110 amp alt will amp gauge fry???

[breezy]

Painless site says that an amp gauge will not handle high output alternator. Anybody running this set up. Have any issues??

[POPO1984]

an amp guage is old technology. if your running an amp guage then eveything in your electical system will run through that amp guage and when it goes bad and it will go bad you will be stranded on the side of the road.

[67ss&99ss]

www.madelectrical.com

I ordered a kit from Mark to put a 105 amp internally regulated alternator on my 67 Camaro. You don't need to put an alternator with that high of an amperage on a truck with stock wiring. The power wire going to the alternator isn't big enough to handle it. The kit that mad electrical sells upgrades the wiring to 8 gauge, wire that is large enough to handle the current passing through it. I purchased a kit from him that had several items in it, including power distribution blocks, relays for my headlights, and a how to manual for rewiring the power distribution wires under the hood so that all of your electrical accessories aren't pulling through the buss bar on the horn relay. Mark will take the time to talk to you about your specific application to be sure that you get the right wiring kit to make your upgrade work correctly. I spent over an hour on the phone with him when I ordered my stuff.

[dwcsr]

In our trucks 67-72 the amp gage is actually a milivolt gage that measures voltage between two different points in the system. I does not measure amps. You can put a 110 amp alt on and it will work fine. It may swing further to the right when charging but no harm will come to the gage.

[fixit-p]

GM stopped using full flow ammeters in the early 60's if you ammeter is factory it is an external shunt type and alternator output does not matter as far as the ammeter goes

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by POPO1984

an amp guage is old technology. if your running an amp guage then eveything in your electical system will run through that amp guage and when it goes bad and it will go bad you will be stranded on the side of the road.

While this is true to older vehicle is not so on the 67-72 GM charging system. On our trucks it bypasses the system and is only used as a measure of milivolts between to points in the system at the battery and at the regulator. You can disconnect the gage at the battery and everything will work.

[JimKshortstep4x4]

The leads on the truck amp gauges are protected with 4 amp fuses in addition to only measuring millivolts as mentioned.

Jim

[storm9c1]

+1

You can tell the difference by looking at the wires going to the gauge. If you have heavy wires (10ga or larger) going to the ammeter, then it's the full current type. This is how my '69 Dodge Charger is wired. If the wires are thin going to the ammeter (like 16ga) then it's the millivolt system already mentioned. I can also agree that the 67-72 trucks use the millivolt system, and you can use a larger alternator with no problems. I wish I had it that easy for my Charger.

[breezy]

Ok thanks guys for all the input. I do have all new wiring under the hood so I'm good there I belive. The dash cluster is new also. Not old stock but new updated stuff I was told from PO. Anyway I have found a alternator and the correct diode from radioshack. Alt. fits right in factory position and is 105 amp. This should give me plenty of juice for TBI and all my add ons. Thanks again fellas