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 battery voltage meter		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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77Gypsy
Captain

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USA
356 Posts
Initially Posted - 03/20/2005 :  02:01:21  Show Profile
I installed a voltage meter today so I can control the mount of juice in my two batteries.
I connected the red wire labeled “1” to the positive side of battery “1” and did the same for with the second wire to the second battery. there are only those 2 wires from the unit.

When I went to check the batteries the gauge did not work. I bought the batteries a few moments before testing the meter so I know the batteries are fully charged, furthermore, I was able to run electronics from the new batteries.

I can’t figure out what I did wrong with the installation
Steve
78 C25 SR/FK - Gypsy
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sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  02:37:55  Show Profile
The meter has a switch to check either btry and a wire to each but there also has to be a wire for the negative side of the system for the meter to work. Directions? Call the supplier or get the specs from the manufacture. That sure looks like a nice unit and a nice installation. Whats the other unit with the wire tape?
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Tony Dillon
Navigator

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USA
168 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  02:43:49  Show Profile
Steve,
Does the meter have a battery selector switch? If it does it needs to have a lead to the ground bus on the boat. Otherwise the normal setup for a volt meter would have a wire to the positive on a battery and another lead to the neg or ground of the battery. If your meter only has two wire it is probably designed for a single battery, but you could use it by wiring the positive lead to your boat's battery selector switch output and the other lead to the ground buss.
Edited by - Tony Dillon on 03/20/2005 02:46:09
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  07:18:23  Show Profile
Steve--your hookup sounds like it has the two batteries "standing off" against each other. The only time you'll get a reading is if one of them discharges significantly more than the other. The instructions with the meter probably say which wire should go to positive--wiring that to the selector switch output lets you see the output from either battery, and as Tony said, the other wire has to go to the negative side of your system.
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Dave Laux
Captain

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318 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  12:41:10  Show Profile
Let me throw another thought into the works. Analog meters, as seen in the above pic. are almost worthless in determining battery condition. You need a digital volt-meter to read the system accurately enough to determine the state of charge. Little VOM's are available from Radio Shack for < $25 that work well. Dave
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eric.werkowitz
Captain

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USA
283 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  15:41:40  Show Profile
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by 77Gypsy</i>
<br />
I connected the red wire labeled “1” to the positive side of battery “1” and did the same for with the second wire to the second battery. there are only those 2 wires from the unit.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Steve,

You don't mention how the ground (negative terminals of the batteries) is/are connected to the unit.
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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  16:18:08  Show Profile  Visit Arlyn Stewart's Homepage
Dave... your comments are true except if the analog meter is employed with expanded scale circuitry often having a reference button battery. Then, an analog meter can work quite well.

The reference battery takes the meter to the lowest desired reading lets say 11.8 v, which means the meter no longer has to read from zero thereby making the analog spread far too wide to read on a scale. If the bottom end of the scale is 11.8 and the top 13.4 then only a range of 1.6 volts is being read and sixteen meter divisions for tenths of volts is reasonable.

Many people still think analog makes good sense as green zones say "ok" quicker than the mind can recall the figures that provide normal or safe operation. Digital ciruits of course can have green and red leds to provide similar visual acuity.
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Dave Laux
Captain

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318 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  18:05:55  Show Profile
Arlyn, Your comments on expanded scale voltmeters are true but I do not think that is what we are looking at. Also the units from RS are comparatively cheap. Dave
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77Gypsy
Captain

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USA
356 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  19:54:02  Show Profile
i didn't see a negative lead however, there is a 3rd wire for a third battery, i will ground that and see waht happens.

by the way, i have woned the boat for 2 1/2 years and have no idea what that piece of equipment with the tape wire is.
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  20:44:14  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Is it a chassis/case ground? You need to take a closer picture of the front.
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eric.werkowitz
Captain

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USA
283 Posts
Response Posted - 03/20/2005 :  21:24:20  Show Profile
Steve,

Does the back of the unit have a threaded post that could be a place to attach a ground wire? If the battery selector switch has three positions for three batteries, I doubt that the third lead is the ground. More likely a threaded post in the back or another chassis grounding spot as Frank suggests. The meter movement itself (looking from the backside) should have two leads or two posts. Most I've seen have threaded posts. There should be a wire from the meter movement going to that switch. There has to be another wire from the meter movement to ground. That might be where the ground wire needs to be attached.
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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts
Response Posted - 03/21/2005 :  08:30:38  Show Profile
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Dave Laux</i>
<br />Analog meters, as seen in the above pic. are almost worthless in determining battery condition. You need a digital volt-meter to read the system accurately enough to determine the state of charge.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

FWIW, most newer dash-mount GPS's, at least the models from Garmin, have a voltage display accurate to 1/10 volt. If a person was going to install one of these GPS's, it would adequately fill the function of a separate analog voltmeter. My Garmin 168 GPS/sounder seems to show even small voltage changes quite rapidly, like if the solar panel goes into shade, the voltage will drop a few 1/10's within 15 seconds.
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 03/21/2005 :  13:10:51  Show Profile
Speaking of cheap alternatives, I believe I picked up my plug-in digital meter for something under $5 at Wal-Mart. Seems to work fine.
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jwilliams
Captain

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USA
357 Posts
Response Posted - 03/23/2005 :  10:38:20  Show Profile
A completely different approach to knowing battery health is to go to your local camper vehicle store and buy one of their dual battery meters. They have a three way spring toggle...flip one way and it shows one battery, flip it the other and two battery.

I just mounted it on a thin piece of scrap plywood and leave it hooked up under the stbd settee, in the battery compartment. Lift the settee base, flip the switches to check. Easy.

I think it cost about $20.

Jim Williams
Hey Jude C25fk 2958
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 03/23/2005 :  13:17:49  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.