Been doing some research on bypassing the amp meter and replacing the firewall bulkhead connections. Am I reading these posts on the board properly i.e. The bulhead connectors can be left intact after bypassing the ampmeter by just running a heavy enough wire from the B+ post of the alternator to the positive batt cable? What guage would be required (this is a fair weather non-ac vehicle). Thanks-Mike

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Good gun control is hitting your target repeatedly

Because your truck is giving you problems? Or because you've read scary stories about how your truck's going to burn down? Serious question here...
Yep. 10ga (or 2x 10ga if you want belt and suspenders) will be plenty.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I'm with Dan,

Unless you need one of those 100+amp alts or your system is
giving you problems you do not need to bypass the alt meter.

If you remove the bulkhead wires you will need to supply a
new power supply to your dash so everything will work.

I have had many mopars over the years, plus what is below,
and have never lost a amp gauge.............. even installing
45 to 70 amp alts in my old rigs that came with 35amp alts......

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http://imageevent.com/jeffc
62 D100 225 3sp lwb
64 D100 A318 727pb custom lwb
66 D100 A318 4sp lwb
68 D100 B383 727 swb
65 Belveder A318 727 4d
65 Dart GT LA273 2bbl 904
73 Scamp 225 2bbl 4spOD
Old iron or no iron

Dan / Jeff-thanks for the honest input. Not having any problems at this time other than some ground (wiper, horn going south). I'm just trying to avoid issues in the future. I've kept the bulkhead connections as clean as I can (this truck has never been in the snow and sits in a garage most of the time-fair weather vehicle. I know what you're saying about this sytem working-my 36 Plymouth, and 52 Dodge 1 ton are both wired as they came from the factory, but the 52 has had most of the wiring replaced due to age cracking of the old cloth type insulation. I did add a lot of body lights to the flatbed, so I may bypass the ammeter on this one. Is the story of ammeters burning up an urban legend, or is it a common problem as some would lead you to believe? Thanks again folks. Mike

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Good gun control is hitting your target repeatedly

I'm going to take a guess that you've been reading the "Mad Electrical" site that's full of scary ghost stories about how your Mopar's gonna burn up unless you replace the ammeter with a voltmeter. Bull. Yes, it's certainly possible to have electrical problems or even electrical overheat and damage centred around the ammeter and its wires. Absolutely. But the prerequisite is massive and/or protracted overload (as for example by increasing the alternator capacity and using that capacity frequently via extra electrical accessories or frequent battery charging or jumping), or failing to take a periodic look at the connections and keep them clean, corrosion-free and tight.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Dan is right on the money.
It all depends on how much "load" you putting on the system.
Other than stock systems, such as added elct rad fans, fuel pumps,
ear split sound system, air, ect..... all add load along with the
stock equipment.

Grounding is just as important as wire gauge and bulk head connectors.

_________________
http://imageevent.com/jeffc
62 D100 225 3sp lwb
64 D100 A318 727pb custom lwb
66 D100 A318 4sp lwb
68 D100 B383 727 swb
65 Belveder A318 727 4d
65 Dart GT LA273 2bbl 904
73 Scamp 225 2bbl 4spOD
Old iron or no iron

Check for voltage drop through the charging system with the engine running at idle. Start at the alt voltage, big red wire and ground, and then follow the circuit checking the voltage after each connection in the system. First and formost, is the battary seeing the same voltage as the alternator? If it gets to the high side of the ballast resister with a voltage drop that is significant, then you will be better off by passing the ameter and bulkhead connectors. I was losing two full volts from alt to ballast resistor. That is WAY too much. I think even .5 volts is a bad sign, but will work. Everything on the car worked better when I bypassed the ameter. NOw I can tell at a glance if the charging system is working by looking at the volt meter. I also installed a GM one wire alternator which keeps up with things at night when all sytems are trying to draw down the battery, even on a muggy, rainy night with wipers, headlights, and AC going. Before the lights would dim at every stop light. Not so now. I left the bulkhead connectors in place but do not use them for anything that is really voltage sensative; where a voltage drop would affect the efficiency of the ignition or function of the ECU for instance. Those are run direct also.

Don't forget to run fuses in any extra lines you run. I have three extra fuse blocks under the hood of my car.

Something I have speculated about in the past with my particular vehicle is that perhaps there was a non-fatal, but never-the-less damaging overload on the entire system at some point in it's past. I say this because the wiring was in particuarly bad shape. All the connectors were high resistance, and when I strip the insulation off any of the old wire, the copper is corroded a dark color. It is not shiney bright the way new copper wire is. I don;t know this for sure. It is just a hunch, or inuitive thought I have had. But I don;t know what kind fo overload could damage the wire and not pop fuses. Maybe a constant low grade short. Maybe some bright tow truck operator hooked up jumper cables backwards and did pop a circuit breaker or two, but not before some damage was done.

Sam

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