How do I wire a voltmeter??

Hi,

I'm not very savvy when it comes to electrics. I'm about to replace my r/r with the rick's mosfet offered at wiremybike.com, add a VFRness, and possibly replace a stator. I was wondering if anyone could help me wire a voltmeter into the bike. I don't know how to do it. I was wondering if someone could give me a detailed explanation, right down to the connectors that you need to install on the voltmeter leads, where to ground the meter? how to run the wires to the power/ground sources? I would like to wire it to a switched source if that is not too difficult. People are recommending the brake light relay. Where is that? Do i just tap into any of the wires coming out of the relay? What do i use to tap into it, some kind of connector? Is it reversible. If anyone has pictures, that would be great. Thanks for your help. I have never been confident riding my VFR long distances, hopefully these system upgrades will help with this. If it is easier, how do i wire it to the battery? do in install ring connectors on the meter leads and screw them into the battery posts? If you do it this way, do you just connect the positive on the voltmeter to the positive on the battery terminal, and same for the negative, or do you need to ground the negative somewhere else?

Thanks,

Lee

 

You didn't say which gen you have, but it should be easiest to just tap into a lighting fuse to keep the wiring short. Going directly to the battery will mean that it is on all the time.

 

I have a 5th gen. so where is the lighting fuse that i should tap into. I don't even know? sorry,

thanks,

Lee

 

the seat comes off. fuses are under that. find the battery & follow the wires.

 

Ok, well I don't think I'm that hopeless. So i find the positive wire from the fuse that runs to the headlight, and use a connector that will tap into that wire? What about the ground, should I just wire it to a metal bolt on the frame, or make a lead that goes to the negative terminal of the battery. One of my friends said i can by a special fuse that allows me to tap into the fuse box? I think i can do this!!

 

What about the ground, where should i wire that?

Thanks

 

Lets start over. Are you wanting to wire in an LCD volt meter that you would mount and leave on your bike for constant monitoring OR are you just wanting to use a multi-meter to test the voltage?

 

Ok,

I've been studying the wiring diagram. Here's what I'm thinking of doing. Can someone let me know what will work, and which is better.

A. easiest: buy a fuse tap from autozone and install it in the headlight fuse (spot A according to the repair manual diagram) run a wire from the red wire on the voltmeter i just purchased to the fuse block, and attach it to the newly installed fuse tap. Then run a black wire with a ring connector from the voltmeter to the negative terminal of the battery and voila... voltmeter that turns on only when the bike is on.

B. hardest

find the red and black wires running from the fuse block that power/ground the headlight. trace them to a point close to where I'm installing my voltmeter on the bike. THen splice the red wire on the voltmeter to the redwire from the headlight fuse, and splice the black from the vm to the black from the headlight fuse. voila... voltmeter installed.

let me know if i have the right idea

thanks,

Lee

 

Lee,
Maybe I missed it- what meter are you getting? I'm thinking of getting one myself, and I'm not sure which one I want.

 

Hi Lee

I am not sure what you want to achieve. Do you want to mount some sort of permanent gauge on the bike so you can monitor the volts whilst riding, or is it simply you want to know voltage as a diagnostic tool - perhaps to check your replacement RR/loom is working fine. If its only the latter you can simply remove the seat and connect a basic voltmeter using crocodile clips to the battery terminals. If its the former then TinkerinWstuff has already explained where/you can make permanent connections. My only suggestion is you ensure your gauge is powered from and only monitors a circuit which is switched off with the ignition, or you could end up with a flat battery.

Finally one other option might be to fit one of these Acumen Electronics Ltd | Gear Indicators & Shift Lights - DGV Gear Indicators/Voltmeter and Accessories

For a 98 it looks like you would still need to sort out your own connections etc, however for the VTEC models they make a ready to go, plug and play loom kit which makes fitting a breeze, and allows you to monitor voltage and has finally stopped me looking for that illusive 7th gear...


Hope that helps

Skimad4x4
6th Gen Militia #218

 

I bought this one: Waterproof Digital Voltmeter

it's really basic, but waterproof, and i thought i'd just hook it up and velcro it on top of the dash.

 

Wow!! that looks awesome, I wish they made a loom for my gen VFR. Basically, I'm on the edge of replacing my stator. I just bought a rick's mosfet rr, and it works like it's supposed to (in my garage). I also bought a VFRness that i am waiting for. My bike has been plagued with charging problems since i bought it used. It has kept me from enjoying riding, and going on long trips. I'm not loaded so i'd like to avoid spending the $$ on a stator if I can. I wanted to install a voltmeter mostly to make sure my charging system doesn't fail because of heat from long periods of riding. If the rr and the harness cure my problem, then great. I did install a yamaha r/r before from a thread I saw a few years back. It did seem to work great, but one time my bike died even with the yam on there. I made a wiring harness that probably was pretty sketchy, but everything tested fine in my garage. After the bike failed on me a a year or two ago, i just stuck with riding locally, and basically lost interest in riding. Now i'm wanting to ride again, so I thought I'd try the vfrness and this new upgraded rick's r/r with mosfet technology and see if it solves my problem. I saw that a lot of guys were installing voltmeters on their bikes, so I thought i'd give it a try and learn something in the process. But if i could count on my charging system, i'd be fine with out a voltmeter. Maybe I should just buy some leads with alligator clips and use it for a while to see if i need to replace the stator too. By the way, should i just replace the stator, could it mess up my new r/r if it's not working properly, i.e. undercharging after the bike has been running?

 

there are a couple for sale from Aerostitch

of this is what I run
Acumen Electronics Ltd | Gear Indicators & Shift Lights - DGV Gear Indicators/Voltmeter and Accessories

 

Geez !! One wire goes to battery + and the other to chassis ground or - battery terminal. Simple enuf ?? Need a diagram ??

What i use is a $5 "alternator tester" from Harbor Freight .......illustrated below.


EDIT : Sorry, TINKI, i just scrolled down and failed to see your post #3.

 

I like that volt meter/gear indicator but the cheapest I've seen it is like $110 +$27 S+H. Is it made of gold? :crazy:

 

My Voltmeter Plans

98 VFR800
Hi, I 'm wondering what you all think, and whether I am doing this right? The first photo is of the lo beam relay, which is behind the spedometer/tach panel underneath underneath the front faring. I was thinking of going into the red/black wire for my power(see photo). Someone please confirm that this is the right wire. I went and looked at the wiring diagram, and the red/black wire is the wire coming out of the fuse box. This should be a switched source, right?

My plan is to use a simple splice connector/ or t-tap or vampire connector to do the job. Any suggestions of where i should ground the wire? Hopefully somewhere close by. I would rather not run a wire all the way back to the ground for the battery.

Also, photo two shows the voltmeter I plan on mounting, and where I plan on mounting it. I'm gonna run the wires through the top of the spedo/tach panel to the relay's, and stick it here using some strong velcro or some 3m dual lock.

Shop 3M: 3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fasteners

let me know what you think about the mounting too

thanks!! Lee

 

Instead of "which generation" Why don't you just tell us the YEAR and model?
Then there is NO misunderstanding.