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Volt/Amp meter on 12v charging system

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 11:06 am
by oxydog
To add to my question about PWM controllers and 7Ah batteries, another question:

Has anyone successfully added a combination Volt/Ampere meter to their solar charge setup?

I'm considering getting one of these
Image Link Broken

and build it into one of these
Image Link Broken

then make a cable using this
Image Link Broken
to connect the battery buddy to my charge controller.

Any flaws or caveats on my design?

PS. Thanks to https://www.lumenoled.co.za/ and https://4x4direct.co.za/ for the use of your images.

Re: Volt/Amp meter on 12v charging system

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 3:37 pm
by Family_Dog
I think Pieter sells this type of thing at 4x4 Direct...


-F_D

Re: Volt/Amp meter on 12v charging system

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:58 am
by oxydog
Family_Dog wrote: Wed Oct 26, 2022 3:37 pm I think Pieter sells this type of thing at 4x4 Direct...


-F_D
Correct, that's why I thanked him in my post for the use of their images! :taunt:

Re: Volt/Amp meter on 12v charging system

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:38 am
by pietdevs
I have installed the identical Amp/volt meters on my system. If you keep it on it will drain you battery within a week. The LED screen consumes a significant amount of power during 24 hrs. I verified this by checking the mA drawn by the meters from the battery and found that this is the main reason why my batteries ran down within 10 days without any external load. Wire it so that you have a little button switch so that you only check it when you want to know the Volts/Amps.

Re: Volt/Amp meter on 12v charging system

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:00 pm
by oxydog
pietdevs wrote: Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:38 am I have installed the identical Amp/volt meters on my system. If you keep it on it will drain you battery within a week. The LED screen consumes a significant amount of power during 24 hrs. I verified this by checking the mA drawn by the meters from the battery and found that this is the main reason why my batteries ran down within 10 days without any external load. Wire it so that you have a little button switch so that you only check it when you want to know the Volts/Amps.
Thanks Pieter, that makes sense! My idea was to only plug it in when I wanted to read the values.