Originally Posted By: Keroppi
'stock,

I'm not exactly sure if my Ammeter is like this one, but it says the year is correct and the color is also.

My question is, is one side hot and one side ground? Seems like a lot hooks up to that meter. I haven't crawled under my dash yet to see what is going on there. I'm sure there's at least some spider webs... smirk


Hi Keroppi . . .

The ammeter is attached to the primary 'bus' of the entire electrical system of the car. It is essentially 'hot' no matter which side one is looking at. In the wiring diagram the + side is where the Starter Harness is attached along with all of the other uses of battery power in the car. The - side is attached to the Bat post on the voltage regulator. When the generator is spinning at sufficient RPM (and the battery is low) the Ammeter will show current flowing in the Charging direction. When the generator is not spinning at sufficient RPM the Ammeter will show the degree to which users of power are Discharging the battery (starter motor, ignition, lights, radio etc.) When the engine is running and the battery is fully charged the Ammeter will read dead center (neither charging or discharging).