[57chevbelair]

I purchased a new wiring harness from Painless Wiring Products for GM 70's cars for the 70 Chevelle SS396 I am working on, and while this is a great product, I don't quite know what to do with the ammeter (as it is not included as part of the replacement harness, a voltmeter is..). I have no problem replacing the ammeter with a voltmeter if I could find one that would look OK. I can't use the ammeter as is as it cannot handle the current (we added a Vintage Air A/C unit) of the new harness. I thought about an electrical "shunt" that would direct only part of the current thru the ammeter. Any other ideas?

 

[John_Muha]

You sure that ammeter isn't truly a millivolt meter even though the face of it is labeled "AMP"? Check with your supplier. If so use the original wiring as a shunt. One fused lead to the block behind the battery, another fused lead to the horn relay.

 

[57chevbelair]

The amp guage is factory, and judging by the wiring to it and the flexible PCB I wouldn't think it would handle any major current, so I think you are right, it probably is a mv meter!

 

[Elree Colby]

Yes that’s correct. With the factory wiring the gauge responds the voltage drop across the power feed wire connected at the J-block 9next to the battery) and the horn relay. With the Painless harness there is no real good way to connect the factory amp gauge. The amp gauge can be converted to a volt gauge.