Hi All
After having some recent trouble with running my fridge I decided I wanted to put dual voltmeters in the cabin so I could monitor what was going on & make use of the Redarc isolator facility to light up an LED when my batteries were linked.
I wanted something neat, easy to read & not too large. I found several bare LED voltmeters on EBay, just the circuitboard & the display, so I could mount them wherever I wanted. I selected two red meters & the entire cost was under $10, free delivery from Hong Kong.
The bare meter is:
I bought the three wire version as this allows the meter to turn on & off with accessories power. The two wire ones are permanently on & simply measure the voltage of the supply.
I decided to put them in one of the switch positions under the ashtray area:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps1d36a03b.jpg
Tucked nicely out of the way. The panel is easy to remove, take out the trims each side of the main console where the gear lever is, that console panel unclips & then the panel in front of it unclips. You don't even need a screwdriver.
Judicious use of a dremel is needed to cut away the switch keying & plastic behind to as to fit the meters in place. Both will fit in the one switch position:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps48ca4fc0.jpg
Then I used hot glue to glue the meter circuitboards in position. I deliberately mounted them off centre as the left-most digit is only ever going to display a 1 so it's not necessary to have the whole digit visible. This also allows for the display to be centred rather than looking like it's off to one side:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...psded3954d.jpg
I fitted a green LED between the two meters which illuminates when the batteries are linked:
Wiring is relatively straightforward, I ran 7.5A size wire from each battery & a thinner wire from the Redarc isolator to power the LED. I picked up an accessories power feed from the 12V outlet in the panel. I though about finding an ignition feed but decided to go with the accessories as it was more convenient and allows me to check the voltages on accessories rather than having to have the ignition on which would start too many other things.
I mounted the meters behind grey acrylic to dim them down a bit & reduce the glare at night. It also looks better & was easier to mount. It'd be difficult I think to try & mount the meters flush with the panel so this allows them to be recessed a little.
The finished product:
Accessories on:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...psf23969df.jpg
Engine running & batteries linked:
The green LED stays on until the isolator disconnects the batteries so it's easy to tell what's happening.
Hope y'all might find this useful.
Cheers
Craig
After having some recent trouble with running my fridge I decided I wanted to put dual voltmeters in the cabin so I could monitor what was going on & make use of the Redarc isolator facility to light up an LED when my batteries were linked.
I wanted something neat, easy to read & not too large. I found several bare LED voltmeters on EBay, just the circuitboard & the display, so I could mount them wherever I wanted. I selected two red meters & the entire cost was under $10, free delivery from Hong Kong.
The bare meter is:
I bought the three wire version as this allows the meter to turn on & off with accessories power. The two wire ones are permanently on & simply measure the voltage of the supply.
I decided to put them in one of the switch positions under the ashtray area:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps1d36a03b.jpg
Tucked nicely out of the way. The panel is easy to remove, take out the trims each side of the main console where the gear lever is, that console panel unclips & then the panel in front of it unclips. You don't even need a screwdriver.
Judicious use of a dremel is needed to cut away the switch keying & plastic behind to as to fit the meters in place. Both will fit in the one switch position:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps48ca4fc0.jpg
Then I used hot glue to glue the meter circuitboards in position. I deliberately mounted them off centre as the left-most digit is only ever going to display a 1 so it's not necessary to have the whole digit visible. This also allows for the display to be centred rather than looking like it's off to one side:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...psded3954d.jpg
I fitted a green LED between the two meters which illuminates when the batteries are linked:
Wiring is relatively straightforward, I ran 7.5A size wire from each battery & a thinner wire from the Redarc isolator to power the LED. I picked up an accessories power feed from the 12V outlet in the panel. I though about finding an ignition feed but decided to go with the accessories as it was more convenient and allows me to check the voltages on accessories rather than having to have the ignition on which would start too many other things.
I mounted the meters behind grey acrylic to dim them down a bit & reduce the glare at night. It also looks better & was easier to mount. It'd be difficult I think to try & mount the meters flush with the panel so this allows them to be recessed a little.
The finished product:
Accessories on:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...psf23969df.jpg
Engine running & batteries linked:
The green LED stays on until the isolator disconnects the batteries so it's easy to tell what's happening.
Hope y'all might find this useful.
Cheers
Craig
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