Original Ammeter

160B said:
Here is an excerpt from the Model A Ford Judging Standards and Restoration Guidelines Area 6 Instruments and Controls page 6-2 Revised 2011. Under the paragraph on Ammeter

“The pointer on the gauge came in two different styles ........... and may appear brighter than the scale on the face.”

Also here are two photos of the ammeter in my 1931S/W Town Sedan, I acquired in 1998 with 60,000 original miles.

It appears to be a combination of the "may appear brighter " and the photos.

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The lettering appears white? I don't believe any Model A ammeters had white lettering. The bezel looks correct. Perhaps the face plate was replaced?
 
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Michael Cooper said:
I'm going to change my original 20-20 ammeter for a cheep chinese 30amp because this is about what the gen puts out at full power. This is needed to run haligen tail lights (x2) and normal headlights. When the lights are not going during the day the poor needle disapairs on the charge side and condesation apears on the glass(not good). Of cause running the park lights brings the needle back into sight as long as the brain is fully engaged.
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If run a wire between the two terminals of the ammeter such that some of the current goes through the ammeter and some around it you can still use the 20 amp one. I am doing this on my '32 and it works fine. There is a lot of room behind the dash of a '32 (tank is in back) and you may have to run the jumper wire somewhere else in the circuit. Maybe two wires from the generator with one going through the ammeter and the other going around it? The reading will be off (low) but you just need to remember that and no one else will know. What are you running for a generator?
Charlie Stephens
 
I think the last style "T" ammeters had Ford script face plates and the bezels are flat
 
I went out to the garage today and after cleaning up some of my mess from the day before I looked at my miscellaneous electrical box and found another ammeter.

Here is a photo of two of them.

In this photo I can see the whitish lettering on the one on the left and the one on the right has more of a silver look to the lettering.

With the two of them in the same photo and same lighting the difference is more apparent.

Great feedback from everybody, thanks. This is what Fordbarn is about!!!


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160B said:
I went out to the garage today and after cleaning up some of my mess from the day before I looked at my miscellaneous electrical box and found another ammeter.

Here is a photo of two of them.

In this photo I can see the whitish lettering on the one on the left and the one on the right has more of a silver look to the lettering.

With the two of them in the same photo and same lighting the difference is more apparent.

Great feedback from everybody, thanks. This is what Fordbarn is about!!!


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Yes, this has been a good discussion on original Amp Meters.
Thanks guys
 
Interesting thing about this NOS ammeter is the division markers between the numbers. It has only 3 lines between the numbers not 4 like most ammeters. I have no explanation although the box is post era.


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So, after reading all these post about original ammeters, I came home today, disassembled mine, cleaned everything and reassembled. Other than the plating on the bezel, I do not think any other work will be required. I'm always amazed at how these 83 year old parts clean up with relatively no effort.

Again thanks for all the informative post.
 

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Jerry Parr WI said:
Interesting thing about this NOS ammeter is the division markers between the numbers. It has only 3 lines between the numbers not 4 like most ammeters. I have no explanation although the box is post era.


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could you post a photo of the back of the ammeter?

thanks for the post

160B
 
jkcrosson said:
So, after reading all these post about original ammeters, I came home today, disassembled mine, cleaned everything and reassembled. Other than the plating on the bezel, I do not think any other work will be required. I'm always amazed at how these 83 year old parts clean up with relatively no effort.

Again thanks for all the informative post.
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You can use SEMICHROME to polish the rim. See my post above, and that is what I used on my original ammeter. Unless the rim is very bad the Semichrome will make it shine quite well.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
You can use SEMICHROME to polish the rim. See my post above, and that is what I used on my original ammeter. Unless the rim is very bad the Semichrome will make it shine quite well.
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Tom, I have started polishing with Flitz metal polish. It is doing a decent job. I'll post some pictures after a little more elbow grease. Probably finish it up tomorrow afternoon.
 
Mark,
Take a flashlight battery, such as a D cell or AA, etc. and a piece of wire and connect the + to the passenger side of the meter and connect the - to the driver's side of the meter. The needle will move to the RIGHT on a Model A ammeter.

Just do this briefly because this is a dead short on the battery.
 
msmaron said:
Are we saying that all 4 years had the exact same amp. Including E28. Curious on this please.
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Per the judging standards the two styles of lettering were used all years, and each had a different style of pointer.
 
msmaron said:
Are we saying that all 4 years had the exact same amp. Including E28. Curious on this please.
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We spelled it out in the revisions. Since the subtle differences in the needle and face plate are likely supplier variations and there are no records that specify supplier specifics or timelines for those suppliers, it would be more than a bit presumptuous to limit the use of either variation. However the actual "Model A" ammeter was documented long before actual production of cars ever began so the use of a Model T version would be a stretch to say the least.
 
msmaron said:
Here is a NOS for E28
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I'm looking at an ammeter I just got off eBay, and it has the dimple in the back like yours. Was this the only way to tell it's an E28, or was this simply a manufacturer's dimple? Does such a dimple indicate that it is in fact an original?
 
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