Quote:
Originally Posted by Mongoose930
Hi Patrick,
I plan on running a ammeter when I wire my Hi-Tech and I would be very interested to know how you ran a parallel line with the ammeter. I think that is a great idea and adds a measure of safety.
Thanks - Kevin
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It is very simple to do. On an ERA, there is a 50 Amp master circuit breaker that sits right in front of the battery that protects the system in case something goes big time wrong. From that circuit breaker, a wire runs through the firewall to the ammeter and then back out the firewall to the fuse box. To run the parallel line all you do is a run a wire, I chose a 12 gauge wire (for a very good reason), and ran it directly from the circuit breaker to the fuse box. That wire is "in parallel" with the ammeter and its line. Current will run through both lines and will be apportioned based on the respective resistances of the two paths. But note that the current will still add up to whatever it was before you added the parallel line. Now, in most ammeters all the current is not actually going through the little measuring device in the gauge. A portion of it is and then that value is multiplied for display. But, a poor connection at the ammeter or some other malfunction, can, and does, create a good bit of heat, because the resistance increases and the current has no other path. But with a parallel line, the current will now increase through this "path of least resistance" and you will notice that the ammeter gauge no longer shows you the readings that it once did (because the current going through there is less). A parallel line will not only prevent a big problem from occurring, it will also tell you if your ammeter, or ammeter line, is having a problem -- you just have to pay attention. But even if you don't, you'll still avert a catastrophe.