The National Voltage Star

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Technology is funny, I am mobile & my cell phone is my business line. Last month it went south on me on a Friday morning, rather than opting for the loaner I decided to take the weekend off. What a nice quite relaxing weekend, then came Monday afternoon, I was slammed with calls asking me why I had not called back, between the shop and myself all my messages were deleted. It made me think that sometimes old school is better, don’t get me wrong, I love technology but if we ever have a EMP  attack the only thing that will be on the road is old cars with point distributors, although you will not get far because you will not be able to  get gas out of the ground. So what is an EMP? It’s short for electromagnetic pulse, when a nuclear  bomb is detonated about 2000 feet off the ground it destroys all electrical circuits that are connected to power. In  remake of “War of the Worlds” it was the reason Tom Cruise’s character could drive away, the van did not have a battery in it. Sounds science fiction, but it is real, however if you have points without a solid state controller you are fine. But then again the world loves us now.

But enough doom and gloom lets talk gauges. For some time I have been working on a way to convert amp gauges to volt meter and retain the look of the factory amp meter.  We take the stock gauge, keep the stock face and install a volt meter behind it, the center point of the gauge reflects alternators voltage set point,  to get it right I need to install a stable regulator in the alternator. So what is the big deal? Why would you want a volt meter? A volt meter will tell you before you have a problem, lets say we have a converted gauge and the center line between the “C” (charge) and “D” (discharge) is 14 volts. Now that is the set point the regulator will try to keep the voltage at. If you notice that you are above the line then you are running at higher charge rate than the regulator set point. This can be a problem with the alternator or the electrical system, but it can run that way for weeks or months so you have time to fix it and you are not dealing with it in some small town on the way back from a show. The same is true if you notice it is running below the set point line. The problem with an amp meter is it will tell you when you have a problem not before you have a problem.

Now here is a question I get all the time, what is the best way to connect two wires. A house does not see much vibration so wire nuts are ok there, but they don’t belong in anything else. Under vibration they will come loose and you will have live wires hit ground & blow fuses or burn wires, I did not say “can” I said “will” so don’t risk it. The worlds best connection is to solder, but if you don’t know how to do it then use crimp connections. I will always solder wires on bikes, boats, sandrails, dune buggies, & full race vehicles. All other connections I use crimp connections, the best connectors to use are “bell caps” they are white and look like a bell, think of a wire nut that you crimp. The reason I like them is the two wires actually touch each other and you can fill the base with silicone to keep moisture out, it’s a inexpensive version of a weather pack connection. I recommend avoiding scotch-locks however if installed correctly T-taps work every well. Always use the correct size connector. One of the best connections available are posi-locks but they are quite expensive. If you are not sure what any of this is you may want to talk to an expert before wiring your project.