2 weeks ago, pulling out of the gas station, smoke starts pouring out from the dashboard - roughly under the steering wheel and/or glovebox. Pulled over and turned off the ignition. Smoke subsided quickly. After poking around a bit I turned the key to find everything dead. After towing home, a voltmeter on the battery says 13v, so all good there.
A little research led me to believe an ammeter failure to today I set out to bypass in the engine bay (
http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=105253). I picked up the new parts and started identifying the components involved. Since my '77 is not stock (EFI) I also consulted the 77 wiring diagrams and started trying to match up the diagram with my wagon before I start rewiring.
After reading the diagrams, I feel I must be misunderstanding something...likely a few things.
1) Why is my car dead? The ammeter is between the alternator and the rest of the system. Its failure will prevent charging...but shouldn't disable the rest of the electrical system (if the battery is charged). This is what I grok in the wiring diagram, but seems to disagree with reality. What disconnects the battery from the rest of the system?
2) AFAICT, completing the ammeter bypass will not get my wagon running because it doesn't fix whatever else is broken. Correct or not?
3) Is it correct that the voltage regulator is separate from alternator in this car? Is it a 3" square black box on the fender next to the battery and starter solenoid?
4) Why did somebody think that combining the 6cyl and 8cyl diagrams into one was a less-than-horrible idea?
TIA!
Chris
77 Wagoneer and 97 TJ.