Volt Meter.

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Volt Meter.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Schedler, Sacramento on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 06:52 pm:

Is a volt meter available that will fit in the "T" amp meter hole?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Halpin on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 06:56 pm:

I bought the one in my car at a regular auto parts store but my car was converted to 12V when I bought it. A 6V meter might be a little harder to find.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Schedler, Sacramento on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 08:02 pm:

Mine is 12V. Tnx


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ted Dumas on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 10:26 pm:

A volt meter will not give you any indication of a short or current drain somewhere. In my view you need both if you use a voltmeter.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 10:38 pm:

A volt meter is a volt meter.
It will read 6 volts or 7 when charging on a 6 volt car and will read 12/14 on a 12 volt car.
They usually read from zero to about 18.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Thode Chehalis Washington on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 11:03 pm:

All the auto volt meters I have seen read from 8 to 16 or 18 volts. That would do no good on a 6 volt system. I see some digital meters with a lower range but if they are like a digital multimeter, they will not work. Has anyone tired a digital auto type meter in a Model T? Does anyone have brand, model or specs on a volt meter that will work on a 6V T in place of the original amp meter?

Jim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Halpin on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 08:20 am:

Hal, my voltmeter was part of one of those 3 meter sets (water temp, oil pressure, voltmeter) that usually mounts in a bracket under the dash in a modern car.
Aaron, I was referring to the scale on the meter. The one in my car goes from '0 to 18' Volts, which is fine for a 12V car. (Note: My alternator never charges above 14V and goes back to 12V at idle).
For a 6V car (with an alternator), an 18V scale on the meter would mean that the needle would be only 1/3 up the scale at full charge. Will a meter with a 0 to 18V scale work? Sure but a meter with a 0 to 8 volt scale, on a 6 volt system, would sure be easier to read, see what I'm getting at?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 08:45 am:

Good selection of 12 volt gages, not so good for 6V:

http://www.summitracing.com/search?keyword=voltmeter


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 09:00 am:

Gentlemen! Excellent place to go for all of your gauge-ing needs: www.westach.com

I have no affiliation other than the ability to testify to their awesomeness. You can pretty much customize anything you want - black face, white face, change the scale, and the price is the same as one of the base units. Plus they do 6V!

Dennis and Hal - shoudn't be a problem getting the size gauge you need with the range you need. They have a 2" voltmeter that reads from 0-8 right now for $60. Plus, like I said, if you don't see what you want, just email them and they'll hook you up.

I really like supporting businesses like this that hustle and do solid work.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bud Holzschuh - Panama City, FL on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 09:34 am:

Hal

The difference between a full 12V battery and a discharged one is about 0.76 volts. For a 6V battery it's about 0.38 volts.

For determining state of charge you really need an expanded scale voltmeter that can differentiate between these small voltage differences.

To determine if your alternator/generator is functioning properly using a volt meter, that voltmeter should be able to differentiate between 11.9 and 14.3 volts (12 volt battery) or about 5.9 and 7.15 volts (6 volt battery).

I don't think expanded scale voltmeters were in common use in the teens and twenties. Probably why they used an ammeter to indicate a working generator.

At any rate if you can't find a voltmeter that will let you easily differentiate between the voltages listed above (depending on which task you want to do), its essentially worthless.

Cheers


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 10:53 am:

Bud is right on with his advice.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 11:18 am:

I owe you one, Hal: which would you like?



The German VDO goes in a 2" hole, but the engineer inside is dead.
The SW takes a 2 1/8" hole.
They both indicate close to 13.1V with 13.1v input.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Monday, May 13, 2013 - 12:34 pm:

We actually don't expect a voltmeter to tell battery condition. We need a voltmeter to tell if the alternator is producing the correct charging voltage. Alternator voltage regulators control charging. Commercially available external regulators and cheapo internal regulators both typically are failed in the overcharge condition, causing short battery life. They are most frequently found bad right out of the box, brand new. We want to see 13-7 - 14.2 volts at the battery for proper operation in a 12 volt system. You can measure this every year with a handheld VOM, or install a permanent voltmeter.

An ammeter was sufficient for generators because the generator was typically controlled by a current regulating device (third brush + cutout). Generators are typically going to fail undercharging.

Ammeters don't provide any useful information with an alternator.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 02:15 pm:

I realize this is a bit late but I finally got the page up that gives the info on the item you guys were looking for. Voltmeter link is now on the front page at www.funprojects.com


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 04:59 pm:

John - You said,....."I finally got the page up that gives the info on the item you guys were looking for."

Certainly you're not saying that the Fun Projects, Inc. website is difficult to use are you?

(sorry John,....just "yank'n yer' chain a bit,....couldn't resist,....harold)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 05:25 pm:

Harold:

What I meant was that I usually have all the data and instruction sheets done before anybody knows that I am making something but in this one instance I had some product made but no support page or instruction sheet up that people could read about. That was because the case for the meter is the same case as the ammeter I make and it was just rather simple to make up the voltmeter since I already had many of the parts. All of the credit for the web site goes to my sons Johnny and Todd. Both are software gurus and work in that field. I used to do software development when I worked at Bell Labs in the 60's but that was a very long time ago. My son's shot past me so fast in that field it was as if I was going backwards. In any event I now have the voltmeter setup with instructions and all support data that it should have had before it was announced. The one thing that was the hardest of all was getting any kind of a good picture of the gauges since the glass lens tends to give a glare regardless of the angle of the camera. I must have shot the picture several dozen times trying to get it to not show a reflection of some sort. I think next time I will build one without a lens and then shoot that as the picture ha ha. There is still some glare in the photo but I can't fix it and I am not a photographer so don't know their tricks.

In any event I now have the voltmeter setup with instructions and all support data that it should have had before it was announced.

I am off to the hillbilly tour tomorrow at dawn. Looking forward to being silly for a week.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 05:43 pm:

Does that mean you're gonna' wear that top hat ALL WEEK?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 06:24 pm:

You could always have both, if you change you'r dash plate.

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 06:34 pm:

Not only do I plan on wearing my "mad hatter" getup - my wife has her vintage hat in the same box and ready to go. Renee' collects vintage clothes and gets "T part credits" every time I buy something for my T's.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chuck Hoffman - Gold Country of Calif. on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 11:18 pm:

Here's a couple that might work


http://www.ebay.com/itm/151114534915?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m142 3.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271270054074?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m142 3.l2649


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Hjortnaes, Men Falls, WI on Monday, September 02, 2013 - 11:31 pm:

JOhn

Try a piece of thin paper, like onion skin, over the flash. That disperses the light more and you get less glare. Wonder if wax paper would work.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Tuesday, September 03, 2013 - 12:49 am:

Actually I shot the pictures finally without a flash with the camera on a tripod but it seems that there was always something in the glass reflecting from something in the room. Usually I don't have a problem with reflections and glare but none of my other items have a glass lens as part of the assembly. I may try some side lighting and use your onion skin idea over those but it really wouldn't be a big deal to make up a meter without the glass in it just for the photoshoot. My neighbor up the street is an amateur photographer and he is really good. I may ask him to sit in on the next photoshoot and see what he does.


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