Thread: Volt Gauge connection

Years ago i installed gauges in my D2 and whilst knowing full well at the time that it wasn't the ideal thing to do I took the convenient option and tapped a power feed for the volt meter from the fuse box. This weekend I plan to correct that and take a feed direct from the cranking battery

I've planned to install a relay to switch the Voltmeter feed via the ignition keylock but now I wonder if it is even necessary to go to that trouble. If I understand correctly an analogue Voltmeter doesn't actually consume power and thought that it wouldn't hurt to have a constant feed. I do routinely refer to the gauge and am thinking it would more practicable if the gauge displayed battery condition all the time.

What do others think?

Originally Posted by BigBlackDog

I took my volt feed from an ignition source, which granted isn't right, but I also took a constant feed to a momentary push button to check it when ignition is off.
As a side note, Volts are only useful if there is a certain load on the system. A stuffed battery can still read 12.5 volts with no load on it bit not be able to provide any useful amps

thanks for your contribution... nice idea with the momentary switch... and very true re volts vs load. In my case if on my D2 TD5 the central locking struggles on opening and afterwards seeing the batt volts at 11V or lower then I should expect problems cranking. However that situation doesn't happen suddenly - observant owners would notice and interpret the trend and (should) not get caught out.