Flickering alternator gage.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DanEC

So - you’re right - NEVERMIND.

Man, if I had a nickel.... Anyway, if you're taking 50+ amp momentary spikes through that old Smiths amp gauge consider adding a parallel 12-gauge line from the protected side of the large circuit breaker next to the starter solenoid over to the passenger side screw of the #1 fuse (the one controlling your fans and to where the other side of the amp gauge is wired). This will lightly suppress the spikes through the ammeter and act as a dynamic backup for the entire charging circuit. Should the ammeter start to fail and begin to exhibit increased resistance, current will automatically shift over to the lower impedance path. The hotter the ammeter gets, the higher the resistance, the more the current gets shifted over to try and save the day. The ammeter will continue to tell you all it did before adding the parallel line, just at a more muted pace. That little task will take you about an hour to do. Now, if you happen to have the pusher fans as well, and if you happen to have all three wired in to come on at the same time, then that ammeter needle can swing over so hard that it gets stuck and you have to whack the gauge with your knuckle to make it come back. The first time you see one of those you'll think the needle fell off the gauge and is down at the bottom, but no, it's still there. You just can't see it.