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2005 Volvo penta 5.7L Rinker boat ammeter

L

lor

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I can not get a reading on my ammeter. I have checked the alternator and it is putting out 14.2 volts.
The regulator is internal so I am assuming that it is OK also. I looked at the back of the gauges and it is a modular plug. It looked clean and in good shape. Does anyone have any ideas????
 
Today's boats typically use volt meters, so I am surprised to hear of an Ammeter being used.

A volt meter does not require a heavy circuit, whereas an Ammeter does.

BTW, 14.2 volts is a tad bit high. Hopefully your system is cutting back on this soon after start up.
 
Ayuh,.... That's no doubt odd,.... an amp meter in a '05 boat,....

Amp meters went out in the '60s,...
 
Per other posts....voltmeter far more useful in telling you what's going on with your electrical system. Ammeters a holdover from old 6V systems. To answer your direct question, ammeters of that era are actually voltmeters with a center zero bias. They did nto directly read currect but rater read the voltage across a device called a "shunt" which is just a low value resistor. These shunts are usually mounted at or on the engine. My advice, replace the ammeter with a voltmeter. To do this.... trace the wires from the ammeter on the dash to the engine to locate the shunt. If you don't want to splice wires, put all the wires on the shunt now (except one of the ones going to the dashboard ammeter) on ONE terminal of the shunt. Use the remaining live wire on the shunt to the dashboard to connect to the + terminal of the voltmeter. Connect the other leads on the voltmeter to ground and the "dash light" circuit as appropriate.
 
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