Date:         Tue, 4 Jun 1996 12:14:11 +1200
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         william.warburton/OU=tritec@dsw.govt.nz
Subject:      Re: 87 Vanagon: 3rd choice for gauge

 Hi,
	Jim Davis writes:

> I'd say that an ammeter would be my third preference, so that you can keep an
> eye on the charging system.  But..... given that you need to run some really
> big wires quite a ways to accomplish this, I'll be opting for a voltmeter in
> the near future when I add gages to my van...

 This is almost true- the Ammeter doesn't really _need_  to have the 
big wires running
the full length of the van since the meter part works by measuring the 
voltage across
a small series resistance in the current path (OK, I'm simplifying too 
but it'll do). It
should be possible to locate the series resistance close to the battery 
and other
high current paths and have the actual meter on the dash with relatively light
cabling linking it to the "sender" resistance. How practical this is 
depends on how
the Ammeter is actually constructed-and therefore how easy it would be 
to seperate
the meter part from the resistance- but it _should_ be possible. It 
would have the
advantage that a meter wiring fault would be less likely to cause a 
failure, too, since
the long wire runs would only drive the meter instead of being in the 
critical path for
the van's electrics.

Cheers,
	W.