[TR] ammeter shunt

[Randall]

> I have Dan Masters wiring harness and my ammeter doesn't move, I really
> didn't think much of it figuring the alternator was doing its job,

If the alternator and ammeter are working properly, then you should see a
strong charge indication immediately after starting the engine.  How strong
depends a bit on your alternator and installation, but I would generally get
a full 60 amps from my 60 amp alternator as it replaced the power drawn by
the starter.  The charge will start to taper off almost immediately, but you
should see some charge for at least a few minutes.

> Can or would someone please give me a laymans explanation on what I
> need to do or install to do this shunt.

The first step is to have the ammeter be the only route between the
alternator output and the battery.  Look in Dan's instructions for the "60
amp ammeter" option and adjust your wiring to match that.  A simple test is
to turn on the headlights with the engine off, and check that the ammeter
reads roughly 15 amps discharge.

Now you can add the shunt to the ammeter, so that it reads roughly 60 amps
full scale instead of 30 amps.  Assuming you have an original TR3 ammeter;
cut a 3.5" length of 16 AWG wire and strip both ends for about 1/4".  Form
it into a loop, and insert each end into one of the ammeter terminals along
with the wire from the harness.  Here's a photo of mine (taken as I was
stripping the car after the wreck) :
http://tinyurl.com/ybvtl48

Turn on the headlights again, and verify that the ammeter now reads around
7-8 amps, roughly half of what it did in the test before.

Mount it back in the dash, you're done.

-- Randall