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I did the ammeter to voltmeter conversion on a Challenger ralley dash... or more precisly I had a shop do it. They set it up so the needle was just about centered at normal charged battery voltage - around 12.5 volts. Higher voltage went the the charge side and lower voltage went to the discharge side.
It has been a very useful instrument; At a glance when running if the needle is a bit to the left of center, all is well. If its centered or to the right that means problems. I won't get into the debate on which is better, ammeter or voltmeter, but I can say this setup has worked well for me. Keeping the ammeter wasn't really an option for me due to heavy non-stock electrical loads and the requirement for a bigger alternator.
That said, I've delt with problems on stock MOPAR's with the standard setup and am glad to get away from it. The heavily loaded charge wire on the bulkhead connector especially.
I agree that a heavily loaded bulkhead connector is bad news. See the above post about police and taxi versions. Not a lot of us are running overhead lights and a Federal Q siren so that should not be an issue. The 30 amp two ways are also history. Halogen headlights draw less current than the old tungsten lamps. All in all, current loads in cars have dropped. GPS, car stereo, CB, and dvd player only add around 5 or ten amps total to current draw.
I worked for 4 years in the '70s for a city fleet management shop with a fleet of 85 Plymouth police cars and battalion chief cars. I took care of the radios, sirens, radar, Vascar and consoles. I wound up doing lots of charging systems since the mechanics always blamed the electronics for all electrical issues. The ammeter system was never an issue. A lot of that is because none of them was more than 5 years old so the oxidation had not set in.
To keep my 'Cuda in shape, I just drop the radio out of the dash (two bolts, one nut and the antenna connector). Laying on the floor I can see the ammeter connections. I back off the nuts with a nut driver then retighten them. I do this as part of every oil change. Five minutes of work but good insurance. The bulkhead connector is packed with dielectric grease to keep water and green cancer away. The seals are available from Detroit Muscle and have been replaced. Dielectic grease also helps hold the gasket in place when mounting the connector from the inside.
Craig
2014 Ram 1500 Laramie, 73 Cuda
Previous mopars: 62 Valiant, 65 Fury III, 68 Fury III, 72 Satellite, 74 Satellite, 89 Acclaim, 98 Caravan, 2003 Durango
Only previous Non-Mopar: Schwinn Tornado
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