New Member from SW Ontario

[johnt]

Greetings from the north!

I recently got myself a '66 Roadster. I stumbled upon a local car and it was "love a first sight". It's my first experience with a Datsun...honestly I never knew the roadster even existed ...but what a car! I got her home in August and have been working through all the "gremlins". The car is in fairly good shape but it hasn't been driven much so lots of issues popping up. I'm dealing with them one at a time!

I haven't spent much time on this forum but I have to tell you I'm very impressed with what I have seen so far. Congrats! The members seem to be very active and you folks are obviously passionate about your vehicles! I look forward to getting involved and I hope you don't mind helping out with my questions.

I could use some advice about my latest "gremlin". I had the car out this weekend and suddenly lost power. The amp meter was smoking and had oil splattered against the glass. The engine looked good with no overheating and/or other fluid leaks.

I have not had a chance to tackle it yet but I would appreciate any trouble shooting/diagnostics advice you can provide. I have to admit I find the electrical side of things a bit daunting.

Thanks

johnt

[Skyman]

Welcome!

[dbrick]

Welcome,
Depending on where exactly you are, you need to get in touch with the Ontario guys, George H and others. A bunch come to Watkins Glen every September, your attendance is expected

[notoptoy]

Welcome, sounds like you have just learned that the ammeter can be a very expensive fancy fuse. All the power through the system runs unfettered through the Ammeter. (Electricians, like that word? Unfettered??! )
You either have shorted out the ammeter, or you have a serious grounding issue somewhere between the alternator, Starter and ammeter. The good news is that you can simply bypass the ammeter by connecting the two ends of the white wire entering the ammeter together. BUT, you will want to find the source of the short first, and probably make the connection with a 30 amp fuse in case you did not locate the cause. The bad news is you have more than likely toasted your ammeter.

[devo]

Welcome, sounds like you have just learned that the ammeter can be a very expensive fancy fuse. All the power through the system runs unfettered through the Ammeter. (Electricians, like that word? Unfettered??! )
You either have shorted out the ammeter, or you have a serious grounding issue somewhere between the alternator, Starter and ammeter. The good news is that you can simply bypass the ammeter by connecting the two ends of the white wire entering the ammeter together. BUT, you will want to find the source of the short first, and probably make the connection with a 30 amp fuse in case you did not locate the cause. The bad news is you have more than likely toasted your ammeter.

Here is a recent write up on the topic by our resident electrical expert, Curtis.

http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=27111

[dbrick]

If you replace the ammeter with a fuse, you can get a voltmeter to put in it's place. Some are pretty close in appearance to stock Datsun

[johnt]

Thanks for the advice folks! I finally got to wiring up my in line fuse ( as outlined in the attached article by Curtis). The connectors it the ammeter looked fairly "fried" and there is no doubt that the Ammeter is done. Unfortunately I didn't get power to either the accessories or the starter after I wired in the fuse. Next step will be to check the starter and the alternator. Let me know if you have any other recommendations!

[Gregs672000]

The ammeter has served as an expensive fuse, so until you either bypass it or replace it I don't believe the rest of the main system (i.e. starter) will get any power.

[ed B]

Welcome John. I had many daunting electrical issues as well and many of the folks on this site helped me through it, so there is hope!