OE Ammeter

[geodon]

The OE ammeter hooks up to the battery on one side and to a terminal in the Lucas regulator.

Of course the latter is no more with a Holden conversion so where does t'other go now?

I'm guessing some kind of earth??

[geodon]

Naaaah! That can't be right!

The ammeter is wired in SERIES!

Voltmeters go accross!

Numb-nuts!!

[geodon]

Installing Ammeter Gauge - Problems, Questions and Technical - The Mini Forum (http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/topic/169475-installing-ammeter-gauge/)

[Lotz-A-Landies]

The problem is that your ammeter is designed for use with a 25amp dynamo where most Holden engines are fitted with a 35 amp or greater alternator. What you find is that the ammeter will hit the stops as soon as the engine starts untill the battery is re-charged, so you need to modify the ammeter wiring with a non-standard shunt to bypass some of the current or disconnect the ammeter altogether.

You will also find that the vehicle polarity gets changed when they fit the Holden engine, so the terminals in the OEM wiring needs to be reversed.

Many people install a water temp guage from a later model into the same sector.

There are wiring diagrammes for the shunt in the FFR 24V systems in REMLR, these can be used as a guideline for establishing a similar system in the S1, SII and SIIa. http://www.remlr.com/documents/Wiring/S3%20wiring%20diagram%20-%2079.pdf You will see the wiring diagramme for the FFR control panel at the bottom of page.

The standard military SII wiring diagramme http://www.remlr.com/documents/Wiring/0113108.pdf note ammeter wiring at top LHS of diagramme.

Diana

Addit: BTW. You only need to connect the two terminals, one to battery and the other to the battery feed on the ignition switch (Brown wire/white stripe)

Addit 2: Depending whether you use an internally regulated or externally regulated alternator, will determine part of your wiring. Remember that the B+ terminal on the alternator (or external regulator) is the same as the B terminal on the dynamo regulator except that on the dynamo it equals B-ve. To read accurately the ammeter needs to read ALL the current going to or from the battery into the cars electrical system, so needs to sit in series between the battery +ve terminal and the B+ terminal on the alternator. The problem is that with the high current flows from an alternator you risk overloading the ammeter's capacity simultaneously generating an electrical fire risk and hence the need for the shunt.