Hey,

So wondering why in my 67 vc val it's an ammeter and not a volt meter...? I know the difference between the two.

also wondering why one reading is D and the other is C and what they stand for.

I am guessing it's showing me how much current the battery has left... just not sure

cheers

Brussell,

An Amp gage indicates current flow. D & C stand for Discharge, and Charge. Simply put, when needle is pointing in the direction of C the battery is being charged or alternator is providing more current than battery, and when pointing to D the battery is discharging, or in other words providing more current flow than the alternator at that moment. The larger the angle of the amp gage’s needle from vertical, the higher or more flow of electrons the system is handling.

Now for a little electrical tutorial that may help others with understanding this electricity bizz:

There are three components of electricity that one has to understand:

Potential or Voltage, (think pressure in a water pipe) —V or E
Electron flow or Current measured in Amps – I or A
Resistance or Ohms—R

Lets just keep this simple, and for homework you can look up what the definition of these three components. For now, all we have to know is how these three components relate to each other, using Ohm’s Law: One ohm = one volt divided by one ampere.

R = V/I

A Voltage gage measures Potential in the electrical system, or the amount of force pushing the current around.

Resistance is just that, an impedance or restriction to electron flow, and can be in our cars most commonly a lamp filament, a resistance coil as used in controlling a heater motor, a magnetic field as in an electric motor, a sparkplug’s air gap, or some other device.

The one thing to remember is whenever resistance is introduced to a circuit heat will be generated. Be it a light bulb’s filament, a corroded connection, or an improperly sized conductor (too small)… Each time resistance is added to a circuit, the relationship using Ohm’s Law changes.

So when we suggest checking for voltage drop between two points, what we are really looking for is excess resistance, and if discovered, get it removed so that circuit returns to its intended design parameters for proper function of its components.

Well I have rambled on a little too long, and suspect that others may chime in that are far more knowledgeable on the subject. The important thing here is to start out simple, understanding the basics, and your vehicle’s electrical system will become less of a mystery.

Bill

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC