Digital Voltmeter Install Help?
Posted on Jun 30, 2010 under Digital news and reports |I just bought a digital voltmeter for my amp in my car and don’t know where to install the wires at. If I use the power wire it shows 14 volts with the car running and when the car off it shows 12 BUT NEVER CUTS OFF. If I install it using the remote wire then it shows 13 volts with the car running and does cut off. Which wire do I use?
June 30th, 2010 at 9:37 am
You’re going to want it installed so you can monitor the voltage going to your amp. You’ll leave it connected to the main power wire coming from the battery.
It shows 14 volts while the car is running because the alternator puts out more voltage than battery voltage, if it didn’t, the battery would never charge. When the car is off, 12 volts is normal.
The reason it never shuts off is because there is always a voltage potential coming from your battery whether the car is on or off. Voltage is a ‘difference of potential’ that’s all it is measuring. Unless the amp is on, there is no load (so no current flow) so it shouldn’t drain the battery unless you leave it on over an extended amount of time (like a month or 6) without charging the battery.
December 30th, 2011 at 7:13 am
Just keep looking…
this blog appears not to be so well maintained these days but I like the post…