ArdWrknTrk Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 I'm sorry, I don't have the kit in front of me, just the picture from Painless. 🤷 Ford kept their wire colors the same for many years and across all models. Black with an orange stripe is always alternator power to me. Why Painless wouldn't use straight black for ground is beyond me. I don't even have an alternator ground wire, but the tapped hole is there on the back, and better grounds are always a good idea. On low voltage ground is white, just look at trailer wiring as ground is white. But I do get what you are saying as all cars & trucks ground has always been black. Dave ---- Yeah Dave, but this is not trailer wiring Ford wiring, and like I said bk/or is alternator output. Or at least it always was. I don't have the 'kit', nor the instructions. I see what I can see (on my phone) Stay safe Gary. I'll give you a nudge about this in a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_S85 Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Not the charge wire, the ammeter wire and shunt. That's why you go around the shunt, directly to the yellow main power wire. I forget the wire number... (30???) and the splice # where it joins shunt and ammeter, but it is that simple. Guess I will have to look at the wiring schematic I thought the shunt and the charge wire was one in the same circuit wise. Ok looks like the shunt is part of some four pin connector some wheres. Wonder how one would disable that circuit without actually cutting the wires. I dont like cutting original harnesses for the off chance I decide to make a reversion on changes I made. Looks like if I just run a separate charge wire from alternator to my mega fuse that should effectively bypass the shunt. But then again the OE charge wire I am looking at mounting post mega fuse if the wire is long enough. Its a shame Dakota Digital hasnt released their RTX retro gauges for our trucks I would put that on my credit card right now so I can just have the ammeter shunt disconnected completly at the dash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrazerJames Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Guess I will have to look at the wiring schematic I thought the shunt and the charge wire was one in the same circuit wise. Ok looks like the shunt is part of some four pin connector some wheres. Wonder how one would disable that circuit without actually cutting the wires. I dont like cutting original harnesses for the off chance I decide to make a reversion on changes I made. Looks like if I just run a separate charge wire from alternator to my mega fuse that should effectively bypass the shunt. But then again the OE charge wire I am looking at mounting post mega fuse if the wire is long enough. Its a shame Dakota Digital hasnt released their RTX retro gauges for our trucks I would put that on my credit card right now so I can just have the ammeter shunt disconnected completly at the dash. I took the old alternator out which really freed up the visual breakdown wire-wise. I’m basically working with three sets of instructions. The original documentation on this site, Jim’s recommendations and the instructions that came with the Painless kit. At the moment, I’m just trying to identify all the parts of the diagram. Can anyone confirm what I’ve identified. Fuse J is a total guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrazerJames Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 I took the old alternator out which really freed up the visual breakdown wire-wise. I’m basically working with three sets of instructions. The original documentation on this site, Jim’s recommendations and the instructions that came with the Painless kit. At the moment, I’m just trying to identify all the parts of the diagram. Can anyone confirm what I’ve identified. Fuse J is a total guess. I will say the instructions provided by Painless are very clear. I’m inclined to just follow them except for that second page warning about disconnecting the Ammeter. It says the wires of the ammeter will need to be reconnected together as they usually supply voltage to the fuse block. That part is not clear on what I need to do to make it happen. Here’s the rest of the instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrazerJames Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 I will say the instructions provided by Painless are very clear. I’m inclined to just follow them except for that second page warning about disconnecting the Ammeter. It says the wires of the ammeter will need to be reconnected together as they usually supply voltage to the fuse block. That part is not clear on what I need to do to make it happen. Here’s the rest of the instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrazerJames Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrazerJames Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrazerJames Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 1. Leave the ammeter in place. But the ammeter is only going to show the current flowing into the cab, meaning that it'll never show charge, only discharge. But it won't burn up, and the shunt won't burn up unless you put a lot of extra electrical load in the cab. 2. Have the ammeter converted to a volt meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 I will say the instructions provided by Painless are very clear. I’m inclined to just follow them except for that second page warning about disconnecting the Ammeter. It says the wires of the ammeter will need to be reconnected together as they usually supply voltage to the fuse block. That part is not clear on what I need to do to make it happen. Here’s the rest of the instructions. My phone isn't too big and my eyesight isn't as good as it was before. I think this upgrade is something any Bullnose owner will appreciate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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