Help with voltage meters

[espguitarist91 10+ year member]

Well since my car (91 deville) doesnt have a voltage meter to even give me a close estimate of the voltage im getting, im going to get one. Probably digital. I was just wondering where you would hook these up. Can i just connect it straight to the battery and mybe put in a switch to turn it on/off? And would any constant 12v(14.4v, w/e) wire be okay to tap into and use? Thanks

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[blue93corsica 10+ year member]

you can wire it staight to the batt, or you can wire it to an acc. wire which is activated only when the vehicle is running, then there will be another power wire, tap this into the interior lights, so whne your instrument cluster, HVAC lights etc turn it'll turn the lights for the guage on

 

[espguitarist91 10+ year member]

you can wire it staight to the batt, or you can wire it to an acc. wire which is activated only when the vehicle is running, then there will be another power wire, tap this into the interior lights, so whne your instrument cluster, HVAC lights etc turn it'll turn the lights for the guage on

Im confused, what do you mean there will be another power wire. On the guage? The guage has one power and one ground right? Sorry, im an idiot.

Thanks

 

[protonman 10+ year member]

long time ago, radio shack had one indicator of different light to indicate charging state, battery status, you just plug into cigarett lighter input. A lot of motorcycle touring riders used that just to check their battery status and also the stator codition which was a problem on the 1200c goldwings

nowadays I think they have one with digital display of battery voltage, cheaper and lot simpler, no installation.

check this out. http://www.cetsolar.com/voltmeter.htm

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Im confused, what do you mean there will be another power wire. On the guage? The guage has one power and one ground right? Sorry, im an idiot.Thanks

He means finding the switched 12V tap point on your fusebox - wiring straight to the battery will work, but it will also slowly drain your battery unless you put another switch in line. Easier just to wire straight to the fusebox.

A voltmeter is easy, just wire in parallel with the circuit you're measuring.

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

Well since my car (91 deville) doesnt have a voltage meter to even give me a close estimate of the voltage im getting, im going to get one. Probably digital. I was just wondering where you would hook these up. Can i just connect it straight to the battery and mybe put in a switch to turn it on/off? And would any constant 12v(14.4v, w/e) wire be okay to tap into and use? Thanks

i bought a LCD voltmeter at AutoZone for like $12. It plugs into the cigarette lighter, has a wide voltage range and is pretty responsive. I have a DMM for other stuff, but for monitoring purposes, it's great.

 

[espguitarist91 10+ year member]

Are those ones that plug into the cigarette lighter pretty accurate? I have a dmm, but id like to see the voltage while driving. If those are fairly accurate and responsive, that would be perfect. Thanks

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

Are those ones that plug into the cigarette lighter pretty accurate? I have a dmm, but id like to see the voltage while driving. If those are fairly accurate and responsive, that would be perfect. Thanks

that's what I use driving to shows to monitor voltage... it's accurate enough for monitoring.

 

[espguitarist91 10+ year member]

Awesome. I checked autozone online but i didnt see it, but im sure they have them at the store. Thanks