Amp Guage Reading High

[buckinfronco]

Hey all- New to the site, hoping someone can help me out. I have a 68 Bronco that I've been having a nagging problem with. The amp guage is reading 30 amps all the time, except when I hit my off road lights it pegs at 60! EVERYTHING is new under the hood-exide spiral cell battery, cables, solenoid, mini starter, voltage regulator, 60 amp alternator, you name it. I'm afraid to drive it, cause I don't want to have a meltdown! Anyone know what else to look for? Thanks (

 

[Broncoholics]

Do you have a voltage gauge? At first I'm thinkin altinator or voltage regulator but it seems to be replaced and 60 amp altinator is fine. I never did trust those amp meters... Mine just bounces around the middle and never stays still. Could be a problem but my voltage gauge looks good. 14 volts reving the motor and 12-13 at idle. I think thats why they did away with the amp meters, never worked well.

Let see what others have to say...

 

[Guest]

I'm with broncoholics check it with a volt meter at the battery, if everything shows normal then I would say its the gauge itself. if not the gauge then you may have bigger problems(wiring!!!???)If it is showing over voltage then I would say the regulator may be the culprit.

 

[buckinfronco]

Thanks for the help people- I did unhook the factory amp guage and hooked up an aftermarket "under-dash" gauge with the same reading-30-32 amps. Do you think a new alternator harness is in order?

 

[buckinfronco]

Oh yeah, I forgot to say, The voltage at the battery and at the starter relay while the engine is running is a solid 14 volts, so I would say the alt. and voltage reg. are working just fine.

 

[Bully Bob]

A faulty regulator (over-charge) would still read in the 13-14 volt area. Your gage is reading "amps".

Try removing the caps on the batt. ...... while running, is it hissing or bubbling a lot ? Again. I'm guessing it's the reg. (Some parts houses will test your regulator.)

 

[DragonDave]

Yup.....or take it to somewhere where they have a battery tester with a inductive amp meter. Just because the volts are ok doesn't mean that it isnt overcharging. It should be puttin out between 8-13 amps at idle. 30 is gonna slowly make the acid evap out & cook your battery. Bob is right make sure it isnt the charging system before you condem the gauge & or wiring. Good Luck! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Broncoholics]

Sears does a free check on all this stuff. Does the battery smell like rotten eggs?

I would recommend you get a Yellow top Optima battery. This will not fix your problem its just an all around good choice for Broncos that go off-road and don't want to deal with the acid of a standard battery if they blow. Most standard battery plates will break off road and short out inside unlike a gell cell.

 

[bud]

I'd get a electrical diagram of your year model from a tech manual & check the wiring to make sure everythings right,wires in connector on voltage regulator included,sounds like your getting max output,or somethings gone bad and has a direct short in it. Check for hot or melted wires too, it'll help track it down.While its running with no lights or other load it shouldn't be pulling many amps to run ignition & charge battery.The electrical was butchered on my 73 when I got it, wires missing, toggle switches for everything, but it's right now. Let us know if you find anything.

 

[Seabronc]

If you haven't already solved this one, see if you can find someone witha DC ammeter and test the actual output. If the truck is not experiencing any other electrical problems, I would suspect the shunt circuit or the meter itself is bad. A shunt circuit bypasses most of the actual current around the meter while allowing a small percentage to pass thru it. If the shunt or it's connections are bad or corroded so it presents a higher than normal resistance to current flow, the meter will read high since more current is passing thru it than should be.

Good luck,

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[buckinfronco]

If you haven't already solved this one, see if you can find someone witha DC ammeter and test the actual output.  If the truck is not experiencing any other electrical problems, I would suspect the shunt circuit or the meter itself is bad.  A shunt circuit bypasses most of the actual current around the meter while allowing  a small percentage to pass thru it.  If the shunt or it's connections are bad or corroded so it presents a higher than normal resistance to current flow, the meter will read high since more current is passing thru it than should be.
Good luck,

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Thanks for the help everyone! It's fixed now, but I have no idea how. Grasping at straws, I pulled the voltage reg. off to have it tested at Auto Zone. No surprise to me, it was good. I came home, reinstalled it making sure the mounting screws and harness plug were all connected tight. I started the truck and the gauge went up to 30 amps like before, but within 10-15 seconds started dropping and stopped right where I would expect a healthy system to run! I don't know Clark, she falls down a well-eyes go crossed---gets kicked by a mule-eyes go straight again...I don't know... :blink:

 

[Seabronc]

OK, I can see where poor contact or a defective voltage regulator could give the same indication. Glad is is working.

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