Can I chip in with a related question? I assume the voltmeter is to show if accessories are overloading the power supply. Why not use an Ammeter?

I'm thinking of installing something down the track and wondering whether to buy an ammeter, voltmeter, or break out the electronics junk box and make my own with a few extra features.

 

Can I chip in with a related question? I assume the voltmeter is to show if accessories are overloading the power supply. Why not use an Ammeter?

A voltmeter will tell you everything you need to know. A fully charged battery is 12.6 - 12.8V. When the bike is running, if the voltage reads higher than that, you're charging the battery. If lower, you're discharging it.

I had a Kisan Charge Guard on the old bike and while having the ammeter would seem to be the way to go, in real-life it's hard to watch that digital display bouncing all over the place as the bike's voltage regulator kicks in and out. Watching a voltmeter is a whole lot easier and more useful since the ammeter does not tell you where the battery voltage is.

I bought a couple of Datel meters from this guy: http://www.digitalmeter.com/

 

I think you'd rather know how much juice you're pulling in amps rather than what the voltage is. Of course, cars and trucks always have voltmeters, and finding a place to get the total current draw with a amp meter may be tough to do.

 

A voltmeter is wired in parallel. It's very easy to wire, just like any other electrical device. An Ohmmeter is wired in series, battery to meter to all electrical devices then back to ground. It takes much bigger wire for one thing.

 

I wasn't even thinking about a bouncing needle because my voltmeter is digital and heavily buffered. It requires a change of at least .1V to be held for a few seconds before the display will change. A voltmeter was a stock item on my old BMW R90S and I've wanted one on every bike since that I ride with heated gear.

 

I can handle a bouncing needle, but Kisan's digital ammeter is tough to watch.

 

While both are important......

Greetings all,

.... the system voltage is the most critical. As long as the system voltage stays high enough to overcome the internal resistance of the battery, the battery will be forced a charge. getting too close to this threshold voltage will prevent the battery from getting enough current to remain healthly.

Monitoring the total current draw could be useful if you knew how much current you could safely pull from the altenator, at a steady draw, without causing over-heating damage. I'm not sure exactly what that figure would be. Keeping track of the system voltage is the easiest way to keep your battery and altenator happy.

good rides.

 

MY turn. I am not much for electrical, although I was able to do my own Centech AP-1 fuse box with all the farkles. Instead of a meter, I instead wanted a round about system status at a glance, and something that would catch my eye in all weather and light conditions. I went with the LED system monitor. I am fussy about space, so this worked well for me and has not let me down yet.
It covers the wide range, from over charging to undercharging and everything inbetween, 3 colors, and flashing ablity, best thing besides the size, is its under 30 bucks.
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=BOVOLT

Here is a shot of it with key off position, its that little LED above the key switch on the dash between the outlets.

 

Wal-mart Battery/Charging system tester

Wal-mart sells a device in there automotive sections that plugs into any automotive style cigarette receptacle. It gives you 3 led's and a numeric digital readout in Volts and costs about $15. With the engine shut off, it tests the battery. With the engine on, it tests the charging system.

The Casco receptacle shown in Tollsters picture above is a cigarette style receptacle, by the way.

 

Too much genius here to pass up.My question is can I add XM/GPS/heated grips and vest and some LED lighting and expect the bike to start?Oh and I forgot the Silstar head ligts.
THX in advance,
wolf1

 

You'll be fine. It's only when adding LOTS of heated gear, 50 watt transmitters and such that I get in trouble. You've got about 100 "extra" watts to play with on the 650 and the 1000 has a few more than that.

The battery on the 650 is also smaller than the 1000. 10AH as opposed to 12AH.

 

The point

The purpose of a voltmeter, in my opinion is to tell you when something has gone wrong. Sure, you can add up on paper the load,and go on faith. But when I'm farther away from home than walking distance, I want to know that my electrical system is healthy. If your charging system starts to fail, or one of your accessories begins drawing more current than the system can provide, the voltmeter will drop, telling you that you are discharging your battery. If you know that when it starts, you can either shed some of the load if that is the problem, or head for the nearest civilization if it is the charging system that is failing. I don't want to find that out by having the bike quit running. Particularly on a FI bike, when the battery voltage drops below the voltage needed to run the computer and fuel pump, you are done riding.

 

Datel installation. If I did it over again, I'd put it closer to the blinker. It's slightly restricted where it is -- when I'm in normal riding position.

 

2 questions:
1) what is the knob for?
2) where did you get the Datel part? That is how I wish to mount one on my bike, but I need to find one that is small and looks good. That is pretty much what I am looking for.

Thanks