volt meter

[greger]

ok i jsut installed a volt meter into my 1996 explorer..and now im just wondering what number would it be at for the truck not to start and for it to be a dead battery..i use my truck alot for music and lights while not runnign so i bought this hoping it would give me a better idea of when my battery is dead before its to late...so what is the magic number of it not to start? it's a v8 if that matters and im running a yellow top optima

 

[killer7]

When you say "volt meter" do you mean a simple meter in the dash? (Not a load type battery tester?)

Anyhow, assuming its the in-dash type, my general expirience is less than 10 won't crank my v6.

It should be between 11 and 14 on a "normal" battery.

 

[greger]

yea i do..mean just an indash and when i drive it's at 14.2 ish.and when truck off it's at 12.5-13

 

[killer7]

That sounds like a perfectly new battery to me.


Hmm, I might have to look into getting a optima when this battery bites it. Got it in December but its allready going dead on me just from running the interior lights for an hour.

 

[greger]

yea i love the optima i gotta say i wouldnt go to anything thing else. and is there a guage that tells you the percentage of battery life you have lefT? ive never seen one and that's the type of guage im trying to get. so can the volt meter do that..or what uage should i buy?

 

[igiveup]

Hello

The only way to find out what kind of life is left in your battery is to do a load test. If you run an orbital battery the older load testers will give you wrong reading. My self I like the Deep cycle orbital from Exide. I have on in my stang and can run my deck for about 8-10 hrs before it starts to go dead. My buddy uses the same one in his dodge when camping and kills his battery to the point the lights dimm, leaves the truck for about 8 hrs and it starts with no problem. One thing to remember orbital batterys don't like to be charged over 14.5 volts long period of time. It shortens the life of them.

igiveup

 

[greger]

so what are you saying..jsut run my truck and see what the gage goes down to before i cant start it anymore? correct?

 

[igiveup]

Hello

No I not saying that just how much better they are compared to a lead acid battery.

igiveup

 

[budwich]

good luck on your hunt for a "life left" gauge.... I don't think they exist for car batteries. Anyways, a "simple volt" meter will not tell you if you have got enough "oomph" left to start your vehicle.... cause it depends on both voltage and ampere available. You are better off spending your money on a second battery setup and only draining the second battery for "accessories".

 

[greger]

yea..that's the plan..but i gott o figure out where to mount the second battery first..that's the only thing holdng me back..cause there aint no room under the hood..any ideas?

 

[corkey]

there is a place to put it ,if you swap out the coolant resevoir , and washer fluid container,,

 

[JohnJ]

so what are you saying..jsut run my truck and see what the gage goes down to before i cant start it anymore? correct?

You could probably make a state-of-charge sender by setting up circuitry to use the output from a Honda ELD to increment/decrement a register with a reset circuit to reset to full or no charge status after either a period of continued operation or a failed start attempt. You'd have to recalibrate the thing using results of a load test very frequently though unless you get really fancy and make an automatic calibration logic based on voltage during cranking.

This would be pretty nifty and pretty inexpensive but exceptionally time consuming to develop. You might find that a second battery and an isolator would be a more practical solution.

 

[greger]

yea i want to add the other battery..but i dont know where to put it..and i cant loose the collant and washer fluid container cause i drive this truck ALOT and on longer trips..

 

[corkey]

okay , how about running cables along the side of the frame and mounting the other battery somewhere in the back ???
get a tray from summit for remote battery mounting,or a marine battery box, and run cables to it ,,

 

[greger]

yea but were in the back? it cant be inside at all cause i use it alot for camping and need all the room i can get.

 

[skoal_mint]

Well if you dont want it in the hood and in the back then that only leaves one other spot, the roof.

slap it under neath by the frame, those batteries can be mounted any which way right

 

[greger]

well i would love for it to be under the hood..but no room at all i am having trouble finding a place to mount mysolinoid for mybrake controller right now lol.so i was thinking of putting it where the spare tire is..but then i have tomopvethe tire some where else.