volt meter

[slider]

am considering adding volt meter ..any suggestions  on what kind?How hard are they to wire??   thanks guys.

[slider]

forgot to say but its on a 97 standard..with no additional electrical wired in.

[Gryphon Rider]

Many use this:

http://www.kuryakyn.com/products/872/led-battery-gauge

I wired mine to my accessory terminals so the gauge is only on with the key. One wire to hot, one wire to ground.



Also, scroll down/up to "Voltmeter on an IS".

[BonS]

When I wired my voltmeter I just hooked into the nearest switched 12 volt wire. The problem with that is the voltage drop due to various current loads on the bike's wiring. The voltmeter was reading about 0.5 volts low. Now this may be okay if you have a voltmeter that's just a needle but my voltmeter has built in alarm thresholds to warn me of an electrical failure. It may also bother you if think your battery voltage drops below 12 volts on a regular basis. If you use a Kuryakyn LED meter you may see "condition yellow" more than you like.

The answer is to add a relay that connects your battery directly to your voltmeter. The wiring diagrams are shown below.

[Chrisj CMA]

Volt meters wire up like a light bulb.  Don't need a relay or anthing complicated, just one hot lead and one ground.  I found the best way to wire them is run a hot lead (with a fuse) to the positive side of the battery and then a ground.  I have a switch in the ground so I can turn it on when the bike is off to check the battery.  The reason I like direct to the battery is because its a true reading

I have a meter from Overtons Boating Catalog.  I figure if its for a boat its gonna be pretty darned waterproof


This is with it running

[BonS]

Volt meters wire up like a light bulb.  Don't need a relay or anthing complicated, just one hot lead and one ground.  I found the best way to wire them is run a hot lead (with a fuse) to the negative side of the battery and then a ground.  I have a switch in the ground so I can turn it on when the bike is off to check the battery.  The reason I like direct to the battery is because its a true reading

That's true Chrisj CMA and the relay is just a switch that comes on automatically when the key is turned on.

[Chrisj CMA]

Volt meters wire up like a light bulb.  Don't need a relay or anthing complicated, just one hot lead and one ground.  I found the best way to wire them is run a hot lead (with a fuse) to the negative side of the battery and then a ground.  I have a switch in the ground so I can turn it on when the bike is off to check the battery.  The reason I like direct to the battery is because its a true reading

That's true Chrisj CMA and the relay is just a switch that comes on automatically when the key is turned on.

I don't think the amp draw on a V meter is worth adding a relay but it certainly cant hurt

[BonS]

Volt meters wire up like a light bulb.  Don't need a relay or anthing complicated, just one hot lead and one ground.  I found the best way to wire them is run a hot lead (with a fuse) to the negative side of the battery and then a ground.  I have a switch in the ground so I can turn it on when the bike is off to check the battery.  The reason I like direct to the battery is because its a true reading

That's true Chrisj CMA and the relay is just a switch that comes on automatically when the key is turned on.

I don't think the amp draw on a V meter is worth adding a relay but it certainly cant hurt

It's certainly not the amp draw of the meter, rather it's the voltage drop through the wiring harness caused by all the other engine, lighting and accessory "amp draws" that's the gremlin. My readings were a little over 1/2 volt in error due to this. In any case wiring the voltmeter directly to the battery is the way to go. How you switch it on and off is simply a preference.

[Gryphon Rider]

Volt meters wire up like a light bulb.  Don't need a relay or anthing complicated, just one hot lead and one ground.  I found the best way to wire them is run a hot lead (with a fuse) to the negative side of the battery and then a ground.  I have a switch in the ground so I can turn it on when the bike is off to check the battery.  The reason I like direct to the battery is because its a true reading

When you said negative, you meant positive, right?

[Chrisj CMA]

Volt meters wire up like a light bulb.  Don't need a relay or anthing complicated, just one hot lead and one ground.  I found the best way to wire them is run a hot lead (with a fuse) to the negative side of the battery and then a ground.  I have a switch in the ground so I can turn it on when the bike is off to check the battery.  The reason I like direct to the battery is because its a true reading

When you said negative, you meant positive, right?

Im not sure, Ill have to go look, Im not totally sure...I think its on the negative post.........I just put it where it worked.  If its on the neg should I move it to the pos even though its working fine?

Ok, I sit corrected........its on the Positive side...........sorry for the bad info

[Valkorado]

I'm using this one, they make a newer backlit model too.  Better feedback and features than the Kuryakyn.

https://shopping.yahoo.com/759987385-argus-bb-sbm12-ps-battery-bug-battery-monitor-for-motorcycles-and-power-sports/

[gordonv]

I'm using this one, they make a newer backlit model too.  Better feedback and features than the Kuryakyn.

https://shopping.yahoo.com/759987385-argus-bb-sbm12-ps-battery-bug-battery-monitor-for-motorcycles-and-power-sports/

Yes, and no. Argus was sued and stopped making these just after the back lite model came out. I bought mine used (and posted here to really find out how you use it).

I don't know if anyone would have old stock or new stock.

[T-Bird]

I don't know if anyone would have old stock or new stock.

Check ebay, I have seen them on there just recently.

[slider]

thanks for the tips...as always you guys come thru with good advice...

[pancho]

I just received this one ,, don't have it mounted up yet. I like the idea of this as it has only one LED indicator, and I am going to be installing this and several other LED indicators into my fairing. I can just lay them all out in a row and make it look neat and clean. Cant give you a recommendation on it until after I use it for a bit,, but it looks like a good unit to me. They claim accuracy to .2 volts for the unit on their website, and it is auto dimming at night.

http://www.signaldynamics.com/heads-up-voltage-monitor/

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

Pancho I've been running that volt meter on my I/S for over two years now without a problem what so ever. Good piece of equiptment as far as I'm can tell.