Single LED Voltmeter
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Please can you post items for sale or wanted in the correct For Sale section. Items / bikes for sale here will be removed without warning. Reasons for this are in the FAQ. Thanks
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Davez29
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 1268
- Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2008 8:38 pm
- Bike owned: NC29 forever
Single LED Voltmeter
Ok, as some may know I blew a rectifier a couple of weeks ago while in the outside lane doing 70mph, this resulted in me losing all my electrical systems and the bike just cut out, a scary moment indeed.
Anyhow I got a replacement Japanese rec/rec and it appears to work fine but I thought it would be nice to get conformation however simple that things were still ok. So I thought of previous bikes I have had where you had a light that went out when your battery was charging, seems to me this is needed as standard on the NC29.
Now I know theres a few on here seem to have these voltmeter things added to the bike so start looking on ebay, some were a bit too blingy for me with multitudes of round leds, others were of the LED panel variety, nice but not particular small or waterproof. So I came across a TRI-colour single LED, this seemed more like it, not only that but the seller Andrew would program whatever thresholds you might want into the onboard pic chip, very handy.
The ebay seller was called sparkbright_products and the LED was a very modest £10+ delivered. I contacted him with the thresholds i would need, basicly copied out of the Haynes manual, he then quickly wrote back with minor modifications based on his experience, which I agreed on. It was delivered with speed the next day and I fitted it into the left infill panel triangle near the radiator as it was the easiest place to fit because I didnt want to have to add brackets or drill holes on any of the clocks, also I was taking the power (2 wires) from the unused sidelight from my indicators, one minor drawback fitting it there is that when you put the left indicator on the LED goes off as the side lights turn off while the indicators are active. Suppose also its not in direct line of sight but you only need to glance at it occasionally, make sure you got no cars in front, if you going to look at it while riding!
Now when I ride the bike I get a much better indication of what my charging system is doing, I can tell at a glance if things are appearing to go wrong, for instance i flattened my battery on purpose just to see if there was charging happening and the LED was working, I could see the LED go through its stages (Red, discharged to Orange normal to Green charging with a couple of flashing stages in between) and watch the battery come back to life after a few miles. The seller Andrew also programmed a overcharge sequence in, using Orange/Green flashing if it goes over 15.4 volts, giving ample warning that things may be going wrong, my bike at 3000rpm seems to charge at 14.5v, with all lights on.
So for those who are wondering I would say go for it, its easy to fit and does appear to give good indication of your electrics condition.
dave
Anyhow I got a replacement Japanese rec/rec and it appears to work fine but I thought it would be nice to get conformation however simple that things were still ok. So I thought of previous bikes I have had where you had a light that went out when your battery was charging, seems to me this is needed as standard on the NC29.
Now I know theres a few on here seem to have these voltmeter things added to the bike so start looking on ebay, some were a bit too blingy for me with multitudes of round leds, others were of the LED panel variety, nice but not particular small or waterproof. So I came across a TRI-colour single LED, this seemed more like it, not only that but the seller Andrew would program whatever thresholds you might want into the onboard pic chip, very handy.
The ebay seller was called sparkbright_products and the LED was a very modest £10+ delivered. I contacted him with the thresholds i would need, basicly copied out of the Haynes manual, he then quickly wrote back with minor modifications based on his experience, which I agreed on. It was delivered with speed the next day and I fitted it into the left infill panel triangle near the radiator as it was the easiest place to fit because I didnt want to have to add brackets or drill holes on any of the clocks, also I was taking the power (2 wires) from the unused sidelight from my indicators, one minor drawback fitting it there is that when you put the left indicator on the LED goes off as the side lights turn off while the indicators are active. Suppose also its not in direct line of sight but you only need to glance at it occasionally, make sure you got no cars in front, if you going to look at it while riding!
Now when I ride the bike I get a much better indication of what my charging system is doing, I can tell at a glance if things are appearing to go wrong, for instance i flattened my battery on purpose just to see if there was charging happening and the LED was working, I could see the LED go through its stages (Red, discharged to Orange normal to Green charging with a couple of flashing stages in between) and watch the battery come back to life after a few miles. The seller Andrew also programmed a overcharge sequence in, using Orange/Green flashing if it goes over 15.4 volts, giving ample warning that things may be going wrong, my bike at 3000rpm seems to charge at 14.5v, with all lights on.
So for those who are wondering I would say go for it, its easy to fit and does appear to give good indication of your electrics condition.
dave
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zul_cbr
- Settled in member
- Posts: 199
- Joined: Mon May 26, 2008 1:39 am
- Bike owned: 1990 CBR400RR-L NC29
- Location: Malaysia
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Re: Single LED Voltmeter
hi Dave!
yes, personally I think the voltmeter is a 'must-have' gadget to our NC which is always having faulty rec/reg prob.
btw, here's mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlmBDYc5NCY
yes, personally I think the voltmeter is a 'must-have' gadget to our NC which is always having faulty rec/reg prob.
Why not the voltmeter wiring utilize the ignition wire ? So, when the Ignition is ON, the voltmeter ON (without any blink due to ON/OFF side indicator).Durka Durka wrote:also I was taking the power (2 wires) from the unused sidelight from my indicators, one minor drawback fitting it there is that when you put the left indicator on the LED goes off as the side lights turn off while the indicators are active. Suppose also its not in direct line of sight but you only need to glance at it occasionally, make sure you got no cars in front, if you going to look at it while riding!
btw, here's mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlmBDYc5NCY
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Davez29
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 1268
- Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2008 8:38 pm
- Bike owned: NC29 forever
Re: Single LED Voltmeter
Hi, simply because it was quick and easy to add as there were some bullet connectors available to connect to. The indicator flashing is only a minor annoyance as when Im turning I wont be (shouldnt be) looking at the volt meter led. Best decission I made this week I reckon.zul_cbr wrote:Why not the voltmeter wiring utilize the ignition wire ? So, when the Ignition is ON, the voltmeter ON (without any blink due to ON/OFF side indicator).
btw, here's mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlmBDYc5NCY
sorry cant view your youtube vid as Im at work, will look later.