The ammeter is one of the three small gauges on the main cluster. You will have to take it out (remove cluster) to give it a sniff.
Lol
That does sound funny! So I do this and it smells but works. What should I do?
And I do have one more issue which I canât seem to fix.
My high beam light on the dash will not light up. I pulled the dash checked the bulb and changed the floor switch. Still doesnât work. Even got a dash out of a different car and it still wonât light up. The head lights work in both high and low beam.
Probably an issue with the connector. Look for power there.
I will do that next weekend. So just to be clear itâs my amp gauge above the radio
Itâs a huge pain in the ars, but disconnecting the battery when youâre done driving is not a bad idea for our precious cars. My dad found out the hard way and it took out the cougar AND the garage! Luckily the cougar is still alive and on the slow road to recovery thanks to the firefighters, but the garage, not so much!
Wow
Thatâs to bad!
I have thought about that and I know itâs the right thing to do but then Iâd have to set the clock on the stereo every time. I know that sounds so trivial. So Iâm working it into my head that itâs the right thing to do. I did buy a shut off at the battery years ago but jut never installed it. I guess itâs timeđ©
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Hello
We talked in one of my posts about a electrical smell.
You said it might be an ammeter issue.
I do have a new coil that puts out a lot more power then the original coil. Would it be the right move to reinstall my original coil?
I donât think so. The ignition coilâs increased power is all going to the spark plugs. It only uses the voltage sent to it, it cannot âpullâ power (amperage).
The reason I mentioned the ammeter is that they are a common source of failure due to design. In '66 Ford changed from an inductive loop type ammeter to the âshuntâ type. The shunt style does NOT have everything ârunning off one wireâ so it can be disconnected or burnt up (open) without effecting the carâs electrical system.
The FoMoCo ammeter works like a teeter-totter. One side has voltage output from the alternator, the other side has voltage from the battery. When the battery is low the regulator engages the alternator, the voltage flow through the ammeter changes as voltage goes to the battery and the needle swings to C. If the battery is low and/or the alternator is NOT putting out voltage flow reverses (no charge) and the needle points to D. If the voltage is equal between alternator and battery the needle is centered. If the ammeter becomes open the needle is usually centered all the time.
The ammeter is a winding of copper wire insulated with a hardened varnish type coating. Over time this varnish breaks up or melts causing the winding to short out. The copper winding burns through pretty quickly but there is a bit of smoke and a nasty burning smell left behind.
Ammeter failures in FoMoCo vehicles from '66 into the '90s are very common, thatâs why my first thought was a smoked ammeter. A smoked ammeter has no effect on the electrical system other than having no charge indicator.
Wow
Your a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate that.
So basically if it is the amp meter. No big deal as it wonât cause an electrical fire, just a smell. Does that sound correct?
I had it happen just last weekend and it doesnât happen all the time. But what I did notice is it seems to happen after while or just after sitting at a set of traffic lights and Iâm driving off. Then a short time later (20 seconds or so) the smell is gone. I looked at the wiring going to the breaks and the wires that lead up to and in the steering column and like I said in one of my previous post there was one wire that was discoloured and the pin was loose. I pushed it in so it was tight.
Other then that everything looked fine.
Itâs hard to tell while driving. I wouldnât be bad if I could pull over, take my seat out and lie underneath to smell and try to see whatâs going on.
By the time I can do that. The smell was gone
You should definitely pull the cluster and verify that it was the ammeter and nothing else has shorted out or lost insulation that could cause a short.
Ya
I guess. Sick of searching.