> Randall wrote:
> > And a low-reading voltmeter can mean
> > almost anything, including the ignition switch going bad. On my
> Stag, it means
> > the factory fuse block is about 30 years past it's useful lifetime.
TeriAnn replied :
> Exactly. It is telling you that there is something wrong with your
> system that is preventing your generator from making proper voltage for
> fully charging the battery or preventing the part of the circuit the
> voltmeter is connected to from running at proper voltage.
True, but it won't tell me the difference ! One problem has no ill effects at
all (the coil works just fine at 12v instead of 14.4v) the other is a serious
matter. An ammeter tells me for sure if current is flowing into or out of the
battery, which a voltmeter won't.
I just got back from doing about 1500 miles in a car with the voltmeter only
showing 13v or so ... Was the battery being charged ? Headlights were dim, at
one point the engine refused to crank ... alternator must be bad, right ? An
ammeter would have told me NO, nothing wrong with the charging system.
> I decided the ammeter was the most useless instrument I had since I
> learned to rely upon the voltmeter.
Well, I won't claim a voltmeter is useless; but knowing how to read an ammeter
makes it more useful as an indicator of charging system health, IMO. Granted it
won't tell you much about the ignition circuit <G>
Randall
=== This list supported in part by The Vintage Triumph Register
=== http://www.vtr.org
|