D160 Electrical Gremlin

[Sea-Duck51 55]

Ive been trying to sort out a fuel problem and while figuring that out the horse went dead,after shutting it off and trying to restart have no power to anything except the positive side of Amp Meter,has a new key switch installed before this problem,changed the solenoid and will crank if jumped so it's good,after studying the wiring schematic decided to pull the light green wire off - side of amp meter,ran a jumper from battery to it and turned key switch to start and it worked,would start,now my question is the amp meter shorted out or am I bypassing the PTO switch which I know could keep it from starting,dazed and confused after tracing all the wires,fuses,grounds so any help is greatly appreciated,the seat safety switch was/Has been jumped and not the issue,it's been that way forever so not a issue,thx

Edited November 1, 2015 by Sea-Duck51
add info

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,515]

Sounds like the ammeter has failed. Take one of the wires off and mount it on the other stud and wire. Remove the fuse first so the sparks don't fly but don't forget to plug it back in after you have the wires joined.

Rather than replace the ammeter with another I would add a voltmeter as they tell you more and cheaper to obtain as a rule. If you do switch make the above connection permanent and power the voltmeter by the ignition circuit and a ground. That way it is off with the ignition off.

Garry

[Sea-Duck51 55]

I've never had an amp meter go bad but from what I gather that's the culprit,wiring is not my strong suit,thanks for the reply and suggestion,amp needle bounced around a lot to begin with and didn't appear to work well anyway,out of curiosity may crack it open and check it out inside,thx again.

[Sea-Duck51 55]

  I just want to thank you again,after charging the battery went out connected the two wires and the horse roared to life,also fixed my fuel issue and will update my other post with the results.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,515]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong. This is how I think an ammeter works.

Between the 2 terminals is a low value resistor. Most of the current flows through that resistor. The meter is actually a voltmeter that is measuring the voltage drop across the resistor.  If the voltage on both sides is the same no current will flow through the resistor so 0 amps is displayed. If the voltage on one side is higher than the other current will flow and depending on how much and which way displays a + or - amp reading.

That resistor between the posts may be cracked.

Garry

[Sea-Duck51 55]

I'm interested in converting to a voltmeter,do you have any suggestion as to brand,make or type?,also how it's wired,from what I've read connect the two Amp Meter wires like I've done not connected to new voltmeter and then wire the + side of voltmeter to ign and - to ground,sound about right?.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Sea-Duck51
add info

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,515]

A voltmeter for a marine application will have a chrome ring on the front that won't rust but I just use an automotive model and give the ring a wipe of oil once in a while. I may also have a small lamp you can wire into your light circuit if you run at night.
I often plow snow early in the morning with lights so have mine lit.

You have the wiring correct. It may be easier to run a wire back from the coil (+) terminal to power the voltmeter. Any ground around the dash should be good.

If in doubt ask again.

Garry
 

[Save Old Iron 1,563]

this may be of some interest - jump into the time machine - from the early years!

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/22120-lets-get-ampd-up/?page=2#comment-190261

Edited November 2, 2015 by Save Old Iron

[Save Old Iron 1,563]

 I would add a voltmeter as they tell you more

voltmeters show a different characteristic of the charging system

the ideal situation would be to have both meters

voltmeters cannot indicate loss of CAPACITY in a battery

ammeters cannot indicate battery static state of charge

both together, with an educated set of eyes (operator who knows what to look for), are the ideal.

voltmeters, when they fail, raise eyebrows.

when ammeters fail, they give a false sense of security as they "tell" the operator the battery is fully charged.

no charge on the ammeter and a low voltage indication on the voltmeter sitting next to it tell you to head back to the barn!

Edited November 2, 2015 by Save Old Iron

[Sea-Duck51 55]

You guys are a wealth of information and my hats off to you,great tutorial on the inner secrets of Amp Meter,went ahead and ordered a Voltmeter as gwest-ca suggested in earlier post in ordered to avoid the no-start issue that left me scratching my head for hours,only good thing to come out of it,every terminal,ground and connection is clean and tight..lol,plus installed a new solenoid thinking that was the problem,old one was the origanol and getting a little sketchy but still works so it's a spare now,their were calling for snow today but didn't arrive,can't wait to put the FEL to work...!