Voltmeter vs. ammmeter

[spyder]

Tachometer was a lot easier! I had to silicone the gauge face to the trim ring because the rear of the instrument was no longer held in place by the mechanical movement. I had to add wires to the electronics board to position it outside of the enclosure because it would not fit inside the housing. The shaft on the Datsun tach was larger in diameter than the Autometer so I just pinched the Datsun needle opening to make it clamp on the Autometer shaft.









With a test signal.

[Garm]

So this is an electronic but original tach? Wow man, my hat's off to you. Nicely done!

[DaRoaster]

I would think the toughest thing would be locating an electronic tach with the same scale and a diameter that was close enough, and there it is. Good work!

[bobd]

Mine is crude compared to what I see on this site.

[70-1600]

Spyder:
Great set up with the tach. Did you end up putting this (the tach) into your car? How's it working? What did you do to align it to the gauge of the mechanical tach, so it reads correctly?

My 7000 rpm tach hasn't spun since I've owned the car and I'm uncertain where the "break" is (dizzy, cable, tach). I also have a spare 8000 rpm tach, but I know those are for the 2000 cars, not my 1600 car. So I'm thinking about sourcing a 7000 RPM tach from Autometer and giving this a go on mine.

- John

[spl310]

I used to have a spare 7000 tach in the garage from a 68 1600. If you want, I will see if I can find it.

[70-1600]

spl310 -

Not knowing if my problem is my tach, the cable, or the dizzy getting a spare 7000 tach may not solve my specific issue. And I kinda like the idea of converting my existing 7000 tach to an electric one like spyder did.

Sure…go ahead and check and let me know.

- John

[spl310]

It is easy to check. Pull the tach cable and start the engine to see if it spins.

[spyder]

Spyder:
Great set up with the tach. Did you end up putting this (the tach) into your car? How's it working? What did you do to align it to the gauge of the mechanical tach, so it reads correctly?
- John

It has been in the car since February last year and it works flawlessly. The picture up-thread at 4k rpm was derived from a signal generator which confirmed that it was measuring 66.6 turns per second of the engine. It was spot on from the factory. In my setup the tach input is coming from the ignition system output.

The Autometer instruction manual states: Operates on 4, 6, or 8 cylinder engines with points, electronic, and most 12V high performance racing ignitions.

https://www.autometer.com/pub/media/man ... 0-468X.pdf

[Vinnyz]

@ Spyder...awakening this thread.......did you tie the two 10 gage ammeter wires together and just take a pigtail 16 gauge to the autometer gauge for function with this mod?

-Vinny

[spyder]

@ Spyder...awakening this thread.......did you tie the two 10 gage ammeter wires together (yes) and just take a pigtail 16 gauge to the autometer gauge for function with this mod?

-Vinny

[Lorna c]

if you want some LEDs for these gages I have way too many to use . like 40 too many .. haha several colors to choose from too .. just saying , gages are out already . I have NO idea what you guys were talking about but if this thread isn't 2yrs old I can mail some to u .

[spyder]

if you want some LEDs for these gages I have way too many to use . like 40 too many .. haha several colors to choose from too .. just saying , gages are out already . I have NO idea what you guys were talking about but if this thread isn't 2yrs old I can mail some to u .

I put LED bulbs in around seven years ago. I like 'em!

[Lorna c]

are they burnt out yet ? hahaha I have way too many is all . just playing around ..

[CleveTripp]

Hi...Voltmeter, it shows potential energy, amp-meter shows kinetic, you can have a dead cell in your battery and a amp meter will only show that your trying to charge the battery. With a volt meter you will see the potential of the battery before the alternator starts charging and that it is charging after its on line.