ammeter wiring question

[alexanderfoti]

Hi all

I am using a Watts up meter on my bike to combine amps and volts into one meter.

Problem is that it is meant to be connected in line with the load. my original ammeter is just on the positive line. I have used the first way of hooking up, and have hooked it up to the negative line of the regulator to the battery (ie inbetween)



Issue is, that its showing an odd ampereag, when the engine is off and consumers are on it shows 0amps (only one way so thats fine), when starting and revving the amps goes up (good!), but turning on accessories such as headlights etc, makes the number go up again , rather than down.

Any ideas?

[Nanko]

Mount the amp meter in the battery neg. line
Now you are measuring alternator current.
With no load you see the fluctuating battery charging current
With load the load current and the charging current

[alexanderfoti]

I thought I was seeing a cumulative number. so If I reconnect the regulator negative to the chassis and connect the meter like this LOAD - Ammeter - Battery negative, then I should see only current going into the battery, as the meter will only measure in one direction?)

[Nanko]

Its a pity the meter does read only into one direction.
Much better would be when the polarity is shown on the display
But you want to know the battery is not discharged so displaying the discharge current shows the alternator is functioning well.
As long as the alternator has enough output to feed all consumers,the display should read 0 (zero)
But you can also use the Voltage option,if the battery voltage drops below abt 14 V the battery is not charged anymore

[alexanderfoti]

Many thanks, that worked.

seing as my stator only charges at a very limited rating, i couldnt really see much with a 15 amp ammeter, I can see if its discharging on the ameter, but as long as there is a reading on the watts up meter then I can see that its charging, it would be nice if it showed it in both directions though, they say to read in 2 directions you should wire 2 in line, back to back, but at 35 pounds a go, I wont be doing that!

[alexanderfoti]

This one seems to be able to monitor in both directions, but would need a housing:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-99-9V-1A- ... 947wt_1396