The factories went to volt meters not because they were safer but because of the cost of installing an accurate ammeter to monitor the hight amp systems most cars have today. Imagine a 2" gauge covering a 140 amp system and still be able to notice small needle movements, not practical. The only complaint I have with a volt meter is how do I check charge rate? If it reads 13.9 volts, is the gnarging system weak or the battery going south? All ammeters work best when ALL current into or out of the battery except for starting p***es through it. Want to fry a system or ammeter mismatch it to the system. an 80 amp system will cook a 60 amp ammeter and so forth. wire, ampere load, and meter MUST match of you just might use that chrome fire extinguisher you bought to look cool. Even an 80amp ammeter is no match for a new fuel injected, airconditioned, stereo equipped car.
Lots of them didn't have numbers, I doubt that's the real reason And the later ones in GM products were shunt type ammeters....example, Chevy trucks from the mid 60s to the early 70s. Very little current went through the ammeter.
I only had 5 gauge holes in my insert. I went with Speedo, fuel, oil, left water temp, right water temp (flathead), no volt gauge, tach on the column. It was an easy decision, sort of a Darwinian approach.
That's what test tools are for. A dashboard gauge is only intended to give a driver a quick summary of what's going on, not to diagnose a system failure. When something on the dashboard indicates something is not copacetic, then it's time to get the troubleshooting and diagnostic tools and procedures out and figure out what's wrong.
The Jalopy Journal
