Ammeter question....

[Richard]

I have found a schematic from the IH 1066 Hydrostatic;
https://cdn.compknowhow.com/carterandgruenewald/wiring_diagrams/IH 66 SERIES.pdf

The + from starter (battery) goes to plus on Amp meter, the minus from the Amp meter goes to alternator "B".

It looks to me that the Amp meter shows the lights current from the battery when the tractor is not running and key switch of , and the amp meter shows charging amps only when tractor is running

Then may I conclude that it's showing me what it should be showing?

That would seem to fit what I'm seeing.... key/engine off, lights on meter showing nothing because lights are riding on battery power. Engine running, it shows alternator trying to charge battery and when the lights are on, (powered by the battery) the alternator is putting out more power to feed the battery.

If I moved (whichever wire is feeding juice to the lighting system) to the OTHER Ammeter post, would that shift those items from the battery power to the alternator power?


Big question..... "does it really matter???"

 

[CobyRupert]

Then may I conclude that it's showing me what it should be showing?

That would seem to fit what I'm seeing.... key/engine off, lights on meter showing nothing because lights are riding on battery power. Engine running, it shows alternator trying to charge battery and when the lights are on, (powered by the battery) the alternator is putting out more power to feed the battery.
If I moved (whichever wire is feeding juice to the lighting system) to the OTHER Ammeter post, would that shift those items from the battery power to the alternator power?

Big question..... "does it really matter???"

Meh...does it matter on most of late model vehicles that don't even have a temperature gauge, let alone a voltage (or ammeter) gauge???
I think the only differences you see are:
If alternator stops working, gauge will show zero amps coming out of alternator, instead of negative amps (discharge from) battery.
If you somehow had more electrical load than the alternator could supply, meter would show a very positive reading (of maximum alternator output) even though the battery is unknowingly being discharged.

 

[aczlan]

Then may I conclude that it's showing me what it should be showing?

Yes and No. It is showing you what it should for how it is wired.
It is NOT showing you what it is intended to show you. It should be showing you if the battery is charging or discharging, right now it only shows you if it is charging, it will not warn you if the alternator is not putting out enough power to keep up with the load and charge the battery, the ammeter will just sit at 0 amps as the battery dies (and be hard to distinguish from a case where the alternator has the battery charged and there is little or no load on the alternator.

That would seem to fit what I'm seeing.... key/engine off, lights on meter showing nothing because lights are riding on battery power. Engine running, it shows alternator trying to charge battery and when the lights are on, (powered by the battery) the alternator is putting out more power to feed the battery.

Correct.

If I moved (whichever wire is feeding juice to the lighting system) to the OTHER Ammeter post, would that shift those items from the battery power to the alternator power?
Big question..... "does it really matter???"

Yes and (IMO) yes.
The idea behind the ammeter is that EVERYTHING except for the starter connects to the alternator side of the ammeter.
That way if the alternator fails, you can see that the battery is discharging via the ammeter whereas now (with the lights and other loads on the battery side) you wont see anything, the ammeter will just sit at 0 amps as the battery dies.


Aaron Z

 

[Ford850]

^^ But I understood him to say the ammeter was in the positive while running, and went even further into the positive when he turned on his lights. That would mean it wasn't sitting at zero, and it is an indicator to show how much of a charge is being required. Isn't it? Maybe I'm confusing his with how mine works on my old 850. On mine, the more the battery is drawn down, the higher the ammeter goes into the positive. Right after starting it rises somewhat. If I turn on the lights it rises more. If I turn off the lights it drops some, and after running the tractor a bit, the needle drops to near zero. I use that to indicate I have a good charge on my battery again and can expect an easy restart when needed.

 

[WranglerX]

Gads is this going to end up like "frozen" drain plug that when 342 pages and still don't know if it was ever fixed.... The exact/correct explanation has been stated several times.....

Dale

 

[aczlan]

^^ But I understood him to say the ammeter was in the positive while running, and went even further into the positive when he turned on his lights. That would mean it wasn't sitting at zero, and it is an indicator to show how much of a charge is being required. Isn't it? Maybe I'm confusing his with how mine works on my old 850. On mine, the more the battery is drawn down, the higher the ammeter goes into the positive. Right after starting it rises somewhat. If I turn on the lights it rises more. If I turn off the lights it drops some, and after running the tractor a bit, the needle drops to near zero. I use that to indicate I have a good charge on my battery again and can expect an easy restart when needed.

The problem is that when the lights are on (with the engine off) the ammeter never goes into the negative range. Thus the lights are on the battery side of the meter and the meter will never show if the alternator is malfunctioning, or if it is unable to keep up with the load.

Aaron Z

 

[Ford850]

The problem is that when the lights are on (with the engine off) the ammeter never goes into the negative range. Thus the lights are on the battery side of the meter and the meter will never show if the alternator is malfunctioning, or if it is unable to keep up with the load.

Aaron Z

Ok I got it. I didn't catch you were talking about the engine being off in that case. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[ovrszd]

Yes, it will probably end up the same way. Correct information was offered along with a schematic, but folks can't read or don't want to. Then we sit and argue about reference points. :confused2: So I've removed my posts and say good luck. I'll read all the posts for a while for the entertainment value. Typical forum junk, rant over.

Dale, nice signature, "....You are free to ignore them if you wish ..."

I've never removed a post. When that's done any responses to that post seem idiotic. So everyone wonders what the subject is and what the response means.

Two things I dislike. Removing posts after replies. Editing posts after replies.

 

[oldballs]

I enjoy all posts until the tread dies or I loose interest. If one does not agree or like a post or thread, either explain one's idea or just don't read it and rest in peace.

 

[ovrszd]

I enjoy all posts until the tread dies or I loose interest. If one does not agree or like a post or thread, either explain one's idea or just don't read it and rest in peace.

You are a wise man Mike.