The main advantage that i like about having a amp meter over a volt meter is
that if there is a problem you will know imediatly. Because once the
generator stops charging or is not covering the load the amp meter will read
on the discharge side. A volt meter will not read a problem until the amount
of electricity in the battery gets low and you notice a problem. This could
be to late.
Example: You have a loose fan belt and the charge rate is low but sufficent
to cover the load while driving during the day. Night time comes and you
turn on the lights, now the generator stops charging sufficently. You keep
on going not knowing there is a problem until the volt gauge starts getting
down to posssible 12 volts. Thats to late know the battery is only about 30%
charged. If you had a amp gauge then as soon as you turned on the lights the
amp gauge would read a discharge and tell you it is not charging.
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David Nock
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> On Thursday, April 15, 2004 12:08 pm, Vink, Graham wrote:
>> Short answer: A voltmeter, by far. Electrical guru Mark Hamilton of
>> M.A.D. Enterprises...
> <snip>
>> ...On a typical flow meter, all output must be directed through the device
>> to obtain an accurate reading. In the ammeter's case, that means all the
>> alternator output used to recharge the battery must first be routed
>> through the ammeter under the dash.
> <snip>
>
> While I'm firmly in the 'voltmeter' camp, except for applications where
> authenticity is desired, it's worth pointing out that not all ammeters
> require the full current to be routed under the dash. The meter itself can
> be remote from the shunt, across which the voltage drop is derived in order
> to drive the meter. (Yes, folks, the meter movement is the same -- it's just
> connected differently when measuring volts or amps, and of course the
> ammeters have zero in the center of the scale instead of at the left end.)
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