1977 280Z Voltage gauge "Always On?"

[Zed Head]

I listen to my fuel pump to tell the state of my charging system. It even tells me when my blinkers are on.

[sblake01]

Also, with an ammeter, the charging signal is routed through the ammeter behind the dash. That presents a possible fire hazard should either wire or the gauge short out or catastrphically fail in some way. At very least, if an ammeter fails, you no longer have a charging signal to your battery. If a voltmeter fails, the car keeps going, and the battery contiues to charge, the only problem being the non working gauge.

[Willoughby Z]

Excellent point. And part of the explanation why relays are used.

[IdahoKidd]

Guess I am old school. All of my stone age vehicles have an amp gauge.

Always look at it, no matter the vehicle when I get out. If it shows on the neg side, something is still one, brake light, headlight, etc. Going down the road and it shows neg, something bad is happening. By the time the volt meter shows 8 volts on the duramax, it is much to late to do anything.....

[awolfe]

Put the cover back over the steering wheel. It becomes obvious where the combo switch and turn signal switch need to be mounted.

That would be the obvious solution if I had the cover. It was missing when i got the car.

[sblake01]

By the time the volt meter shows 8 volts on the duramax, it is much to late to do anything.....

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a Duramax one of those that is set up like my GTO or my wife's HHR in that only shows the voltage on the 'Driver Info Center' or whatever it's called when either you select the voltmeter or when there is a problem? Were talking about a 280Z voltmeter that shows constantly..... Edited February 16, 2011 by sblake01

[sblake01]

BTW, does anyone know or have a picture of the proper turn signal/light & wiper control location on the steering colum. I forgot to mark its location when i removed it to resoldier a couple of broken wires.

IIRC, there is a location tab insinde the turn signal part of the combination switch that lines up with a hole in the column. Edited February 16, 2011 by sblake01

[SteveJ]

That would be the obvious solution if I had the cover. It was missing when i got the car.

Contact Roger at Zbarn.com. He can probably sell you a cover at a good price.

[IdahoKidd]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a Duramax one of those that is set up like my GTO or my wife's HHR in that only shows the voltage on the 'Driver Info Center' or whatever it's called when either you select the voltmeter or when there is a problem? Were talking about a 280Z voltmeter that shows constantly.....

Nope, just has a voltmeter gauge on the right side of the dash from 8-16 volts. Nothing to indicate amperage drop or loss. But, when it says 8 volts, the rig becomes much to heavy to push......

I am sure an engineer somewhere decided it was better to use a volt meter (although it was more likely a bean counter that decided it was cheaper) in all these cars. I grew up depending on the ammeter. On my service trucks, I can tell if the guys left a light or a heater or something on in an enclosed trailer by looking at at the ammeter when I park for the night. It is all a matter of preference I think.

[sblake01]

[awolfe]

The aren't wires per se. They are fusible links. The front box should have an 80 amp link closest to the fender and the other three are 50 amp as in this picture from the Alantic Z site.

Does this setup work with the upgraded '82 model alternator?

[SteveJ]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a Duramax one of those that is set up like my GTO or my wife's HHR in that only shows the voltage on the 'Driver Info Center' or whatever it's called when either you select the voltmeter or when there is a problem? Were talking about a 280Z voltmeter that shows constantly.....

Nope, just has a voltmeter gauge on the right side of the dash from 8-16 volts. Nothing to indicate amperage drop or loss. But, when it says 8 volts, the rig becomes much to heavy to push......

I am sure an engineer somewhere decided it was better to use a volt meter (although it was more likely a bean counter that decided it was cheaper) in all these cars. I grew up depending on the ammeter. On my service trucks, I can tell if the guys left a light or a heater or something on in an enclosed trailer by looking at at the ammeter when I park for the night. It is all a matter of preference I think.

As an engineer who designs control systems for emergency power switchgear, I would say I would want both voltage AND current.

(Note: The following diatribe is for the amusement/information of those people who wonder why some people talk about using voltmeters as opposed to ammeters.)

The downside to current measurement is that essentially all of the current is traveling through the meter. If the meter fails in a way that the wire loses continuity, most of the electrical systems in the car will fail. To keep the meter from blowing up, it has a pretty wide range and therefore little accuracy.

Another member here asked me how to read the ammeter to know what's going on. The way I explained it was to picture the alternator and battery as two water towers that are connected with a pipe. The ammeter is the flow meter between the water towers. When the water is flowing toward the battery's tower, the ammeter reads positive (Battery is charging.). If the water is flowing toward the alternator's tower, the flow is negative (Battery is discharging.). If the ammeter is WAY positive, there is a hole in the battery's water tower (Battery is going bad and cannot maintain a charge.).

Taking that analogy, the voltmeter shows the water level of whichever tower has more water. Again, the resolution on the voltmeters doesn't give a lot of information (It's better than the ammeter, though.), and if the meter hasn't been calibrated, it can be even less helpful.