Voltmeters

[firefly]

Having an on board voltmeter is a must on max with its lousy harness & charging issues, a volt meter gives a good idea of what's happening with charging & is early warning for pending failures.
I noticed that when the fan comes on volts drop a little (0.15) at idle but above 1500 RPM it has very little effect on voltage, the headlight is a current hog, its the most current draw in the entire bike a 0.30 volt drop is common even above 1500RPM.

a volt meter also shows if the battery is on its way out since you can monitor how well the battery holds the charge & how much voltage drop happens during starting, less than 10 volts means up coming battery trouble enough warning time to order a battery & not get stranded with a dead one away from home.

During long storage a battery should not be allowed to drop below 12 volts or else it goes into deep discharge which many batteries can't handle well & will never get fully charged again.

http://www.cyclemaxohio.com/inc/sdetail/4231

 

[johnpclynch]

I bought a pretty one from exactrep, great for seeing what your battery is up to
http://www.exactrep.com/acatalog/ELECTRICAL_MAINTENANCE.html

 

[Diablotin]

check for Koso voltmeters, there are the same too maybe cheaper than exactrep tho

 

[davidon]

Firefly..my fan seems to draw more power..any suggestions?

 

[firefly]

Firefly..my fan seems to draw more power..any suggestions?

Clean its connectors sorry that's all I can think of.

 

[dannymax]

I can't find a nice trick spot to mount my meter....got it velcroed to the top of the right scoop but there's got to be a slicker installation than that!

Where are you guys mounting yours?

 

[johnpclynch]

I have mine stuck on the bar just behind the front brake resivoir

 

[SpecOps13]

This is very cool stuff. Especially since I have the seats bolted in place right now...:clapping:

 

[schudaddie]

I bought a pretty one from exactrep, great for seeing what your battery is up to
http://www.exactrep.com/acatalog/ELECTRICAL_MAINTENANCE.html

OUCH on that price!!!! I'm concidering this same unit from amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Kuryakyn-4219-Chrome-Battery-Gauge/dp/B000GU5WO8
I'm trying to come up with a bracket to mount this just under the handlebar clamps.
later, Bill

 

[firefly]

OUCH on that price!!!! I'm concidering this same unit from amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Kuryakyn-4219-Chrome-Battery-Gauge/dp/B000GU5WO8
I'm trying to come up with a bracket to mount this just under the handlebar clamps.
later, Bill

These LED lights voltmeters don't show variations in volts vs the digital ones, to me its not enough to see a green light I want to see a number.

 

[Thevmaxrider]

I have a nice little analog gauge that is connected to keyed power that works just fine and that cost very little. Those look nice though. If I were to upgrade I would get one like Trevor has on his Max that has a ton of functions including telling you what percentage of life your battery has left based on cranking voltage and a couple of other factors. Will tell you when your battery is on its last legs. Know it works because Trevor's battery had a sudden drop in capacity and it told him it was time to replace. Not sure of the cost though.

 

[firefly]

I have a nice little analog gauge that is connected to keyed power that works just fine and that cost very little. Those look nice though. If I were to upgrade I would get one like Trevor has on his Max that has a ton of functions including telling you what percentage of life your battery has left based on cranking voltage and a couple of other factors. Will tell you when your battery is on its last legs. Know it works because Trevor's battery had a sudden drop in capacity and it told him it was time to replace. Not sure of the cost though.

Do you have any links to that volltmeter you're talking about?
Thanks

 

[Thevmaxrider]

Nope, but I will find out exactly what one it is and post one tonight.

 

[johnpclynch]

OUCH on that price!!!! I'm concidering this same unit from amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Kuryakyn-4219-Chrome-Battery-Gauge/dp/B000GU5WO8
I'm trying to come up with a bracket to mount this just under the handlebar clamps.
later, Bill

Yeah, pretty pricy. But after the cash I wasted on batteries I expect it to pay itself back

These LED lights voltmeters don't show variations in volts vs the digital ones, to me its not enough to see a green light I want to see a number.

Each LED is 1v, not the same accuracy but if I see orange or red I know theres a problem and I can get my battery care charger / digital voltmeter

 

[CaptainKyle]

Amazon is just a bit cheaper than me. I charge $ 32.50 fot that voltmeter. Show chrome also makes one but it is black & longer it also has a thermometer,ice alert.clock stopwatch and lap counter It goes for $ 30

 

[Thevmaxrider]

Do you have any links to that volltmeter you're talking about?
Thanks

Here you go Ibrahim: http://www.argusanalyzers.com/batte...tery-bug-battery-monitor-argus-analyzers.html

Not exactly just a voltage gauge, it does monitor battery health as well. If your battery is getting hit by a bad electrical system this will tell you for sure with the added bonus of telling you if the battery is the problem. Check out the list of features.

 

[maleko89]

I carry a pocket multimeter in my tool bag.

 

[tonyg-5386]

I want to see numbers too. A "guesstimate" does not do it for me. I can ride around with this meter plugged into my dc adapter to monitor voltage and pull it out when it's not being used.

 

[KJShover]

I want to see numbers too. A "guesstimate" does not do it for me.

+1

Same here, I finally took my instrument cluster off last night so I can alter it and install my meter.
I got it from here: http://goldwingchrome.com/N_ItemDetails.asp?parItemID=1050&parCategory=MISC for $27

Here is how it will look when finished.

 

[firefly]

+1

Same here, I finally took my instrument cluster off last night so I can alter it and install my meter.

Here is how it will look when finished.

That is brilliant! :clapping: