RedBusarider
Registered
I know a few of you have installed a voltmeter on your bikes.
I liked the idea so I ordered one. Upon initial testing I discovered that there was a difference
between getting a reading off of just the battery and getting a reading going through the ignition switch.
So long story short I added a DPDT switch so I could read the voltage from two separate places.
So this is what I ended up with. Here the switch is in the middle position and everything is off.
This is the ignition wire I tapped into - I think it is the orange one, but I'm colorblind so it may not be.
What I do know is that it is live only when the ignition switch is on.
Here is the DPDT switch I used. At one end there is a black and a red wire coming to the switch and that is straight from the battery.
The meter has a red and a black line and they are hooked up to the middle connectors on the switch.
I used the ground from the battery and jumpered it to be the ground for the ignition side of the switch.
So the last wire (black and grey?) is connected to the orange wire of the ignition. That completes the wiring.
Here is the switch set to read straight from the battery
Here you can see the ignition is on and the reading is lower. The headlight draws more power resulting in a low voltage reading.
One advantage to this setup is I can check the voltage of the battery all by itself without turning on the key.
Another is I can turn it off at anytime. Because the meter is bright, in the daytime it should be very readable.
At night it might be too bright, if so, off it will go.
I purchased a metal switch because if the bike sets out in the sun I didn't want a plastic switch to melt or become soft.
I got a heavy duty switch which is bigger then the micro switches so that it would be easier to move and feel for it with gloves on.
Mounting it where I did will not effect anything when the fairing has to be removed. Also mounting up front may keep it shaded some.
Just one more way to mount/wire a voltage meter.
Now get to work.
I liked the idea so I ordered one. Upon initial testing I discovered that there was a difference
between getting a reading off of just the battery and getting a reading going through the ignition switch.
So long story short I added a DPDT switch so I could read the voltage from two separate places.
So this is what I ended up with. Here the switch is in the middle position and everything is off.
This is the ignition wire I tapped into - I think it is the orange one, but I'm colorblind so it may not be.
What I do know is that it is live only when the ignition switch is on.
Here is the DPDT switch I used. At one end there is a black and a red wire coming to the switch and that is straight from the battery.
The meter has a red and a black line and they are hooked up to the middle connectors on the switch.
I used the ground from the battery and jumpered it to be the ground for the ignition side of the switch.
So the last wire (black and grey?) is connected to the orange wire of the ignition. That completes the wiring.
Here is the switch set to read straight from the battery
Here you can see the ignition is on and the reading is lower. The headlight draws more power resulting in a low voltage reading.
One advantage to this setup is I can check the voltage of the battery all by itself without turning on the key.
Another is I can turn it off at anytime. Because the meter is bright, in the daytime it should be very readable.
At night it might be too bright, if so, off it will go.
I purchased a metal switch because if the bike sets out in the sun I didn't want a plastic switch to melt or become soft.
I got a heavy duty switch which is bigger then the micro switches so that it would be easier to move and feel for it with gloves on.
Mounting it where I did will not effect anything when the fairing has to be removed. Also mounting up front may keep it shaded some.
Just one more way to mount/wire a voltage meter.
Now get to work.