What, no ammeter?

[Spyder fan]

Take a brave pill and cut the hole for your ammeter if you want it. I have a clock on my S4 dash in the same position as your old dash ammeter.

[The Veg]

battery voltage reacts fairly slowly and a problem may become apparent hours after the fault occurred.

The voltage gauge in my +2 (Smiths classic reproduction of recent vintage) responds fairly quickly- I'll even see it go up and down if I give the engine a quick rev whilst idling. That said, the OEM gauges in the few modern cars that still have them are so thoroughly damped that they only really indicate good/bad.

[StressCraxx]

I had a Datsun 510 that had no ammeter, so I installed one. It had an internal shunt, so ALL of the electrical system load went through the gauge. When it failed, the entire car went dark. The only thing that saved the car from a fire was the fusible link in the electrical system. It melted. We disconnected the ammeter, replaced the fusible link and all was well again. That cured me of using an ammeter with an internal shunt.

Did you know you have a useful voltage indicator bulb at the bottom of the tachometer? That lamp circuit senses the charging system balance during starting and running. It even tells you when the generator brushes are worn or the fan belt is loose if you choose to mind it at all. The bulb glows at idle, then goes out at about 1100-1300 rpm. If it doesn't go out until 2000 rpm, you are developing a problem. The owners manual and shop manual explain the function.

[Andy8421]

Thanks all for your feedback.

As far as anything is ever definitive when it comes to Lotus, I am now pretty sure Sprints didn't have ammeters when they left the factory.

FWIW, I also agree with all the comments about an unfused, high current cable behind the dashboard. It is a recipe for disaster.