Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
Several weeks ago, the ammeter needle "stuck" at +20. Would not move in either direction. Thought the gauge had gone bad, so ordered an NOS gauge to replace it with. Got under dash and unplugged the wiring to the gauge, and the needle immediately fell back to 0. Plugged back in, and gauge jumped to +20 (engine off). I then noticed a condenser also plugged into one side of the gauge. Disconnected the condenser, and the gauge dropped back to 0, and now seems to be working fine in all aspects. I know this condenser was installed when car was built, but wonder what was it's purpose. Since the gauge seems to work just fine without the condenser, wonder if I can just leave it unplugged?
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1967 Coupe 427-390 w/air -
Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
The capacitor was installed as part of the radio "noise" suppression. You may not notice any difference when the radio is on when this capacitor is disconnected. I'd buy a new one and install it IF your car has a radio... -
Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
Thanks Stephen. That does make sense. Is this some special type condenser, or could one just use same one used with the ignition points (Delco D-204)?1967 Coupe 427-390 w/airComment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
You should use the same capacitance value. the capacitor has a rather unique connector that is not like the ignition capacitor.
Before you change the capacitor there is a possibility that the "ground" side has been compromised. I would remove the capacitor from the instrument panel, clean up the surfaces under the strap, clean up the strap mounting location, and see if this solves the problem. Possibly the capacitor can "charge" but has no path for discharge......to ground, due to a poor connection.Comment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
The end of the wire has a long, thin copper strip, bent at 90 degrees, so it will slip inside the plastic holder that plugs into the back of the ammeter, completely different than a D-204 condenser. So, I guess now, since the gauge has returned to working properly, without the capacitor connected, is there any risk for damage to the gauge without the capacitor?1967 Coupe 427-390 w/airComment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
No. The purpose of the capacitor is to minimize "noise" in the radio. IF you had no radio from the factory, you would have no capacitor at this location...Comment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
Place it on the prong shown in the AIM. You can't go wrong. There are thousands connected that way......Comment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
A follow-up to the gauge dilemma. After unplugging the capacitor wire to the ammeter, the gauge returned to working perfectly.
Did not have to remove gauge, pull cluster or disassemble anything on the dash. All gauges are working fine.
Stephen - the radio sounds just fine with no static whatsoever, so I plan to leave the capacitor unplugged.
James - the capacitor was plugged into the black wire w/white tracer. The other wire is solid black. Don't know if it would make any difference which one was used, though.
Thanks to all for advice and info with this issue. We're back on the road again.1967 Coupe 427-390 w/airComment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
Wow, you were smart, or lucky, to trace the issue to the capacitor.
It would be cool to know the theory behind this issue but the proof is in the function.
It has to be some issue with the capacitor. Capacitors are know to go bad as they age.
Guess this was one of them. I will add it to the list of things to check when nothing else works.
RickComment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
Rick:
I was quite lucky. When I was under the dash, I noticed a slight spark when I disconnected the capacitor wire from the plastic holder. Thinking the capacitor might be shorted out, I checked the gauge and noticed the needle had returned to 0. Plugged the wires back into the gauge, w/o the capacitor connected, the needle did not move. Started engine and ammeter showed almost +40, and started to slowly drop back, like it had always done. Connected the capacitor back into the wiring, and gauge jumped to +20, disconnected it, and back to 0. Really didn't know why the capacitor was even there, or what it was suppose to do, but when it shorted out, the ammeter needle always showed +20. After learning it was for radio noise suppression, and my radio didn't seem to care if capacitor was there or not, I just left it unplugged, and all seems well. Call it luck of the Irish (my mother was an O'Bryan).
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and suggestions
Jeff1967 Coupe 427-390 w/airComment
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Re: Bafflng Situation - 1967 Ammeter (Battery Gauge)
That's one for the memory banks and yes, you were lucky to figure it out - most times those 60 year old capacitors just fail over time and become useless with no noticeable effects. All of mine are in place on the 63 but I doubt a single one still functions...Comment
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