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What is the best/safest way to wire an ammeter to your electrical system? How thick do the wires need to be? I know of the person who had it wired to his starter push button, but that is not an option on my car. Any advice/pictures would be much appreciated. My car has a standard dynamo system.

The wires need to be atleast same size, as the fat Brown one from the alternator.

In English I think this is called a 12 gauge wire

its cut into the same circiut, so you can read both charge & discharge.

All connections must be soldered for best connection, and make shure to use proper rubber grommets,
as this wire WILL set your car on fire if it touches ground = body.


Jens Christian

Thanks for the reply Jens.

I have read elsewhere that wiring it inline between the battery and solenoid is best if you want to monitor net charge/discharge of the battery.

I am not quite sure what you mean with "same circuit" (do you mean in series?). How would your method apply to a dynamo system?

My car has a cut off switch wired into the thick line coming from the battery to the engine bay. The switch itself sits on the floor almost where the push button ignition switch is mounted on early minis. Perhaps that provides an opportunity to wire it in there

The inline is correct, but its not from solinoid to battery, that will melt the gauge.

You disconnect the fat wire from the dynamo/alternator on the starter relay.

Then you solder on a LOONG wire (same size) and connect that to the gauge,
you then make another new LOONG wire, and connect that to the other side of the gauge, and return it to the starter relay.


found this http://www.fordification.com/tech/ammeter.htm

and http://www.google.com/imgres?q=ammeter+ ... 3,s:0,i:76

Thanks Jens, I think I'm getting there...but please bare with me...

Both wires from the dynamo go to the voltage control box, one fits on the F terminal and the other on the D terminal.

What do you mean by "starter relay"?

Sorry, but my electrical vocabulary is limited to the Haynes Manual wiring diagrams .

abri wrote:Thanks Jens, I think I'm getting there...but please bare with me...

Both wires from the dynamo go to the voltage control box, one fits on the F terminal and the other on the D terminal.

What do you mean by "starter relay"?

Sorry, but my electrical vocabulary is limited to the Haynes Manual wiring diagrams .

Relay = solinoid


one of those will return to the starter relay (solinoid) thats the one you cut.

Yes, there is a brown wire connecting terminal A on the control box to the solenoid. I take it that's the one?

abri wrote:Yes, there is a brown wire connecting terminal A on the control box to the solenoid. I take it that's the one?

Correctomundo

Great, thanks, that at least means the pieces of wire I need to ad in don't need to be too long and unsightly in the engine bay.