Affordable Mini LED Digital Voltmeter

[Mellow]

I did this mod on the ST1300 here:
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?54605

You could wire it direct to the battery or behind the ignition fuse so it's on only when the bike is on.

I haven't done it yet but I plan to and will do a write up when I do.

These are basically similar quality as the datel voltmeters

http://www.cyclemax.com/inc/sdetail/120/4231

 

[doctorj]

Well heck, I've got a Datel voltmeter ready to put on somewhere on the bike. I could have saved a bit with this. I'll check out your install.

doctorj

 

[Bill310]

another option is seeing if your GPS has a voltmeter function available. My 478 has that feature

 

[stevepsd]

Here is another option that I have on my Tiger. Completely waterproof and surface mount.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120753353753&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Checkswrecks]

Here is another option that I have on my Tiger. Completely waterproof and surface mount.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120753353753&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Like that it's waterproof and 99 cents for the part looks great. But wish they'd be honest on their price instead of saying $26.50 for shipping/handling.

 

[Mellow]

Like that it's waterproof and 99 cents for the part looks great. But wish they'd be honest on their price instead of saying $26.50 for shipping/handling.

LOL.. yeah, that's comical.

The one I posted is waterproof as well or it would have died a long time ago on my ST1300.

Still haven't found the right place for one. I like the surface mound one for that reason.. a couple zip ties and you could put it under the instrument cluster somewhere.

 

[justbob]

There are a lot of sellers on Ebay that list their items with low prices and high shipping.
By doing this they are reducing the fees that Ebay charges for the item sales amount.
On this particular item they are only paying a percentage on a $1 sale item instead of a $25 item.

 

[titsken]

Maybe a stupid question but where do you need a voltmeter for on your bike? I don't have one and have no id what to use it for. :lamp:

 

[elizilla]

The voltmeter can give you early warning if your battery is going south, or if there's a problem with the reg/rectifier. And if you are installing a bunch of accessories such as driving lights and heated grips, you can use it to tell when you're running too much and oughtta turn something down/off.

I've installed this Signal Dynamics voltmeter in a couple of past bikes: http://www.directlineparts.com/product.asp?pid=4354

This one is just a single tiny LED light. It can flash red, solid red, yellow, green, flashing green, and each of these means something about the voltage. Green is good. Flashing green is overcharging, yellow is marginal, red is low, flashing red is dangerously low. There's actually a little chart in the box that tells you the specific numbers for these, and they're all very close together, but I don't have the number memorized, sorry.

It's been great on every bike I have had, except the TDM, which lives in yellow or solid red territory anytime the bike is idling, even if just for 30 seconds at a traffic light. It'll alternate between red and yellow, in time with the turn signals, sigh. Having this light show when everything is normal, is distracting. (And yes, it is normal. We have two strong running TDMs here and they both do it, they've done it for years, and neither has ever had another symptom of an electrical problem.)

So the question is whether the S10 is like the TDM and runs at a lower voltage as a normal thing, or is it like every other bike I have owned and the color ranges will be correct? I've already got one sitting on my workbench, so I'll probably install it just to find out. An actual gauge has advantages, but it's a whole lot easier to find an unobtrusive spot for a single tiny LED light.

 

[maddog5150]

I have had good luck with this unit.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=kuryakyn++battery&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=10717730966408467474&sa=X&ei=-WQ8TpLVCqWusAK9yfmoBQ&ved=0CH8Q8gIwBA

I mounted it right on the dash of my VStrom and it almost looked like a factory piece. I really liked it. I plan to put one on my Tenere, but have not decided on the best location yet.

 

[Thunderpig]

I'm actually thinking about this if I can find a decent place to put it.


http://www.amotostuff.com/super_tenere_electrical/BB-SBM12PS.html

 

[Boondocker]

I'm a big fan of gauges and a voltmeter was high on my wish list for this bike. I've used the 5-function LCD meter

on 2 other bikes and it's a good value, though not water or dust resistant. So I wanted something different for the Ténéré.

I opted for this LED meter by Koso. Purchased at Dennis Kirk https://www.denniskirk.com/koso-north-america/super-slim-volt-meter.p408821.prd/408821.sku] [url]https://www.denniskirk.com/koso-north-america/super-slim-volt-meter.p408821.prd/408821.sku[/url] for $38.

I like it because it's blue. Red LEDs on the dash make me nervous.

Here it is mounted on the dash shelf.

It's wired into my FZ1 Fuzeblock, switched power, 2-amp fuse. The throttle cables can be a little bit in the way, but it's not something I have to look at often.

 

[Tremor38]

I'm a big fan of gauges and a voltmeter was high on my wish list for this bike. I've used the 5-function LCD meter

on 2 other bikes and it's a good value, though not water or dust resistant. So I wanted something different for the Ténéré.

I opted for this LED meter by Koso. Purchased at Dennis Kirk https://www.denniskirk.com/koso-north-america/super-slim-volt-meter.p408821.prd/408821.sku

I like it because it's blue. Red LEDs on the dash make me nervous.

Here it is mounted on the dash shelf.

It's wired into my FZ1 Fuzeblock, switched power, 2-amp fuse. The throttle cables can be a little bit in the way, but it's not something I have to look at often.

Link to the item (contained in quote) is fixed.

 

[Buckeye56]

This unit from Clearwater was tested in the Feb 12 issue of Motorcycle Consumers News:

http://clearwaterlights.com/infopg_cvs.html

It is more expensive than the Signal Dynamics but Clearwater claims they can update the software to accommodate newer battery technologies. I don't own either, just thought this may be of interest.

 

[Jap_STi_3]

I'm a big fan of gauges and a voltmeter was high on my wish list for this bike. I've used the 5-function LCD meter

on 2 other bikes and it's a good value, though not water or dust resistant. So I wanted something different for the Ténéré.

I opted for this LED meter by Koso. Purchased at Dennis Kirk [url]https://www.denniskirk.com/koso-north-america/super-slim-volt-meter.p408821.prd/408821.sku]https://www.denniskirk.com/koso-north-america/super-slim-volt-meter.p408821.prd/408821.sku] [url]https://www.denniskirk.com/koso-north-america/super-slim-volt-meter.p408821.prd/408821.sku[/url] for $38.

I like it because it's blue. Red LEDs on the dash make me nervous.

Here it is mounted on the dash shelf.

It's wired into my FZ1 Fuzeblock, switched power, 2-amp fuse. The throttle cables can be a little bit in the way, but it's not something I have to look at often.

I'm liking the cover you have on the front here. Is it a home made one or was it a purchase. If home made do you have a template you could post up with messurments please. Cheers Ray ::021::

 

[Boondocker]

I'm liking the cover you have on the front here. Is it a home made one or was it a purchase. If home made do you have a template you could post up with messurments please. Cheers Ray ::021::

I did a write up of my dash shelf in this topic:
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2511.msg58135#msg58135
Included a picture with a ruler (in inches) that gives some scale to the dimensions. Cardboard is your friend

 

[fender5803]

I have been using the Clearwater CVS for a couple months now. Elizilla did a very nice write up about it a few posts back from here.
I believe the unit slow flashes for a properly working system. Mine does. "Green is good" is the bottom line as Clearwater says.
I must say that the slow flashing was distracting and it took me several weeks the way I ride or maybe 500 miles to get used to it. Now it is not a distraction at all.
It was a simple installation for sure. I hooked mine straight to the battery with the supplied fuse. Very easy. I mounted the LED above on the dash by drilling a tiny hole and using a short self taping screw (not supplied) and the supplied 'L' bracket. In retrospect I think it might have been less distracting if I had mounted it say near the Power Outlet with the 1/4" hole option, also very easy to do.
I have never seen anything but a slow flash from it while riding but if you shut off the kill switch leaving the key on I get yellow and if I switch on the hi beams it turns red.
I hope to never see the fast flashing green which is over charging.
Bad, fuzzy, out of focus pictures below shows the LED above dash and the small brain box tie-wrapped into place under dash in one picture and the LED above dash in "green is good" state in other picture.

 

[titsken]

I just installed one of Kuryakyn. Only 40$ and waterproof.
http://www.kuryakyn.com/Products/872/LED-Battery-Gauge