Build An Accidental Frame Off..................

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Good for you scanning the dash to catch the dropping amps. The other day - actually several weeks ago I lost charging. Pulled right over and looked around. The little press on clip for the to battery lead on the alternator had come loose. Pressed it back on - BOOM making power again.

When the nator or regulator goes I'm doing the GM 1 wire 100 A+ unit and just monitoring the voltage. Maybe I'll fab some sort of meter to fit where the ammeter was and the non working oil pressure gauge.
 
charliemeyer007 said:
When the nator or regulator goes I'm doing the GM 1 wire 100 A+ unit and just monitoring the voltage. Maybe I'll fab some sort of meter to fit where the ammeter was and the non working oil pressure gauge.
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When I went to a 200-amp GM-style alternator, I replaced my ammeter with a voltmeter:

my gauge cluster

my gauge cluster

  • Media owner 1911
  • Date added
  • Comments 1
 
Vandal FJ said:
What gauges are stuffed in that cluster? I sure would love to have the stock look of of the factory cluster, but the SBC makes it tough.
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I run the stk cluster gauges with my sbc. The only gauge I'm not using is the ammeter and that's by choice. I use the stk dash brake light as an idiot light for the alternator.
 
pb4ugo said:
I run the stk cluster gauges with my sbc. The only gauge I'm not using is the ammeter and that's by choice. I use the stk dash brake light as an idiot light for the alternator.
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X2. I thought there was a fj60 voltmeter that people replace the amp meter.
 
rkymtnflyfisher said:
Bigger issue caught me on the way to ski last weekend, I noticed my tach was doing funny things while driving, just randomly wondering around. Watching my ammeter a bit later I noticed the needle was consistently in the negative territory, even with the rpms screaming down the road.

Turned off all of the electrical loads I could from the factory stuff, and nothing changed.

Dumped as much of a load at once in it as I could, nothing, the needle never moved to the positive side.

Well this sucks I thought to myself, having some air blowing on the glass would probably be helpful today.......


Checked voltage in the lot I measured 11.4 VDC.

Well damn.
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WTF?! Snow?! Skiing?! I’m not even plugging my Cummins in lately!


I run the 50 amp alternator in my 40 with the 30 amp ammeter and no issues. Even winching and I set the idle higher on the sniper, no problems. I was concerned about the higher amperage too. Mostly i see an always slightly positive value no matter what electronicals are on.
 
rkymtnflyfisher said:
Once I got home later that night I pulled the positive cable from the battery.

Engine died instantly.

Looking at my options I decided to go with the 50 amp upgraded alternator from City Racer.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pics this evening before I got busy changing it out.

A short test drive and we're looking as good as the legs on the Norwegian women's speed skating team.


The needle really swings in the positive when the rpms are high with some load on it.

My only concern might be the 50 amp upgrade on the 30 amp OEM system, most of my heavy loads are independent of the factory harness and all fuse protected, but I'm still a tad concerned until I test it for a while. View attachment 4084270View attachment 4084271
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"looking as good as the legs on the Norwegian women's speed skating team." Amen to that! I've been sitting here watching them. They get a gold medal in my book!
 
charliemeyer007 said:
Good for you scanning the dash to catch the dropping amps. The other day - actually several weeks ago I lost charging. Pulled right over and looked around. The little press on clip for the to battery lead on the alternator had come loose. Pressed it back on - BOOM making power again.

When the nator or regulator goes I'm doing the GM 1 wire 100 A+ unit and just monitoring the voltage. Maybe I'll fab some sort of meter to fit where the ammeter was and the non working oil pressure gauge.
Click to expand...

The 100 A+ is recommended for the electric power steering, if anyone is considering that.
 
Vandal FJ said:
What gauges are stuffed in that cluster? I sure would love to have the stock look of of the factory cluster, but the SBC makes it tough.
Click to expand...

The oil pressure and temperature gauges, along with the voltmeter, are all standard off-the-shelf Autometer units. The trick is, making mounts and masks to make them look good in the cluster. There is a mud member who used to make these, and I was fortunate enough to buy them before he quit making them.
 
At ACC this week. If @rkymtnflyfisher owned an 80 I'd expect it to kitted out like this.

IMG_8155.webp


IMG_8154.webp
 
No cruiser action this week.


I'm up in Canada on a little vacation and skiing with my kid, we just came out of Corner Pocket here.
20260215_105249.webp
 
My favorite run at the end of a hard day of skiing.
20260301_132716.webp
 
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I've on and off caught this thread and your cruiser in the forum. I've finally got a chance to look threw the whole thread, and I must say as a fly angler and cruiser owner this is a huge inspiration to me! you got me back in the garage playing around with my 40! I've also made a playlist with all the songs on here. definitely love the music.
 
cruiserboy14 said:
I've on and off caught this thread and your cruiser in the forum. I've finally got a chance to look threw the whole thread, and I must say as a fly angler and cruiser owner this is a huge inspiration to me! you got me back in the garage playing around with my 40! I've also made a playlist with all the songs on here. definitely love the music.
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It's a tough life, but someone has to do it!

We're currently in the middle of a pretty serious snowstorm up above 5-6K ft. It's dumped nearly 4' of snow at the local ski mountain since Wednesday, and it's still coming nonstop through tomorrow!

The rain in the valleys has been a total soaker, river levers are rising already, ground is totally saturated.

Tech related, I'm starting to think one of the front hubs is gummed up and not locking in when I try to lock it. I should look into that soon. (Next month)

There's also a few more rust spots showing up lately.
 
rkymtnflyfisher said:
It's a tough life, but someone has to do it!

We're currently in the middle of a pretty serious snowstorm up above 5-6K ft. It's dumped nearly 4' of snow at the local ski mountain since Wednesday, and it's still coming nonstop through tomorrow!

The rain in the valleys has been a total soaker, river levers are rising already, ground is totally saturated.

Tech related, I'm starting to think one of the front hubs is gummed up and not locking in when I try to lock it. I should look into that soon. (Next month)

There's also a few more rust spots showing up lately.
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Ryan, how long has it been since you put her back on the road? Has to be alot of miles too?
 
Jdc1 said:
Ryan, how long has it been since you put her back on the road? Has to be alot of miles too?
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Almost 9 years now I have had it back on the road, daily driving for probably the last 6. I rolled over 45K yesterday coming back from skiing.
 
tls3601 said:
Thanks Ryan. I also have a 4Plus rear swing out bumper on my 78 and have been looking for a way to mount a table off the back of cooler area. Can you possibly sent a picture of how you did it? Thanks. Tom
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There should be some pics in this thread somewhere, I'd make a wild guess and say about 5 years back. I'll try to get some pics this evening if possible.
 
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