How does ammeter work?

Answer 1

An ammeter is a low voltage voltmeter in parallel with a small resistance resistor. Current flow through the resistor creates a voltage drop across it which is then measured by the voltmeter.

Answer 2

There are two main wires that normally come off the battery, one extremely large one that feeds the starter, and one reasonably thick wire (usually around 10 ga) that feeds everything else in the car.

A classic style ammeter runs in series with the battery wire that feeds everything else in the car. It samples which way the current is flowing and how much current is flowing. If the alternator is pushing current into the battery (charging the battery) the gauge reads positive. If current is flowing out of the battery, it should read negative, and usually means that your charging system is not keeping up with the electrical demands.

Since the classical ammeter is hooked up in series, it involves very thick wire (like 10 ga) to be routed all the way to the ammeter in the cockpit of your car. With all that current flowing through the ammeter, a short circuit on the ammeter in the cockpit can be fairly dramatic, and some classic car guys avoid ammeters for the possibiilty of causing a fire.

There is also an ammeters out there that have an external shunt. An external shunt is basically a very low value resistor that is in series just as the ammeter was in the previous example, and then the ammeter is in parallel to the shunt. Basically MOST of the current goes through the shunt and only a small percentage goes through the ammeter. By knowing the resistance of the shunt and the meter, the meter is able to calculate the total current by measuring only the small current that goes through the meter. This kind of setup allows small wires to be run to the ammeter in the cockpit, and the high current to remain in the engine compartment. The danger in these setups on some old cars is there isn't a fuse on that small ammeter wire, So if the shunt is damaged or a connector breaks, it would try to flow all the current through the remaining path which is the small ammeter wire and that would melt that wire (along with whatever else it is next to).

Answer 3

Note: Most homes (at least in North America) now use digital electric meters (SMART meters) to measure household electricity use.

Analog electric or Kilowatt hour meters pick up EMF ( EMF = Electro Magnetic Field ) fields given off by current passing through the conductors (The EMF strenth is proportionate to the current) and uses it to generate a turning motion, this turning motion is reduced using a series of gears to turn the dials, these dials record the kilowatt hours passed through the meter. The electric utility would send someone to read the meter every few weeks to bill you on your usage.

See related links below.

Answer 4

An ampere meter, or ammeter, is a low impedance device that measures the current in a circuit. Often, it is a low value resistor in parallel with a sensitive voltmeter. Current flow induces a voltage in the resistor, and the voltmeter measures that voltage. The scale on the voltmeter is calibrated for the particular application.

As an example, if the shunt resistor were 0.01 ohms, a current of 10 amperes would induce a voltage of 0.1 volts, which the voltmeter can read.

Answer 5

An ammeter works by measuring the voltage across a very small resistor that is placed in series with the load. By Ohm's Law, current is voltage divided by resistance. Knowing the resistance of the series circuit and conducting those amps to a device that reacts differently with varying amount of amps you can accurately measure the amps of a circuit. Analogue meters use an electromagnetic coil that winds itself to different tensions depending on the amount of current. Connect it to a needle and put a chart behind it that has been calibrated to the coil and you have created a device for measuring current. The strength of the electromagnetic field is proportional to the current, or amps, so the distance the needle moves will also be proportional to the current.

Answer 6

Dont know!!!!!!!

ask the teacher

and by the way, what is ammeter?