mounted...

the instructions say the best place to install the gauges is the wire after the battery and just after the starter.. i see the bundle and where it breaks off to the starter, but I have a feeling there isn't 1 wire there, so I wanted to see if anyone knew which one came from the altinator and also powers other devices so i can get an overall reading.

Thanks!

I said wait until I read the other manual before you reply!

Fair enough if it's all mounted. There should be two wires that do to the battery + terminal. The fat one is the starter motor. The other one is everything else. You need to be in series with the other one.

[Jaws4God]

nah, I like you idea but I already have the gauge in and mounted...

the instructions say the best place to install the gauges is the wire after the battery and just after the starter.. i see the bundle and where it breaks off to the starter, but I have a feeling there isn't 1 wire there, so I wanted to see if anyone knew which one came from the altinator and also powers other devices so i can get an overall reading.

Thanks!

I said wait until I read the other manual before you reply!

Fair enough if it's all mounted. There should be two wires that do to the battery + terminal. The fat one is the starter motor. The other one is everything else. You need to be in series with the other one.

i'll see if I can check today, that would be so awesome is there is only 2 main wires coming off of the battery.

this is the bundle i'm talking about.. looks a little too big for only 2 wires



This post has been edited by Jaws4God: Feb 16, 2008 - 10:35 PM

[Mangozac]

i'll see if I can check today, that would be so awesome is there is only 2 main wires coming off of the battery.

this is the bundle i'm talking about.. looks a little too big for only 2 wires

Pull the rubber cover bit off the battery terminal and see how many wires are actually bolted onto the terminal clamp. My bet is that your 2 wires will be there.

[BloodyStupidDave...]

For anyone else thinking about doing this, what you want is either a meter with an external shunt resistor as Mangozac said, or (better) a DC clamp meter.

The later uses some clever electronics to read the magnetic field around a conductor and calculate the amperage required to generate such a field. The sensor is clamped to the insulation of the conductor (that is, the sensor is in very close proximity to the conductor, not actually making an electrical connection).

Because there isn't a physical connection, it is possible to read very large amperages without the need for running everything through the actual meter and so you can choose which wire you want to measure.

Some ECUs have the ability to monitor the amps and volts, AFAIK this is not true of any of the ECUs for the Celica.