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Old 07-21-2020, 03:27 PM   #18
rotorwrench
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
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Default Re: Converting Instrument Voltage

The old instrument voltage regulators as used in the early 12-volt Fords up into the 60s are chopper units. They do not provide a constant voltage as some folks might have been told. They work on the same principle as the old King Seeley pressure and temperature gauges that Ford used by opening and closing points rapidly to control the output voltage. An old needle swing volt meter will be all over the place when you read the output voltage. These things didn't work all that well when they were new. The indicator needles tend to wiggle around a lot.

The modern 6-volt constant voltage regulators are what they say and function well with the King Seeley gauges. They work better if each gauge has it's own unit and they are not that difficult to set up.

The large CVR with the heat sink marketed by some is rated at 1.5 amp so it should work on the King Seeley systems. They have to be hard wired to the gauges plus a ground for the CVR. These things are sensitive and can be damaged when folks are troubleshooting systems so care has to be taken during that process. They warn folks about that in the instructions.

The process of converting gauges is basically remove old 6 volt guts and install 12-volt guts. The sending units have to be matched up for them to function properly. This can be an advantage but it can also create other problems at times. A person needs to make a note of the part numbers of affected parts in case they need to look for new parts at some point. Some replacement parts are just as hard to find as old original items after 20-years or so. Nothing lasts forever.
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