Small DVM for airhead dash.......
 

I'm looking for a small DVM that I can put inline and mount on the dash of my Airhead GS(s) I'm rebuilding the charging system on one and would like to be able to monitor the voltage output while riding. Anybody done this? Any suggestions for a decent DVM for this purpouse??

I havn't done any of the above but see if either of these would work:

www.aerostich.com

check under electrical tools

Send a PM to Gringo- he's got one that he installed his own self... tell him his baby brother sent ya~

Here's one www.digitalmeter.com

aerostich used to sell an led digital guage with multiple bars - I got one at aircraftspruce.com for 1/2 the price. It wasn't very accurate compared to my handheld meter.

What I do use is from RadioShack for $5 - you could hard wire it to the battery or add a BMW plug.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...ct%5Fid=22-112

I have one of these http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...levelmeter.php from Aerostitch, no longer avail there but thanks to CGR I now know where to get one for wife's bike. Important thing for accuracy is to attach to a key-switched wire that is not heavily loaded; I checked at battery w/handheld DVM and know mine always reads ~1/2V low, and mentally correct. If you're real fussy you could run a wire direct to the battery thru a relay off the switched wire. Multicolored LED's light up in .5V intervals and are very easy to interpret via peripheral vision when underway; a coupla greens, you're good; upper end of the yellows OK, check back to see if they're dropping; only red lights, time to switch off all the extras, get the revs up and monitor the recovery. Comes with 2 faceplates for vertical or horizontal mounting.

I get mine very wet all the time and it has never shorted as some online reports have warned (I fused the (+) wire in case it ever does). It's epoxy-encased and completely waterproof, but wires attach to two screw terminals at opposite ends of the back outside of the box, so you need to make sure they can't short to metal or a big puddle of water. Not hard, but dab 'em with silicon if you're nervous.

There's a bunch of other alternatives at http://faq.f650.com/FAQs/AftermarketVoltmeterFAQ.htm including schematic for a home-grown version with LED's; you could conceivably wire the LED's with a ribbon cable to a separate unit that would fit neatly somewhere on the GS's crowded dash (drilling out the dummy switch and punching LED's thru it comes to mind). They show a number of other options that are probably as applicable to the airhead GS as to the F650, with a little creativity.

happy trails

Thanks one and all for all the info and ideas :freaky

Do you want a digital readout or do you want an indicator?

I also know a guy in Victorville, CA who markets a similar deal directly to Harley crowd, but realistically it's mountable on any machine...

http://www.chargewatch.com/

and here's another that is an LED array that indicates voltage using a "scale" of leds. Kinda neat, a little big, but could be stripped of it's housing and made smaller I think.

http://www.sturgisswapmeet.com/optio...2&subcatid=617

later,
bobc

Here are a few more:

http://www.customdynamics.com/LED_battery_gauge.htm

http://www.tankmaster.com/cgi-bin/cg...3&sid=1e7Ms8JR

Clang,

Are you still runnung the infamous Valeo starters on your Airheads? If so, you might want to bookmark this guy: http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/. I've not done business with him, but he'll fix yours, sell a new one or sell the DIY parts. Personnaly, I just replaced mine with a Bosch unit I had on the shelf just for this occasion. :uhhuh

check out this solution...
 

http://www.signaldynamics.com/products/Modules/HUVM.asp


$26 bucks and stealthy!