Datel Vlolt meter

[wfooshee]

I put mine on top of the C panel, which puts it next to and slighly higher than the clock in my line of sight. It can't sit flush, so I used black RTV to form a "housing" for it. It's wried through a relay triggered by the key, once the relay triggeres it's directly across the battery. Used sandpaper to smooth the RTV after this pic was taken. Stuff hadn't set yet here. Display above the clock is a gear indicator.

14.0 to 14.1 volts at idle, lower if it's cold outside until the bike warms up. 14.2 to 14.3 at speed. I have no high-draw accessories, just an AVCC and a Garmin 2610.

Edit: Found my picture, added it.

 

[Groo]

Mine is pretty much in the same spot as Pinheads, only I angled it so that I would be looking at it straight on from my seated position. I also got the blue one to blend in with the 05 paint job.

Mine reads 14.0+ whenever I'm running at speed. At idle it drops a bit... also can watch it fluctuate when the heated gear is running... in less than full blast mode.

 

[mcatrophy]

...But, IIRC, the meter only draws abt 8 mA so it takes a looooooong time to discharge the battery. I'm sure someone will come along and "'splain mo' better" than I.

8mA=1AH in 125 hours. Let's say 1/2 discharge is "acceptable", so 7 AH will take 125*7=875 hours, that's about 36 days. OK, I know at 8 mA there are more AH available, but it gives a feel of how long "looooooong" really is.

Most here would say that's too long to leave the battery between charges anyway, and since mine occasionally gets left perhaps 3 weeks or so without being charged, I personally wouldn't put this extra load on permanently.

 

[C&C]

Mine is hot all the time as the volt meter is ganged with a thermometer and clock. There is minimal draw, so hot all the time is not an issue for me. I wouldn't think the Datel would be a big draw either (though I think the Datel is LED and mine is LCD); I would think a manual switch would be easy to install had I gone that route.

 

[sliick2]

Thanks Gang, lots of good info & suggestions for install.I'm sure others will benefit from this as well. Great pic's too ! Sliick :clapping:

 

[Patriot]

In the past, I used a relay with the coil going to switched power and the contacts directly to the battery. And I would add a toggle switch direct to the battery for the coil, so I could throw the switch at rest and power up the voltmeter.

The Feejer just goes to switched power and I know in my head what voltage it should be under all conditions and only would worry if it's 1/2 a volt below "normal"