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Very similar to this one, but not exactly the same.
Blue LCD voltmeter on ebay. ~$14 The circuit appears different on the back.

EDIT: Here's the exact one. $4.99 But the circuit still looks slightly different. At that price, no wonder China will take over the world.

I just got it. It works pretty well. Below 8v or so, you can't be sure that it's accurate. But from 8 to 18 (It's rated to go to 20v) it's very accurate compared to my Fluke.
There looks to be a calibration pot for adjustment, but i didn't have to touch it. The photo doesn't show it, but there is a decimal point so the resolution is to a hundredth of a volt.

The only real issues would be weather and/or vibration. You might be able to seal it in some sort of box and shock mount it somehow.

Hey thanks Lou.

Do you have it installed to monitor the battery's voltage, or what the whole electrical system is pumping out?

I guess it could be used either way correct? Depending on where you add it in.

In my case I would like monitor the battery's strength while using driving lights etc.

Looking at the two descriptions, the top one says it needs ti be powered externally by a separate power sorce, where as the second cheaper one says it does not need to be powered.

Did you buy the second, and where did you wire it in?

rstnick wrote:

Hey thanks Lou.

Do you have it installed to monitor the battery's voltage, or what the whole electrical system is pumping out?

I guess it could be used either way correct? Depending on where you add it in.

In my case I would like monitor the battery's strength while using driving lights etc.

Looking at the two descriptions, the top one says it needs ti be powered externally by a separate power sorce, where as the second cheaper one says it does not need to be powered.

Did you buy the second, and where did you wire it in?

I bought the cheap "Asia Engineer" one. It doesn't need external power. I haven't tested it on a bike, just on a function generator. I did the square-wave test because the bike puts out DC with a lot of ripple. (My test was far more severe than what the bike puts out.)



Because the electrical system on the bike theoretically should have the same battery voltage everywhere when the bike is on, it shouldn't matter where you connect the meter. However, if you put it before the ignition switch, the meter will be on all the time and will drain the battery when the bike is off.

Only a ammeter can really tell you what the battery is getting, but because we know (from experience) the battery is getting decent current when the applied voltage is around 13.9 to 14.5, we only need to know the system voltage to know the battery is getting charged. As long as the system voltage is 13.9 or better we're probably in good shape.

The meter should be connected after the ignition switch to measure the system while the bike is running. On your bike, I would recommend the brown wire coming out of the ignition switch. If the battery has a higher voltage (by more than several tenths) than what the panel meter reads, then you are losing voltage somewhere and you should fix it. Usually it means cleaning or replacing the fuse holders or contacts on the ignition switch. It may also be a bad connection at the battery or starter solenoid. Ground connections can also be suspects.