Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Amp gauge looks to be in the discharge side.


Noel

Propane57 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 5:21 pm Amp gauge looks to be in the discharge side.


Noel

Oh no

Eugen wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 5:25 pm

Propane57 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 5:21 pm Amp gauge looks to be in the discharge side.


Noel

Oh no

Might just need to flip the wires on the meter around?

Was wondering that.


Noel

If it goes the other way around doesn't it mean the battery charges the engine?

The ammeter is simply indicating the direction of current flow. Switching the two wires on the ammeter switches the direction of current flow through the ammeter which will switch it from charge to discharge or discharge to charge.

With the ignition off, does the ammeter read 0A? Does it read 0A when unplugged?

You might need to do a little troubleshooting with the ignition on/off, voltage regulator plugged in/unplugged ect...

I can't quite tell if your meter measures current flow or not. Its also helpful if your meter has a 10A or higher range. More expensive meters have $15 fuses in the current measurement circuit. You can always use a current shunt to measure current. A current shunt is a low ohm resistor which puts off a voltage to indicate current. They come in sizes like 1mV/Amp, 10mV/Amp, 100mV/Amp ect... The major benefit to a current shunt is the current doesn't flow though your meter which allows you to measure large currents. Your meter would need to be capable of measuring on the mV scale. Also watch the power ratings on the shunt. You can overheat and damage the shunt by running too much current through it.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=current+shun ... _sb_noss_1

@MattA thanks for the suggestion. I am familiar with measuring higher current using a shunt. I would do that if I really wanted to know the current draw with some precision. A simpler way to make sure things are fine is to just measure the DC voltage at the battery terminals when the engine is stopped and when it is running. If the running voltage is approximately +14 volts and the stopped voltage is lower, most likely between +12 and +13 volts, then all is good and the fact that the ammeter shows discharging is just that someone wired it up backwards.

If the none of the rectifier diodes which face the battery are shorted out there's no way for current to go "away" from the battery.

@MattA was right on, someone must've hooked up the ammeter backwards.

My Friday ramble

Eugen wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 2:53 pm @MattA thanks for the suggestion. I am familiar with measuring higher current using a shunt. I would do that if I really wanted to know the current draw with some precision. A simpler way to make sure things are fine is to just measure the DC voltage at the battery terminals when the engine is stopped and when it is running. If the running voltage is approximately +14 volts and the stopped voltage is lower, most likely between +12 and +13 volts, then all is good and the fact that the ammeter shows discharging is just that someone wired it up backwards.

If the none of the rectifier diodes which face the battery are shorted out there's no way for current to go "away" from the battery.

@MattA was right on, someone must've hooked up the ammeter backwards.

My Friday ramble

Great ramble. Your getting better than me Eugen.

Noel

I have great teachers Noel!

Eugen wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:06 pm If it goes the other way around doesn't it mean the battery charges the engine?