Installing a Voltage Gauge

[ekabil]

Hi everybody. Due to the real personal relationship I've cemented with the charging system of my 82 1100 GL over the last month, I want to take care of it. The main issue I had was that as soon as the R/R failed, everything else was impacted and before I knew it the stator was fried too. Now that I have replaced all that, I want to prevent the same thing from happening again.

To do so, I am going to install a permanent voltmeter. Right now, there are two parts to the plan: a voltage gauge and a switch. The gauge is on its way from China, for a total of 3 dollars including shipping. The switch will most likely be purchased from Advance or radioshack. If the idea works, then it might be worth it to get a higher quality gauge built for boats that has some degree of weather proofing. Most of the gauges I found were for cars or trucks, meant to be installed in a dash, and were much too big for my purposes. I just wanted a screen with two wires, and I found a few on Ebay for very cheap.

I am going to wire it from battery + to the switch, to the unit, then back to the battery -. I will just ziptie it along with the existing wiring, piggyback-style.

For the meter: This One
For the switch: I was doing to go with a Del City rocker switch, but paying $10 in shipping for a $4.00 unit seemed dumb, so I will just look around to find a solid waterproof switch.

Once I have installed this system, I will be able to hopefully check the voltage of the battery, and therefore the status of the RR and to some extent the stator, at the push of a button! With a more complex switch, it would also be possible to monitor other circuits as well, like the current AC output of stator, or the power draw of all the accessories, or the voltage at the coils, all while riding. I'm mainly interested in battery voltage though.

I was surprised at how hard it was to find a small simple voltmeter. The cheapest one locally was $35. How can a voltmeter, which is small, has no moving parts, and measures one thing, cost twice as much as a multimeter from walmart, that can measure 15 different things. Who knows. Anyone else ever tried this? I found a few threads about it but not much info. Not as much as you'd expect, considering the notorious charging and electrical systems of these bikes. This seems like a really useful thing to have.

 

[Steve]

Yes, it's a very good thing to have, but I have a couple questions, if you don't mind.

If the idea works, then it might be worth it to get a higher quality gauge built for boats that has some degree of weather proofing. ... For the switch: I was doing to go with a Del City rocker switch, but paying $10 in shipping for a $4.00 unit seemed dumb, so I will just look around to find a solid waterproof switch. ...

Where are you planning to mount a non-waterproof gauge?

Since the gauge is not waterproof, why bother with a waterproof switch?

It would be much easier to hide the switch from the weather (and curious fingers) to a place where it would not get wet.

With a more complex switch, it would also be possible to monitor other circuits as well, like the current AC output of stator, or the power draw of all the accessories, or the voltage at the coils, all while riding. I'm mainly interested in battery voltage though.

Good thing you are mainly interested in battery voltage, as that is ALL you are going to get with that meter.

- As you mentioned, the output of the stator is AC, that meter will not read AC.
- Current draw of all the accessories is measured in AMPS that meter reads DC VOLTS.
- Voltage at the coils could be measured, but why while riding? It won't change from when it was parked.

.

 

[ekabil]

I was just trying to think of other places where measuring voltage might be useful. Sometimes driving vibrations can loosen connections that aren't affected when the bike is still, but anyway the only place I will be monitoring is the battery voltage. I said "the current AC output of the stator" I meant current as in instantaneous, not as in amps. Yes this particular meter measures DC only but there are similar meters that measure current, AC, and DC volts in one unit.

Initially I was going to hook the meter up to a auxiliary 12V socket (for a car cell phone charger to be plugged in to) installed by the PO, but with the addition of a switch, I could just wire the meter straight to the battery which is more accurate. The voltage at that switched power source was lower than across the battery by a small but significant amount.

I am planning to mount the gauge on the handlebars, possibly right in the central area, and the switch right next to it. This of course depends on what kind of a bracket I can rig up. The gauge isn't waterproof because it costs like $4.00. If this plan works then I will invest in a decent one later. Since a waterproof switch is about the same price as a regular one, installing a waterproof one now will just save time in the future. I might also try to make the cheap one waterproof if it isn't too difficult, maybe just coat the thing in some kind of clear sealant.
The switch is waterproof because I live in SC and it rains heavily here often and I have to keep the bike outside as I live in an apartment. Although the bike is covered by a water proof cover, it is very humid and condensation may also form underneath the cover.

It is also possible to hide the switch "from curious fingers" as you say under the fuel tank but within reach while riding, perhaps off the petcock or something. That's a good idea I didn't think about, thank you!

 

[spyug]

I would not rely on those made in China gizmos they are no accurate in my experience. I bought 3 of them from the different suppliers and all of them don't show values greater than 13 volts and voltages under that can be almost 2 volts off actual.

Make sure you check them before hooking it up and don't put your faith in them. A cheap analog unit from the like of Harbour Freight or Princess Auto would serve you better IMHO.

Good luck,
Spyug

 

[tom203]

I still like mine- $12 off amazon- easy to waterproof with clear silicone. I love simplicity!

 

[bbytes]

ekabil
I just bought one of those after seeing your link. I am going to do the same thing with mine. I have access to a 3D printer at the school I go to. I will be printing a housing for mine that will have a mount for my handlebars. If you want me to print you one off as well, I can do that for you. You would just need to assemble it when you got it. The plastic is very easily painted as well, so you could paint it if you want. The default color is white.

 

[Guest]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-Lithium-Battery-Digital-Voltmeter-dc-3-3v-17V-Blue-LED-Panel-Meter-12v?item=180861130625&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D9165989014061183566

Easy to work with and cheap.

The only thing I would do with it is to wire it up to any power and ground in your cluster and leave it on all the time.

It will only tell you if your voltage is low or decreasing and hopefully tell you soon enough when it goes too high so you can avoid burning something up.

 

[posplayr]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-Lithium-Battery-Digital-Voltmeter-dc-3-3v-17V-Blue-LED-Panel-Meter-12v?item=180861130625&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D9165989014061183566

Easy to work with and cheap.

The only thing I would do with it is to wire it up to any power and ground in your cluster and leave it on all the time.

It will only tell you if your voltage is low or decreasing and hopefully tell you soon enough when it goes too high so you can avoid burning something up.

Thats great; I found something similar but no way as cheap. I was going to mount it under a GSXR idiot light cover in a very similar way. The 0.01V resolution is really the way to go, analog gauges dont tell much as there is not enough swing in the needle for a 8-16V in 45 deg swing.

 

[Guest]

There is allot of stuff like that for the Remote Control world.

http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=mini+lithium+battery+voltmeter



Could use something like this:http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Compact-Fiel...Radio_Controlled_Vehicles&hash=item336a223fc4

Connect each lead to the place you want to test, Ie: coils, ignitor, RR, Batt etc... It would show as No 1 12.5v, No 2 12.3v ....

So many possibilities

 

[Adler]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-Lithium-Battery-Digital-Voltmeter-dc-3-3v-17V-Blue-LED-Panel-Meter-12v?item=180861130625&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D9165989014061183566

Easy to work with and cheap.

The only thing I would do with it is to wire it up to any power and ground in your cluster and leave it on all the time.

It will only tell you if your voltage is low or decreasing and hopefully tell you soon enough when it goes too high so you can avoid burning something up.

I wanted to do something similar to this on my gauges.

I was going to put it below the neutral light, there is a weird space just calling the name of some kinda voltage gauge. Unfortunately its quite small.

 

[Guest]

I went the simple alternative.

Added one of these to my custom dash:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GAMMATRONIX...857?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c587692c9

 

[bwringer]

One of these critters is a pretty slick way to go, and could be mounted out of the way in many ways:
http://www.customdynamics.com/LED_b...ttery_Gauge_with_Remote_Flush_Panel_Mount_LED

 

[oldrookie]

Been looking at that idea, bwringer. Guy on ADVRider has a plan to mount the light in the GR panel where other bikes have a sixth gear indicator. Been chatting with him about how it might work.

 

[bwringer]

Been looking at that idea, bwringer. Guy on ADVRider has a plan to mount the light in the GR panel where other bikes have a sixth gear indicator. Been chatting with him about how it might work.

George ( koolaid_kid ) is local and installed one of these earlier this year -- you might PM him and see what wisdom he can offer.

 

[oldrookie]

Thanks for the info.

I'll get in touch with him as soon as I get my starter issue worked out.

 

[Guest]

One of these critters is a pretty slick way to go, and could be mounted out of the way in many ways:
http://www.customdynamics.com/LED_b...ttery_Gauge_with_Remote_Flush_Panel_Mount_LED

Wow that's an expensive version of the eBay one I installed! Looks like it does basically the same thing except the one I got doesn't have any other box to go anywhere, it's all self contained under the LED.

The only difference I see is the eBay one doesn't have auto dimming, it's just the same brightness all the time. Mind you it also has a link on it you can use to swap it over to battery monitor mode and it will change colour according to the stored battery voltage with the engine off.

I must say I prefer the over voltage indication on the eBay one also, it alternates green/red at over 15.2v rather than just flashing green...

Just my 2c though as that unit does look like a quality item and I'm not disparaging it...

 

[razor02097]

Anyone ever design a crowbar circuit to prevent cooking the electrical system if the R/R fails?

 

[robertbarr]

One of these critters is a pretty slick way to go, and could be mounted out of the way in many ways:

... unless, of course, you're as red-green colorblind as I am! It's getting downright annoying to see how many rechargeable consumer products operate the same way, with multi-color LED's. They are utterly useless to folks like me.

I really wish I could use a system like that, but I'm convinced that for people who can't see color very well, a good-quality analog meter is the way to go. I just bought an Autometer Pro-Comp voltmeter, 2 5/8", and we'll see how long it takes to figure out a reasonable way to get it mounted.

 

[850GT_Rider]

... unless, of course, you're as red-green colorblind as I am! It's getting downright annoying to see how many rechargeable consumer products operate the same way, with multi-color LED's. They are utterly useless to folks like me.

I really wish I could use a system like that, but I'm convinced that for people who can't see color very well, a good-quality analog meter is the way to go. I just bought an Autometer Pro-Comp voltmeter, 2 5/8", and we'll see how long it takes to figure out a reasonable way to get it mounted.

It may be an intelligent idiot light, but it's still just an idiot light.

I might install one as a visual warning to check my voltmeter, but to each his own. I suppose it's better than nothing at all.

 

[Dogma]

... I just bought an Autometer Pro-Comp voltmeter, 2 5/8", and we'll see how long it takes to figure out a reasonable way to get it mounted.

Don't be like me and take 2 years. I have a reasonable (to me) way figured to mount mine (?52mm), but I haven't had the time.