Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell - Moparts Forums

Register Log In Moparts Forums Moparts Question and Answer Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell

Print Thread

Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell #1205001 03/28/12 08:42 AM 03/28/12 08:42 AM
Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 101 SE PA MattMPA OP member
MattMPA OP member Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 101 SE PA	Hi guys...a friend of mine has a 1977 Dodge window van that's used for business. It's got all original paint and is in amazing shape. He mentioned to me yesterday that the ammeter pegs at anything above idle speed and that he smells a burning electrical smell too. (The hi-beams also cause some of malfunction..but I don;t know the details on that) Anyhow...I remember reading many years ago that there was some issue that caused this type of problem in the older Mopar gauge clusters but I can't seem to find anything on this. Perhaps a regulator on the cluster? Thanks for any help!

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: MattMPA] #1205002 03/28/12 08:51 AM 03/28/12 08:51 AM
Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,445 Missouri 68KillerBee master
68KillerBee master Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,445 Missouri	http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: 68KillerBee] #1205003 03/28/12 09:00 AM 03/28/12 09:00 AM
Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 101 SE PA MattMPA OP member
MattMPA OP member Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 101 SE PA	Thank you!!! That is what I was thinking of....jsut couldn;t remember the details.

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: MattMPA] #1205004 03/28/12 04:13 PM 03/28/12 04:13 PM
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 3,519 Lansing, MI 70gtx440dana master
70gtx440dana master Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 3,519 Lansing, MI	Quote: Hi guys...a friend of mine has a 1977 Dodge window van that's used for business. It's got all original paint and is in amazing shape. He mentioned to me yesterday that the ammeter pegs at anything above idle speed and that he smells a burning electrical smell too. (The hi-beams also cause some of malfunction..but I don;t know the details on that) Anyhow...I remember reading many years ago that there was some issue that caused this type of problem in the older Mopar gauge clusters but I can't seem to find anything on this. Perhaps a regulator on the cluster? Thanks for any help! Tell him sto stop driving it immediately!! He should find the problem and fix it. If it is the typical Mopar ammeter wiring issue it can cause a significant fire . I found out the hard way on my 70 Road Runner when the entire dash harness shorted out. Thank goodness the car did not catch fire. 70 Road Runner 383-4 4 speed FJ5 & black guts 70 Charger R/T 440-4 4 speed FJ5 & white guts

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: 70gtx440dana] #1205005 03/28/12 04:22 PM 03/28/12 04:22 PM
Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 9,312 SoCal 68HemiB master
68HemiB master Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 9,312 SoCal	What he said. Yes, running all the load through the ammeter was a less than clever design, and the suggested bypass is seen by most as a good idea. HOWEVER, the pegged ammeter at hand is an indication that something else is very wrong. This must be addressed immediately! Down to just a blue car now.

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: 68HemiB] #1205006 03/28/12 04:37 PM 03/28/12 04:37 PM
Joined: Nov 2003 Posts: 36,040 Lincoln Nebraska R RapidRobert Circle Track
RapidRobert Circle Track R Joined: Nov 2003 Posts: 36,040 Lincoln Nebraska	bad voltage reg EDIT pull the triangle VR connector ASAP so it ain't charging. It is far better to deep cycle (run it down then charge it up) the battery a time or 2 till you solve it rather than having the system full fielded like it is now, as said very dangerous Last edited by RapidRobert; 03/28/12 09:53 PM.

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: RapidRobert] #1205007 03/28/12 10:58 PM 03/28/12 10:58 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,421 Balt. Md 3 383man Too Many Posts
383man Too Many Posts 3 Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,421 Balt. Md	First thing to do is find the problem for overcharging and fix it. Ron Last edited by 383man; 03/28/12 10:58 PM.

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: 383man] #1205008 03/29/12 02:56 AM 03/29/12 02:56 AM
Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 6,167 Maryland GO_Fish master
GO_Fish master Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 6,167 Maryland	If he's fortunate enough to avoid a fire, he will still have a mess on his hands if the battery starts spewing acid everywhere from overcharging. Scott B. "I'm a self-made man... I started with nothing, and I still have most of it!" 68 360 rusty B'cuda 'vert (GO Fish)13.59@ 98.72 mph 69 340 GTS stock 14.18@ 95.60 mph 01 5.9L Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 01 3.5L 300M 16.23@ 86.97 mph

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: GO_Fish] #1205009 03/29/12 07:39 AM 03/29/12 07:39 AM
Joined: Oct 2007 Posts: 288 Birmingham, England M Mick70RR enthusiast
Mick70RR enthusiast M Joined: Oct 2007 Posts: 288 Birmingham, England	This happened to me on Monday driving to work. The voltage regulator had burned out. Picked up another reg and was back on the road a few hours later. 1970 Road Runner 505 cid MCH CNC ported Stealth heads MP 528 camshaft 4 speed GV overdrive 11.98 @ 117 on street treads

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: Mick70RR] #1205010 04/03/12 11:29 PM 04/03/12 11:29 PM
Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 101 SE PA MattMPA OP member
MattMPA OP member Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 101 SE PA	Well guys, I stopped at my friend's today...and put in a new voltage regulator. Gauge reading correctly now. We'll look into bypassing the gauge soon. So, I'm told today that the hi-beams don't work. The blue light works on the dash...but both hi-beams do not work. I'm guessing there's a relay that gave up somewhere.

Re: Ammeter Pegged...Burning Electrical Smell [Re: MattMPA] #1205011 04/03/12 11:34 PM 04/03/12 11:34 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 683 CENTRAL MINN 1965_PLYMOUTH mopar
1965_PLYMOUTH mopar Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 683 CENTRAL MINN	my guess would be the high beams are both burned out. or the dimmer switch crapped out, but I don't think the blue dash light would come on either then.

Moderated by Al_Alguire, Hotwheelsjr, moparts, not_a_charger, RangerDan440, tboomer

Hop To

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.1