How To Use An Accurate Voltage Panel Gauge For Diagnostics.

See what's going on...pull up a chair? The discussion is how to interpret a voltmeter not a Trimetric.

A lot of folks are intimidated by trying to learn how to use voltmeter-ammeter- amp hour meter. Never mind the cost and installation labor.

This is aimed at lazy folks like me, who do not want to jump out of bed at 11:00 freezing PM to see if everything is alright. Yeah right. Freeze my A$S off. A glance at a bedside 5 digit panel meter will reveal all there is to know at that hour. The daylight grade amp hour panel meter is for daylight use.

Such a voltmeter ends 2:00 AM honey-where's-the-flashlight dramas.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Would you have seen this with your 3-1/2 digit meter?

Yes, in all conditions. Really it is not a big deal or you are a bit thin on battery.

Or a bit thick on draw

and this thick draw is on which 12v circuit, riddle us that?

Forgotten bay lights. Stereo system on volume turned down. Patio anything left on. Boondocking. Comparing the present to what you're used to seeing. With 5 digits there is no waiting to see numbers change, it's constant and unrelenting.

5 digits would be a nice upgrade to what I currently possess.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yellow-0-36-LED-5-Digit-DC-0-33-000V-Digital-Voltmeter-Voltage-Meter-Car-Panel/400491902707?hash=item5d3f2d76f3:g:OYIAAOxy3HJTIAFu:rk:13:pf:0

Four wires? Twist the two blacks together then the other pair together. This meter has a three volt "other" scale. Useless for what we need so forget about four separate wire connection points. Twist the blacks for negative, the other 2 colors for positive.

Yellow is the most visible color.

red31 wrote:
and this thick draw is on which 12v circuit, riddle us that?

I could tell you with a 5 digit voltage meter.

The slower the descent the fewer the amps. The idea is to have a simple meter viewable from bed that is a genuine status and alarm unit. Throw back the covers, put on slippers and go look at the main panel.

Or maybe it's better for the heater and lights to quit or wake up with an -80 amp hour deficit?

That's a nice meter and I may buy one buy even though my Fluke gives me all the precision I need.

For me: I plan for and know my battery status before bedtime. So short of a very rare battery failure I have no desire for a voltmeter to be viewed from the bed. And observing the voltage to the millivolt level is not meaningful due to various DC draws that run and vary day or night.

Some said equipment that uses DC and varies in my rig: refer, hot water, furnace, AC/heat pump, thermostat. In addition there are other draws like: smoke detector, CO2 detector, light control circuits, the Trimetric, solar controller and there is more... Not to mention any outside lights that are left on for safety... Even the inverter/charged has a DC draw with/without AC available.

That said it could be useful to learn those typical draws and observe that the voltage drop/rise at night doesn't exceed the norm. But not for me in bed, if something makes we wonder about a problem I'll get my as* out of bed and look at the Trimetric which tells me voltage, amps and SOC.

My take and my style.

However, from an educational perspective great thread, thanks Mex.