AMP or VOLT gauge..which one ?

[cb1313]

I plan on doing the gauge install. Which is more usefull...amp or volt ? I have installed :

 

2006 Stratoliner driving lights ( 4 bulds)

Zumo 550

Larger horns

Extra brake lights

Piaa Extreme headlight bulb

XM radio

upgraged stator Buckeye

 

thanks Cb

[Guest tx2sturgis]

If you are only going to install one gauge for monitoring the electrical system, a volt gauge is probably the better choice, and a bit easier to hook up. You may get a few opposing opinions, but thats mine.

[jlh3rd]

i'm not debating which is better...either one tells me what i need to know....but a volt meter is a much easier install

[Squidley]

3 on the volt meter, if you hook up the amp gauge wrong you could burn the bikes wiring to the ground.

[atlm]

I would recommend a volt meter if you're going to mount one to monitor things on the bike while riding. Almost all issues will show themselves as a voltage drop (or sharp rise in voltage), including too many accessories turned on, a dead or dying battery, or an alternator problem. Depending on the voltage regulator, running voltage should be around 14.4 volts. Voltage with a healthy battery, with the engine off, is usually around 12.8 volts.

 

An ammeter is a useful tool when troubleshooting an electrical problem, but less useful, imo, when looking at amps from a single location on a bike. It might not show things like a dead cell in a battery or a faulty voltage regulator (overly high voltage). It will only show total amps coming or going from 1 location. If put on the battery lead, it would show you if you're drawing more amps than the alternator can feed, via a negative number, and show you that the battery is charging while you're riding, a positive number, but that's about it.

 

just my 2 cents

 

[short-haul]

volt meter

only way a amp gauge is any good is if you run all elect. load through it. hard to do on a bike

[MiCarl]

volt meter

only way a amp gauge is any good is if you run all elect. load through it. hard to do on a bike

 

Plus, what you really want to know is if the amperage from the charging system is equal to the load or not. Ammeter doesn't tell you that. A Volt meter tells you that at a glance.

[V7Goose]

I concur with the advice here, but I will also add a bit more information.

 

Neither gauge alone will tell you everything, but if I had to choose just one (I do not), it would be a volt meter; it can give you a good idea of the battery condition and a fair idea of the charging system condition. But like any other tool, you must actually know how to read and understand the gauge before it has any value at all. And that is the real problem with just a volt meter. A real volt meter is not like the toys they put in the dash of modern cars and trucks that do not actually read anything - those are actually more worthless than the idiot light! If your real voltmeter shows over 13V with the engine running, it MIGHT be charging the battery, or it might just be showing you that the charging system is working at max capacity to just keep everything running. 14 - 14.4V and it is a safe bet that all is well and the battery has been fully charged, but anything between 13 - 14V is just an educated guess based on extended observation of your machine.

 

Our type of battery is not fully charged unless it reads 12.9V, and then only after the bike has sat for several hours after the engine was last run. If you look at the voltage sooner, it means nothing, since the battery will show a float charge above what it really has. To get an accurate reading, you either need to wait several hours or use a temporary load to draw off the float charge, like turning on your lights for 6 minutes or so. If you do not ride the bike every day, you will have to learn how to interpret the dropping voltage over time. All batteries will drop some over a week or more, and this especially happens when the temperature is below 50F. An older battery will drop faster and have less reserve capacity, so the best thing is to learn how yours behaves over time, watching for the voltage to not last as long as it used to as an indication that you should begin thinking about replacement. For example, I have the original stock battery in my '05, and if I let it sit for over a week in temps reaching into the 30s at night, it will show about 11.7 volts before I turn the key on (much lower as soon as the lights come on with the key). This is low enough to be very worrisome, but I also know from repeated tests that this same battery has plenty of reserve capacity left after sitting for even four weeks to fire the bike right up. Still, it shows the battery is in the checkout lane, and I need to keep a close eye on it.

 

What a volt meter alone cannot tell you is if the battery is actually taking a charge, even when the voltage is showing 14V. A defective or older battery will sometimes present such a high resistance that a normal charging system cannot actually force enough current back into it. And remember my caution about not being sure what is actually happening when the voltage reads somewhere between 13 - 14V? Only an ammeter will tell you for sure if that voltage is low because the battery is actively being charged (therefore sucking available current), the overall load on the bike is just too high (extra lights, heated clothes, etc.), or the charging system has developed a problem and cannot keep up. Do you know how long it takes to fully recharge your battery after you first start the bike in the morning? I'm willing to bet money that it is WAY longer than most people realize! And an ammeter is the only way you can actually know when the battery quits taking on more current (meaning it is at full charge).

 

Unfortunately, even most ammeters you get these days do not provide a lot of value - they are all designed to handle 50A or 60A load swings in both directions, and that means you see almost nothing when the current is under 10A. And remember, the absolute max load your bike can ever handle is 30A, since that is the size of your main fuse! So even if you put an ammeter on the bike, it will spend the majority of time at or near 0, indicating that current is neither flowing out of or into the battery, which is totally normal. To get any information from it at all, you need to be diligent at watching very small movements of the needle on either side of 0.

 

Unless you know how to interpret these small readings, the most value an ammeter will have is to immediately clue you in if the charging system has failed, before the battery has a chance to completely die. The load of the lights and running engine when there is nothing being produced by the charging system will be very obvious on an ammeter, telling you that you have to do something NOW or you will be walking soon. But of course, this type of failure is VERY rare these days, so adding an ammeter is not much value for most people.

Goose

Edited February 3, 2010 by V7Goose

[Squeeze]

only way a amp gauge is any good is if you run all elect. load through it. hard to do on a bike

 

Actually, it's much easier on our Bikes Bikes than on Cars.

 

Because there are only two thick Wires, one is forthe Starter and the other handles all of the Rest.

 

An Amp Meter has it's Values, especially when running heavy Loads on the Charging System AND you're able to switch various Loads on Demand. Like others mentioned when you read "0" on the Amp Dial, you're not charging nor draining the Battery. If there's a 5 A Value showm to one Side, your either charging or draining the Battery.

 

That all said, a Voltmeter has is Values also, all mentioned above. Best Option would be both.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Not all ammeters require the full current of the measured conductors to be routed TO the meter itself, some, like the one I use, has a remote current shunt which mounts right on the battery. Then a few small diameter wires make the trip up to the meter.

 

Still, a voltmeter is the better choice if choosing one or the other.

[short-haul]

SQUEEZE said

 

"Actually, it's much easier on our Bikes Bikes than on Cars.

 

Because there are only two thick Wires, one is forthe Starter and the other handles all of the Rest."

 

 

true but who wants to run 8-10g wire to the faring for the amp gauge and then you have 2 more connectors to worry about getting lose in the in the fairing and causing a lose of elect power

 

I agree both would be ideal but there is only so much room:stickpoke:

[Snaggletooth]

I installed a digital voltmeter a year ago and find it pretty much gives me all the info I need to be assured the battery is in good shape and I'm getting the charge I need running down the road. I can see at a glance if I'm pushing my luck.

 

http://www.digitalmeter.com/cgi-bin/webshop.cgi?config=ent-datel

 

I built a switch panel that controls all my extra light on a separate harness. You can see the affect on the voltmeter as you add power to each set of lights.

 

Haven't been stranded yet due to a low battery and it's nice to see 12.8 volts in the morning when I hit the key.

 

If you want the best of both worlds look into the Kisan unit. Tells you about everything.

 

http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=CG

 

For me.....the voltmeter does the trick.

 

 

Mike

[KeithR]

I just received a Battery Bug but havn't had a chance to hook it up yet. Looks like it will give me the info I would need.

 

 

 

http://www.argusanalyzers.com/battery-monitors/products/bb-sbm12ps-battery-bug-battery-monitor-argus-analyzers.html

 

I bought mine on E Bay $34.95 but I don't see them listed by the same guy I bought mine from right now.

 

Keith

[FreezyRider]

I installed a digital voltmeter a year ago and find it pretty much gives me all the info I need to be assured the battery is in good shape and I'm getting the charge I need running down the road. I can see at a glance if I'm pushing my luck.

 

http://www.digitalmeter.com/cgi-bin/webshop.cgi?config=ent-datel

 

I built a switch panel that controls all my extra light on a separate harness. You can see the affect on the voltmeter as you add power to each set of lights.

 

Haven't been stranded yet due to a low battery and it's nice to see 12.8 volts in the morning when I hit the key.

 

If you want the best of both worlds look into the Kisan unit. Tells you about everything.

 

http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=CG

 

For me.....the voltmeter does the trick.

 

 

Mike

 

I also like the digital voltmeters. I had one on my GoldWing, haven't gotten one for my RSV yet but will.

Best price I found is here: http://cyclemaxohio.com/inc/sdetail/4231

[KiteSquid]

I plan on doing the gauge install. Which is more useful...amp or volt ?

 

The answer is both.

 

 

The volt meter will show you the voltage available in the system.

 

 

The Ammeter will show the current (no pun intended) charge or discharge rate of the system.

 

 

The volt meter will let you know if you are in imminent danger of an engine control module shut down due to insufficient voltage.

 

the ammeter will let you know if your alternator is not keeping up with the demand placed on it. It lets you know if you should turn power off to something.