TRACTOR PARTS Allis Chalmers Case & David Brown Farmall & International Ferguson Ford & New Holland John Deere Massey Ferguson Massey Harris Minneapolis Moline Oliver & Cockshutt Kubota / Yanmar

TRACTOR MANUALS

Allis Chalmers	Case	Farmall IH	Ford 8N,9N,2N	Ford
Ferguson	John Deere	Massey Ferguson	Minn. Moline	Oliver

Attention Forum Users: On the 28th of December 2023 at 9:00am Central Time, we will be taking the forums down for maintenance while we prepare the new forums for your use. Please click here for more information.

Discussion Forum

Re: Alternator Wiring to meter

[Show Entire Topic]

Welcome Guest, Log in or Register

Author

yes . . . Dell

07-07-2002 06:41:23

Report to Moderator

Buddy..... ...connect your 2-terminal ammeter thusly..... .battery wire from alternator to one of the terminals of your ammeter. THEN from the other ammeter terminal connect to your BATTERY.

If meter doesn't show charge, swap wires around. Convention sez: ammeter PLUS means you are charging your battery, That is why the ammeter 0 is in the center so you can see plus (charge) and minus (discharge)..... ..Dell

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

07-07-2002 09:03:28

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to yes . . . Dell (WA), 07-07-2002 06:41:23

I was just wondering... wouldn't it be more appropriate to have a voltmeter, rather than an ammeter, in an alternator system?

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

duey in MN

07-07-2002 12:25:33

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to bg, 07-07-2002 09:03:28

Actually you are quite correct for any system except for the older three brush generators. On a regulated system, if the volts are correct, the amperage takes care of itself. And without the right voltage, the amperage is not meaningful.

There was little automation on the 3 brush generator, if you were doing field work all day, you would set the generator for a lesser charge, if it was short trips back and forth to the woods, set it to charge 8 or 10 amps. It was a 'guesstimation' of what the operator thought his battery needed... hence the decal on the battery cover that urged you to CHECK BATTERY WATER DAILY.

A "12 volt" system should, as mentioned many times in this forum, show 14.25 Volts DC under normal operating conditions, half that for "6 volt" and double for "24 volt".

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

DavidO

07-07-2002 12:04:47

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to bg, 07-07-2002 09:03:28

In my opinion, it is better to have an amp meter than a volt meter on the tractor. If you do use a voltmeter, it would be a DC voltmeter which gives you an indication that your voltage regulator is working and that your alternator is functioning to some extent, but not how well it is functioning. The amp meter also gives a better indication of the state of charge on the battery.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Tim

07-07-2002 11:30:58

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to bg, 07-07-2002 09:03:28

Would that be an AC or DC voltmeter?

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

dave#1

07-07-2002 10:48:16

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to bg, 07-07-2002 09:03:28

This is hear say, I really don't know. A guy once told me that an amp meter is better to have than a volt meter, he said your chargeing system could be putting out 13+ volts at a 1/2 an amp which ain't enough for chargeing, that's why you should use a amp meter. Sounds good on paper? LOL

Dell or Claus would know this far better than I.

later"belch"dave

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Mountainman

07-07-2002 10:18:56

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to bg, 07-07-2002 09:03:28

Why??

I've used ampmeters in many alt equiped vehicles.
What would be gained by use of a voltmeter?

Mountainman...CA

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Dell (WA)

07-07-2002 23:53:00

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to Mountainman, 07-07-2002 10:18:56

Would you believe most ammeters today are really voltmeters with internal shunt voltage dropping resistor and the voltmeter measures the voltage drop and displays this voltage drop as AMPS by magic of different meter face..... ...Dell

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Mountainman

07-08-2002 00:16:38

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to Dell (WA), 07-07-2002 23:53:00

Dell,

Is that true for SW amp meters made in the seventies? I believe they made a voltmeter also.

But the real question is - Which one is most useful?

Mountainman...CA

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Dell (WA)

07-08-2002 06:37:53

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to Mountainman, 07-08-2002 00:16:38

While I'm not 100% confident about Stewart Warner ammeters being a DeArsonval voltmeter with a calibrated voltage dropping resistance, (shunt) The technique works well, calibrates well, and is cheap. And has been in use for as long as I can remember and I am 64.

Which is why I get giddy about the N's loop sensing ammeter. It really is a better ammeter.

As to which is better to monitor battery condition? An expanded scale voltmeter is generally considered better. Expanded scale voltmeters are brought to you courtsey of zener diode technology. Ammeters are probably a better measurement of generator/alternator output which is really related to the internal battery cell plate resistance.

Ohm's Law Rules..... ...Dell

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

duey in MN

07-08-2002 12:00:50

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to Dell (WA), 07-08-2002 06:37:53

In the end, the answer to which is better is in the 'eye of the beholder'. The operators ability to understand and interpret what he sees on either ammeter or voltmeter is the key. To some folks, neither guage adds understanding, to others, either one is fully useful. How's YOUR knowledge? E = I x R, Mr. Georg Simon Ohm (1787-1854) showed us how.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

I didn't know . . . Dell (WA)

07-08-2002 12:47:33

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to duey in MN, 07-08-2002 12:00:50

I didn't know Ohm had a first name.....Dell (grin)

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

duey

07-08-2002 12:57:57

Report to Moderator

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Alternator Wiring to meter in reply to I didn't know . . . Dell (WA), 07-08-2002 12:47:33

It doesn't really matter to him anymore!!! He's famous, most of don't get a law named after us... tho we may be called OUT-laws!!!:-)

I'd like a 'law' named after me... Duey's Firewood Law: Never Split Wood Larger Than The Wife Can Handle!

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

[Show Entire Topic] [Options] [Printer Friendly] [Posting Help] [Return to Forum] [Log in to Reply]

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]

Home | Forums

Copyright © 1997-2023 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters

Website Accessibility Policy