71 ammeter needle movement Q

[R72K5]

in the 71 the ammeter needle jumps a little towards discharge side when truck is off and when i turn headlamps on, it doesnt jump over very far, but its quick

it stays in middle of guage area right there,


does this sound normal/ok ?

just making sure after the internal regulator alternator conversion surgery procedure i did on it the other day

thanks

 

[arq]

mine moves quite a bit. I just redid my front wire harness. interesting how these ammeters where setup. if you follow the wires black and black/white. one wire goes to the pos battery terminal(junction connector) the other close to the alternator/fusebox.

what it does is compares the difference in amperage between the battery and the alternator. there is an amp drop along the cable that goes from the alternator to the battery when your alt is charging or when the lights are on. to help you visualize it;


|-->[-batt+]
| |
| |
| |
| (amp meter 14 guage wire)
| |
| |
| |
| |
|-->[alt/fusebox]
|
|
(10guage wire)


ARQ.

 

[divorced]

[hijack] Just wondering, is it the gauge in the lower left you are talking about? I always wondered if the one that said "Battery" was for amps or volts? [/hijack]