SiWhite Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 While surfing for projects for my upcoming BMW GS motorbike, I stumbled across these battery monitors Pretty cool I'm sure you'll agree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Next project!! have you finished the 110 off completely yet? I have a few projects you can work on if you are looking for something to do Si!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martifers Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 *wishes he had found this before spending £50 on a fandangled monitor' lol Nice find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 LASCAR do a similar thing in various flavours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick the digger! Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 thats a great find, thanks for sharing. I was only dreaming of somthing like that lastnight and was going to take one of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DRAPER-36584-BATTERY-ALTERNATOR-ANALYSER-12V-DC-/190347120456?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2c51928f48 apart and try make it do the same thing! has anyone got a link to the above lascar one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 The LED indicators look a great idea to me! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Bear Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Was looking on the bay and also found This Little Monitor. Simple and Cheap, Maybe a bit big for a bike but would work in a truck! Mocha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 None of the above provide the functionality I'd actually want from a 'battery monitor'. I quite like these units. They actually monitor current draw as well as voltage, which means they do actually know the health of the battery, rather than just the voltage - which isn't actually overly useful on its own. Anyhow, at least you're not paying very much for something that isn't that useful, compared to paying an awful lot, for something that isn't that useful!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Bear Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 That system would be fine until you try and load the batteries heavily (winching), then the amp meter would probably pop! I guess it has to be in series to the circuit rather than the parallel set up for a standard volt meter therefore the current draw capacity would need to be able to match that of all ancillaries and winch motors. I think most people have the volt meters fitted just to check that the alternator is working and they also let you know if you are shorting something! From my Limited experience with batteries the only way I have found of determining their condition is to deep cycle discharge and then use a voltage controlled charger with a constant charge rate to determine the energy returned to the cells. this is a lot of hassle! Anyway, guess it just depends what sort of accuracy and information you are looking for! Rant over! Sorry! Mocha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 That system would be fine until you try and load the batteries heavily (winching), then the amp meter would probably pop! I guess it has to be in series to the circuit rather than the parallel set up for a standard volt meter therefore the current draw capacity would need to be able to match that of all ancillaries and winch motors. Correct, the capacity of the standard shunt supplied is a limitation. The meter would be fine - it's the shunt that takes the load, and at 100A constant duty it'd be fine for starting (short term higher load), but would likely suffer from extended winching. It'd be fine for overlanding-type use, especially with some consideration of the winch wiring. The alternative would be to upgrade the shunt, which would be a workable solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty_32 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 For my tuppence worth: I think voltmeters can be useful, not only to check if alternator is working ok, but if the vehicle is off and running ancillaries such as an inverter it can give you a good idea before your fridge packs in that you need to restart your truck and give the battery a little boost. Its much better than spending £60 on one thats pretty much the same from a certain overlanding company....wonder who would do that martifers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cartman Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 While surfing for projects for my upcoming BMW GS motorbike, I stumbled across these battery monitorsPretty cool I'm sure you'll agree? Bought one for SWMBO so she may now stop trashing our whole stash of car batts running her electric donkey fence Good Co. and guy to deal with plus fast delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&S Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I picked up a cheap voltage meter of ebay, and a switch (ON - OFF - ON), all for under £10 posted Wired so position 1 is the main battery and position 2 is the leisure battery. Simple to install and has on several occassions let me know my alternator has packed up Pretty useful to have it hardwired in, saves getting the multimeter out and liftying the bonnet. I have an LED monitor (red amber green) that came as part of a Ring double auxillary socket extension, but it always reads red or amber. I'd rather see the figures for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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