On Fri, 6 Mar 1998, Steve Myers wrote:
> Warm beer lovers,
Hey! I'm not warm!
> My ammeter needle bounces around erratically under most circumstances.
>
> IE, I can hear a "tink tink tink..." as the needle rapidly hits the peg
> on either side of the meter while driving the car. I checked to make
> sure the noise was not emanating from a mechanic being held captive
> under the hood. (hmmm. I guess that would be me.) Exceptions to this are
> under heavy acceleration, when the needle mostly resides on the Charge
> side of the scale, and at smooth idle when the needle remains centered
> by British standards. The guage seems to work, but simply bounces around
> erratically. Should movement of the needle be generally smooth? If so,
> any suggestions on what might be the problem?
Is your car equipped with a generator or alternator?
Is the voltage regulator solid-state (small electronic) or a coiled relay
(big black box with coils in it)?
Are all the wires tight on the starter solenoid, and are the wires good on
the back of the ammeter?
I'm pretty sure that the meter itself doesn't handle all the current that
it measures. There is a shunt (metal bar) between the two terminals. If
that's loose then you could have a problem similar to the one you
describe.
good luck,
-Malcolm
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