> Please don't flame me, but just what good does an ammeter do?
Not much, if you don't understand it. But once you do, it says a lot, including
whether you have a short at the moment or not and whether your generator is on
it's last legs.
> Couldn't it's
> function be shown by an idiot light (maybe one of those dimmer-brighter type
> bulbs showing degree of brightness/charging with dim glow/brightness.)
Probably, but with the materials available in the 50s, an ammeter was a lot
easier to build. Remember, no transistors, and tubes able to carry normal
charging current cost as much as the car did (not to mention having a short life
span and being fragile). If you've ever had a TR3 ammeter apart, you'll see
there isn't much in there. Just a single turn of wire and a needle with a hair
spring.
For that matter, all the gauges could be (and have been at one time or another
on other cars) replaced by idiot lights. Personally I prefer the gauges, my
only complaint is that there aren't more of them.
Randall
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