The Cal-look Lounge

Well as always guys... As the title says  ;)

I have just picked up a really COOL set of 6v SW gauges (Tacho/amps/oil pressure) and I am wondering if anyone has ever had any dealings with these gauges  ???

I am mainly looking for WIRING information and how to connect it all up - I don't want to fry them  :-\ ;) :D :)

Let me know if you can help  :)

Okay, the ammeter does not care about voltage. There is no such thing as a 6V or 12V (or even 24V) ammeter. They are all interchangeable.

I hate running ammeters on rear-engine cars because you have to install them between the alternator and the battery and that means running the large cable from the generator/alternator to the alternator and then back to the battery. Here is a diagram:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=779207&d=1311744323 (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=779207&d=1311744323)

cool thankyou but......

As stated these are 6v gauges, so no need for a "voltage regulator" and I know all about the AMMMETERS - They measure AMPS not voltage  ;) :)

And the oil pressure gauge and sender are MATCHED and ready to go....

Its the TACHO and sender I am confused about  :-\ :P

I have never had a tacho with a sender so what I want to know is how to hook up the TACHO and RED SENDER UNIT  :-\

If your car is 6v then you can use them as-is. If your car is 12V then you will need to buy or build a regulator to use them.

The + and - terminals on the gauge correspond to the + and - terminals on the sending unit.

Dist. Pri. on the sending unit is short for Distributor Primary. The distributor primary wire goes to the points inside the distributor (the - terminal on the coil). Do NOT wire that to the input (+) side of the coil.

The sending unit 'charges' while the points are open. I would also run a separate ground wire from one of the gauge mounting posts to the body. 

No. The sending unit grounds on the body. You can improve the connection by attaching a wire to one of the unit's mounting points and to the battery negative (-) terminal. That is a good idea for all electric components.

The wire that goes from the coil negative terminal to the points inside the distributor powers the sending unit. That will work with this 6V sending unit only if you have a 6V electrical system. If you have a 12V system you will have to find a way to reduce the voltage to the sending unit.

Cool thanks buddy - by the way I should have mentioned by now that these are going in my 65 (original 6v car)

http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,19192.0.html

Just a thought......

If I wanted to mount the AMP gauge in the Engine bay area on my Euro Spec 65 6v bug......

I can just wire it "in line" on the thick RED wire that goes from the regulator (on the dynamo) to the starter/battery  :-\

OR

Do I need to run a SECOND wire for the gauge and leave the original wire in place  :-\

This is just an idea I am toying with.... its kinda like the old skool hot rod guys used to do  ;) :)

No it's not. And don't call it skool.

You have to understand the original intent of gauges in an engine compartment. Race cars had temperature gauges so the crew could determine if the coolant or oil was up to temp without going to the cockpit before sending a car to the track. Sometimes they ran pressure gauges to monitor the engine's lubricating system while they were tuning. The hot rodders just copied that for no other reason than to look cool. I've never seen an ammeter in an engine compartment though.

An ammeter only reveals whether the battery or the generator/alternator is supplying the bulk of the electricity to the system. But neither a generator nor an alternator supplies significant power at an idle. So the gauge would reveal the state of the system only when you operate the generator at a speed sufficient to charge the system. So for the gauge to mean anything you'd have to sit there with the deck lid open and spin the engine fast. Only squirrels and posers do that.

If you simply must run an ammeter in an engine compartment then you're going to have to feed the main system directly from the generator and install the ammeter between the generator and the battery. The only wires to the battery's terminal will be the one from the generator and the other to the starter's main terminal. Only then will the ammeter indicate a charge or discharge situation.

 ::)

Please relax a little dude....... If you had read what I said,  "its kinda like the old skool hot rod guys used to do"

Two very important words...... Kinda & Like

I know the Old Skool hot rod guys were only copying the Race Teams etc and I thought that is what us Cal Look guy were trying to do in a way  :-\ :)

Anyway The only reason I asked about fitting the Ammeter in the engine bay was because YOU mentioned how annoying it was running the BIG cable the full length of the car.... So fitting it next to the dynamo seemed like a good idea plus it looks cool  ;) :)

Also I only have an oil pressure & Ammeter..... I fitted the oil pressure gauge in the engine bay yesterday and wired it up  :)

Anyway back to my original question.......... Can I fitted the Ammeter in that wire that goes from the dyno to the starter OR do I need to add a second wire DIRECT from the dyno to the battery  ??? ??? ???

I'm relaxed and I read what you wrote. And it's not even kinda like what they did.

 

Look, I'm not being an asshat about it. I just want you to think about the meaning of the things that you intend to copy. If I truly didn't give a crap I wouldn't speak up. I'd just pat you on the back and tell you how awesome your idea is.

The whole point of building a hot rod is to fulfill the purpose of speed. The original hot-rod pioneers were modernists in the sense that they eliminated the non-essential things and refined what remained. Think in those terms when modifying a car.

Other than brand of cars and the era, the only thing that differentiated the cal-look guys from the hot-rod pioneers was that the cal-look guys made the objective explicit. The rodders regarded the act of simplifying a car as tacit--nobody really talked about it. They just did it with the understanding that it made the car better in whatever way they were trying to achieve. The cars existed prior to the first cal-look issue but that article explicitly stated that to build a cal-look car you eliminated all of the crap people ladled on their cars. You chose a simple paint. You chose wheels and tires that fit inside the wells. That article talked about the simplification that hot rodders really didn't ponder.


It's more of a safety issue than a pain. Think about it: you basically triple the amount of large primary wire through the car. And most ammeters aren't shunted which means if the current outpaces the ammeter's capacity (usually a short in the wire or excessive current draw from say lights) then the ammeter usually overheats and can catch fire. That's not to say that it's common but the risk is real.

You have to justify that risk. Ammeters make sense when you're running high-current devices that run the risk of outpacing the generator. Say you're running headlights, a radio, a CB radio, a heater or vent fan, and a bunch of driving lights. Those things could consume more amperage than the generator can produce. So the ammeter tells you how well the generator/alternator is keeping up with the system. That's the primary reason it's not a great idea to mount one where you can't see it when you're using those devices.

It sounds like the idiot lamp is sufficient in your case. Typically a generator either works or doesn't. If it works it almost always generates the current to replenish the battery. If it doesn't work...well then the lamp lights up. It's really not worth the risk and hassle to run one in your case.
 

*sigh* Seriously? Didn't I answer that one already? The large output post on the regulator (I think B+) will have two wires coming out of it. One wire will go directly to the front of the car to the starter switch and fuse panel. The other one would go to the big post on the starter. The ONLY cable attached to the battery's positive terminal should be the large one that goes to the post on the starter.

Then, when your generator can't keep up with your intense electrical system, it will point to the - to show that the battery is discharging. And when it's recharging the battery after a duration of excessive current draw, it will point to the +.

For those of you reading this who intend to run an ammeter with a high-output alternator, remember to choose an ammeter that has greater capacity than the alternator. A 30-amp ammeter won't live long if you're charging a big dead battery with a 75-amp alternator.

good luck.

I just have an old ammeter and I thought it might look cool in my engine bay THATS IT  ::)

Please don't take this SOOOOOOOOO seriously  ::)

*sigh* Seriously? Didn't I answer that one already? The large output post on the regulator (I think B+) will have two wires coming out of it. One wire will go directly to the front of the car to the starter switch and fuse panel. The other one would go to the big post on the starter. The ONLY cable attached to the battery's positive terminal should be the large one that goes to the post on the starter.

And NO you still have not answered my question......... Can I connect the Ammeter in line in the wire that goes from the B+ terminal to the starter (which then links to the battery) OR do I need to run a new/seperate/3rd wire just for the ammeter  ??? ??? ???

Yes.

And for what it's worth, if you want to put a gauge of some sort into the engine bay, just because you like the look and that's all, then that is reason enough.

THANKYOU  :D :D :D Thats all I wanted  ::)

Not a lecture on whats what etc etc etc  ::) :D :)

To me, installing gauges you dont need defies the whole meaning of cal look..
remember... less is more...??? just because it looks cool..thats not cal look monkiboy, thats resto cal  ::)
and hotrodsurplus just wants to help you, but you sound very denigrating.
your an engineer, no? than you should know you should put am ammeter inline... thats the way they work!!  ::)

oh dear what have I started  ::)

I know its not really cal look....... but this is just my "pre cal" period.... And not EVERYTHING in this period was for Speed...... ie chromed ashtrays/gloveboxes, wooden dash knobs, Yellow brake drums etc etc

I have already mounted the oil pressure gauge in there and I might mount the ammeter on the other side, I know when/who/why people started mounting gauges in the engine bays.... I just don't need to be lectured about it and TOLD what I should and shouldn't do.

I am guessing that when I post some pic's MOST of you will like what you see  ;) :)

OY! Are you trying to say my chromed ashtray w/matching wooden knob is NOT CAL-LOOK???  :D :D :D