Bad ALT gauge??

[JunkYardFind]

My ALT gauge was not working (only showing a neg charge even though the alt was charging fine) I have just pulled the gauge out of the assembly and there is not much to it. It looks perfect, no sign of....anything, looks new! What could make the gauge not work? I guess trace the wiring and maybe it was disconnected somewhere down the line? Not sure where to go from here.

[JunkYardFind]

Also, I have limited electrical experience so this is likely a dumb question....
Now that I have the ALT gauge off, how do I bench test it?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[70Barracuda]

Hook the two wires together on one terminal.  Look at the size of those wires,  All your power is going through that gauge.  Others will say a similar thing.  Its a fire hazard

[JunkYardFind]

Hook the two wires together on one terminal.  Look at the size of those wires,  All your power is going through that gauge.  Others will say a similar thing.  Its a fire hazard

@70Barracuda
Yep, just been reading about this! So that means the ALT gauge is useless.
Lets move on to how to fit an aftermarket Volt gauge.

I would start by removing the ALT gauge wires and splicing them together thusly bypassing the old ALT gauge.
I can now use the old ALT gauge, tear it apart and make an aftermarket volt gauge fit within the slot.
Where would I hook the the aftermarket Volt gauge to? I am thinking Pos to switched fuse, and Neg all the way to the Battery neg terminal. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Lastly, any ideas on where to get a small volt meter that would fit (with obvious modifications) into the ALT gauge housing.

[70Barracuda]

I am sure all your q's have answers if you search the site.  Like running a 10 wire from the alt to the pos post to alleviate some of that power going through your dash

[Poolshark314]

Hook the two wires together on one terminal.  Look at the size of those wires,  All your power is going through that gauge.  Others will say a similar thing.  Its a fire hazard

@70Barracuda
Yep, just been reading about this! So that means the ALT gauge is useless.
Lets move on to how to fit an aftermarket Volt gauge.

I would start by removing the ALT gauge wires and splicing them together thusly bypassing the old ALT gauge.
I can now use the old ALT gauge, tear it apart and make an aftermarket volt gauge fit within the slot.
Where would I hook the the aftermarket Volt gauge to? I am thinking Pos to switched fuse, and Neg all the way to the Battery neg terminal. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Lastly, any ideas on where to get a small volt meter that would fit (with obvious modifications) into the ALT gauge housing.

Removing the ammeter is a good start, but to safely increase reliability, a separate larger gauge wire should be run from the alternator to the starter relay to remove the majority of the load from the factory wiring harness:
https://forum.e-bodies.org/electrical-and-audio/11/alternator-bypass-wire-routing/18432/

Not sure which dash you are using, but a few people have mentioned aftermarket voltmeter gauges that are pretty similar to stock styling, so you might be able to get away with that. Sorry I can't help with that part since I am still stock.

EDIT: Here is a thread that discusses modifying the old gauge or getting a new one:
https://forum.e-bodies.org/interior/6/voltage-gauge-for-cuda-rallye-dash/685/

[JunkYardFind]

@Poolshark314
THANK YOU! That is a great link to the other thread!
I have the standard dash. I am pretty crafty and about to solve the clock adjustment stem problem that is much talked about!
Now that I have a good plan, just need to find the best possible volt meter to integrate with the cluster.

[PLY474]

https://forum.e-bodies.org/cuda-and-challenger-general-discussion-roseville-moparts/2/non-rallye-ammeter-to-volt-gauge-conversion/19441/msg246696#msg246696

[JunkYardFind]

https://forum.e-bodies.org/cuda-and-challenger-general-discussion-roseville-moparts/2/non-rallye-ammeter-to-volt-gauge-conversion/19441/msg246696#msg246696

@PLY474
THANKS! That link will help alot gonna bug cudaa39 now with a bunch of questions!