Amp gauge to volt gauge conversion
when i re-wire my truck with a EZ Wire harness and added all the accessories and a lot of loads,
i decided not to use the amp meter in the gauge cluster.
rather than leave it dead, i converted it to a volt gauge.
i didn't take any pics of the conversion, but this is how it turned out.
i used a $10 autozone off the shelf 2'' volt gauge.
i gutted the gauge down to the bare essentials, no case and no face plate.
i gutted the stock amp meter down to the bare essentials too.
no guts, just the back and face plate.
it was a close fit width wise, to screws held the face plate on the volt gauge,
2 screws held the face plate on the volt gauge.
hammered a couple of dimples out of the amp gauge face plate and drill 2 holes to match the volt gauge and screwed it on.
the needle didn't match the other gauges so i whacked it off and used a little epoxy to attach the old needle to the new gauge.
the studs on back of both gauges were the same.
i carefully reused the old and new insulators to make sure nothing would short out.
calibration: hooked it up to a fully charged battery and bent the needle to match the center dot on the old face.
installed it. usually it run positive of the center dot; charging at 14 volts.
ignition off it goes to the left
old temp gauge and new volt meter. new gauge sticks out 1/16'' past, but who cares...
gauge back with old and new insulators. new gauge has threaded studs.
new face plate ($9) and a little crinkle paint from a spray bomb and this is the finished product.
notice the new volt gauge position, just right of center tell me i'm approx at 14 volts.
i bought a new speedo to reset the odometer,
i figured everything on truk was new, the odometer should show new truk miles
it's an amazing transformation from old to new.
all new bulbs, a little washing and a little paint and it looks better than new.
i have my gauges out to replace the speedo, it was hanging at 30 and would work again after 45 (and a bump in the road)
classic parts has new speedos for $99, cheaper than i could get it worked on.