Anyone added a voltmeter?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone out there wired up a permanent voltmeter to their bike? I see one on the Net for $57, but surely there should be a lower cost one available that would do the trick.

[gs650gt]

Re: Anyone added a voltmeter?

Has anyone out there wired up a permanent voltmeter to their bike? I see one on the Net for $57, but surely there should be a lower cost one available that would do the trick.

I have one. I purchased a cheap $9 meter for cars and installed it to the handlebar. works fine. just remember the damping (does not like vibration), good ground (more reliable readings) and the +cable connection to the right place (the volt meter must turn on when the ignition is turned on)

[Anonymous]

ANY VOLT METER WILL DO IF IT CAN TAKE THE SHAKIN--MY BROTHERS IS IN HIS FAIRING--THE RANGE IS UP TO ABOUT 20 VOLTS TO SHOW OEVCGARGING IF IT OCCURS--TO HIGH OF A RANGE WOULD MAKE IT HARD TO READ--I HAVE THIS ON MY DREAM LIST--I AM THINKING OF INSTASLLING IT IN ONE OF THE SIDE COVERS JUST AS A QUICK TEST DEVICE--BUT SOMETHING THAT IS ALWAUS VISABLE WHILE RIDING IS BEST FOR OBVIOUS REASONS--PLEASE POST YOUR FINDINGS AND RESULTS FOR ALL OF US TO SHARE

[Anonymous]

I used a cheap car-type voltmeter on my 650. I also bought a pod (intended for fitting on top of car dash) to hold it and made up a bracket to attach it to one of the screen mounting points. I made some rubber bushes to isolate it from vibes and knocks. It even has an internal light. Careful where you take the + supply from, as you only want it "on" with the ignition.

These cheap meters are very accurate but they will warn you of any drop in the battery voltage. Worth having on a GS.

[Anonymous]

"These cheap meters are very accurate but they will warn you of any drop in the battery voltage. Worth having on a GS."

Sorry, typo alert: I meant to write they're INaccurate!

[redliner1973]

Since I saw you have a GK, I bought one for mine, at O'Reillys auto part, installed it in the lower left side cover (the one that has 4 screws in it, about 4inches by 2 inches ). the guage was 14.00, and used the wiring in the fairing and spliced into it. I was lucky, as my fairing voltage was exactly the same as the battery, no drop of voltage from the connections or wiring, and it works great. really nice to see waht the battery is doing. worth it!