Voltmeter install

[craig333]

Meant to do this a while back but my meter never came. This time I specified a U.S. supplier and it showed up two days later. Green instead of blue but so what. My attempt at doing it cleanly was overcome by my unwillingness to remove the catalytic heater. Without enough room to work using the jig saw was problematic as you can see the marks.

Before that though the power connector to the meter fell off. No way to solder that back on but I might be able to solder just the wires back on. Took two tries but I succeeded. Blew a fuse during the install of course. I also installed a mini spst switch by the 12v outlet just in case its too bright at night, I can turn it off.

You can also see its reading 14volts. My solar is working again. I attempted to diagnose my problem but it was a cloudy day when I worked on it and now its working again. I hope its not going to be one of those intermittent problems. I'd rather it not work at all that work occasionally.

 

[DanT]

"I'd rather it not work at all that work occasionally". Intermittent problems suck.
Any how …..thats a good idea, I didn't even notice the wild jig saw ride until I read it and was forced to blow up the picture and shazam, multiple wounds to the finish, its still nice and the light kill switch seems like I great feature. Well thought out.

 

[camelracer]

Craig,

A few years ago when these meter installs first appeared on the forum there were some reports of meter failure. The theory at the time was that the damage was caused by a voltage spike caused by water pump being turned on and off. Your gauge may be more robust but it might be a good idea to leave the gauge off when not monitoring it.

 

[craig333]

Good point. I certainly wouldn't call them robust considering I had to solder on mine already.