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Predictor amp meter question

G

gruhs

New member
Recently had occation to use the nav lights on my 1980 Predictor which I just purchased. The amp meter reads 10 -12 amps when running without nav lights but the needle disappears off the low end when lights are turned on. This can't be normal can it? Power is a 115 Johnson of same age as boat.

Gary :confused:
 
Big Red... good question, I'll have to look closer when I get in the boat again. Bein and "old fart" we just always refered to the gage that indicated rate of charge as an "amp meter".
 
Big Red... just checked and it is a volt meter. Now today with boat in garage and motor not running I turned the key on and then turned on the nav lights and there was a slight drop in volt reading but it did not drop the needle off the scale as it did last weekend while driving. Someone else suggested possibly a problem with switch which is a three position toggle switch with a diode???
 
Something is definitely strange. How strange depends on where your voltmeter is wired into the boat's electrical system.

If all else seems normal, your engine is charging the battery the way it should, etc. I'd first look for a bad ground on the voltmeter. Was there anything else abnormal going on when you saw the bad reading?

Also, 10 - 12 volts with the engine running is low, should be approximately 12.8 with the engine off (and all electrical devices off), and around 14 volts with the engine running.
 
Well were at the marina tonight, boat in water. Still reading about 12 volts with engine running (volt meter). Checked battery and it's 14 plus. The only other things abnormal is the weird volt meter reading comes and goes... that is sometimes turning on the lights kills the meter reading and sometimes it doesn't... also a couple of the instrument lights sometimes work and sometimes don't??? I'm thinking loose connection somewhere or maybe the light switch has a problem... just don't know...
 
gruhs said:
Well were at the marina tonight, boat in water. Still reading about 12 volts with engine running (volt meter). Checked battery and it's 14 plus. The only other things abnormal is the weird volt meter reading comes and goes... that is sometimes turning on the lights kills the meter reading and sometimes it doesn't... also a couple of the instrument lights sometimes work and sometimes don't??? I'm thinking loose connection somewhere or maybe the light switch has a problem... just don't know...
Click to expand...


I doubt that it's the light switch. Sounds like a loose connection, or maybe some corrosion on a connection, somewhere under the dash.
 
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