indicator lights, voltage

Crosley.In.AZ · December 22, 2004, 08:44:02 PM

I thought I'd show y'all something on idiot lights.

I am probably going to install a single wire GM alternator on my Morris Minor 1000 car.

Instead on a volt meter...... I am going to use a LED light system that is used on motorcycles ( Goldwings). This is an aftermarket system by Electrical Connection.

The LED glows Red for voltage below 11.5, yellow for caution , 11.9 to 11.5 voltage and Green for 12 volts or more.

Just an idea for those that think outside the box at times..... He also has some more LED lights , third brake lights, trailer lights

Here is a link if you wish to view the system:
Electrical Connection

EMSjunkie · December 22, 2004, 08:53:53 PM

Cool site!! Thanks Tony

Vance
_____________________________________________________________
No Kitty, THATS MY POT PIE!! NO....BAD KITTY!!

Sean · December 22, 2004, 09:06:25 PM

Thats a pretty good idea. I didn't realize LED's could change color...

purplepickup · December 22, 2004, 10:30:11 PM

That's a cool idea. Something I might be interested in. It would be kind of neat to have a little light that changes color instead of a volt meter in the dash. That would leave the volt meter hole open for another gadget....like an air/fuel meter...another color changing light thingie. Driving at night might remind me of the 60's

I'm thinking about another use too. Since I use battery power at my cabin I'm real interested in knowing how much use is left in the batteries. I'm about as dumb as you can get about electronics tho. I've seen similar LED monitors and from what I can tell they are basically a voltage meter of sorts and I think they only measure the condition of the battery when it's being used...either being charged or discharged. I could definitely be wrong. Maybe it simply measures the state of a battery when it's not being used too.

I've got a question for an electric guy. Is there a way I can hook something up to my battery supply to tell how much juice I have left?...like a gas gauge? If a simple volt meter or one of these multi color LED's will work, do I have to have a draw on the battery to make it read correctly? If I wire it into the circuit right near the battery before the power is distributed to the different circuits will it tell me the condition of my batteries if I just turn a light on? The lights are 8 & 13 watt fluorescents.

My questions assume that this LED is like a volt meter and that it won't tell me the condition of the battery unless there is a draw or charge. If someone knows about this stuff please correct me if I'm wrong. I need to figure this out but when I read about it I get lost in the terminology pretty quick. I think amp hours has something to do with it....whatever they are :?

Sorry for kind of hijacking your thread Tony but it kind of relates.

Crosley.In.AZ · December 22, 2004, 10:38:46 PM

George,

email Lewis of Electrical Connection. he is a sharp guy, been riding goldwings for years.

I figure if some of these wing riders can install this suff , it must be simple.

On the 12 volt cabin stuff , I thought there were some battery monitiors out there designed for that? Probably $300-400 bucks though.

THis LED thing from EC for 25 bucks is a neat idea for a street rod IMHO. How it changes colors??? I have no idear

Quote from: "purplepickup"That's a cool idea. Something I might be interested in. It would be kind of neat to have a little light that changes color instead of a volt meter in the dash. That would leave the volt meter hole open for another gadget....like an air/fuel meter...another color changing light thingie. Driving at night might remind me of the 60's

I'm thinking about another use too. Since I use battery power at my cabin I'm real interested in knowing how much use is left in the batteries. I'm about as dumb as you can get about electronics tho. I've seen similar LED monitors and from what I can tell they are basically a voltage meter of sorts and I think they only measure the condition of the battery when it's being used...either being charged or discharged. I could definitely be wrong. Maybe it simply measures the state of a battery when it's not being used too.

I've got a question for an electric guy. Is there a way I can hook something up to my battery supply to tell how much juice I have left?...like a gas gauge? If a simple volt meter or one of these multi color LED's will work, do I have to have a draw on the battery to make it read correctly? If I wire it into the circuit right near the battery before the power is distributed to the different circuits will it tell me the condition of my batteries if I just turn a light on? The lights are 8 & 13 watt fluorescents.

My questions assume that this LED is like a volt meter and that it won't tell me the condition of the battery unless there is a draw or charge. If someone knows about this stuff please correct me if I'm wrong. I need to figure this out but when I read about it I get lost in the terminology pretty quick. I think amp hours has something to do with it....whatever they are :?

Sorry for kind of hijacking your thread Tony but it kind of relates.

enjenjo · December 23, 2004, 01:09:17 AM

George, I have a booster box that has a battery condition indicator on it. You have to press a button, and it tells you how much charge is left. Can't be too expensive, the whole thing retails for under $100 including the battery.

Actually a volt meter gives you a good indicator of the state of charge. 12.6 would be fully charged, and 11.5 is effectively discharged.

purplepickup · December 23, 2004, 06:40:44 AM

Quote from: "enjenjo"
Actually a volt meter gives you a good indicator of the state of charge. 12.6 would be fully charged, and 11.5 is effectively discharged.

Should the volt meter be wired inline on the postive side... then it will show voltage when the circuit is used?...or hooked up another way? I suspect the button on your booster applied a load on the battery and the batery condition was read between the load and the battery. Am I thinking right?

sedanman · December 23, 2004, 09:04:19 AM

Hello Purplepickup

I have a 29 foot travel trailer. It has a battery minder like your talking about. It has LED lights that tells you how much juice you have left in your batteries when you push a button. I am sure that you could pick one up at your local camper parts house. I also have a solar panel that helps keep my batteries charged while its just setting.

Vic

enjenjo · December 23, 2004, 11:27:59 AM

Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, George, bontrangers had some battery condition indicators on the shelf last time I was there. The ones with several LEDs. I suspect there is a resistor in the circuit that supplies the load. It doesn't take much of a load to determine voltage.

58 Yeoman · December 23, 2004, 12:32:05 PM

A couple of our golf carts at work have a simple VM on the dash that reads the charge of the batteries all the time. These look like really inexpensive VM's that just have a green/red band to show the charge. The carts are 36V.

kb426 · December 23, 2004, 02:20:33 PM

I've got one of those on my Honda vfr. It's sold by a company in Florida that sells led taillights for street rods. It's been on the bike for a year with good results. I spiced into a light wire which is on full time on a bike. The led is about 1/4 " in diameter. The black box is about 2" square and 5/8" thick. Pretty good investment.