Bought this voltage meter to plug into my Battery Tender connectors. It is quicker and more convenient for checking multiple batteries and hooking up the tender when and where necessary. Better than taking out the regular multi-meter all the time. Also will be handy on the go, just in case. Got the USB connector for later use with cell phones or whatever. Plus I love little gadgets...
I simply use it to do a quick check not leave it plugged in all the time. The display does time out after about 10 seconds. I pushed the button several times to show the voltage when trying to take a picture (no easy task), the voltage never changed in that instance. 83% of 1,920 reviews on Amazon gave it 5 stars. 4% were 1 and they mostly said it just stopped working I didn't read enough reviews to see if battery drain was ever an issue.
DOH, anything connected to the battery that's no ignition controlled in my eyes means it drains current.
Some truth to that. No different than leaving chargers plugged in at home, even when not charging, they can still be energy vampires
I believe the Lascar EMV1200 (which is similar) draws about 3mA - not zero, but it'll take a while to flatten a battery?
Like the OP states attaching it to quickly see the voltage reading will not drain the battery at all, certainly not to any point where it would become an issue or anything to worry about.
Nope 12.2v is perfectly fine. My 1299 battery will usually be around the 12v mark when sat for a few days, 12.2 to maybe 11.8/9 and it starts fine. I have a trickle charger fitted for when it’s not going to be used regularly so at the moment I start the bike fortnightly and put the trickle charger on a few days before and a have it on for a few days after.
Agreed, but some (Shazaam for example) suggest leaving one permanently attached (and mounted near the dash) so you can see charging voltages etc when actually riding. Might have to give the bike a quick charge now and again if it's not being ridden regularly.
I have an '03 Monster 620. I just went out and started it. It was fine. I ran it for at least 5 minutes. Long enough to be able to turn the choke off and have it running smooth. It's very cold blooded. The voltage afterward was 12.9. Mind you, I haven't started it since early December. It is in a heated garage though (12°C). The interesting thing about this bike-when I bought it. The previous owner rarely rode it and it sat for a long time. He had to start it with a charger saying the battery was toast. I test rode it, loaded it up and took it home. It wouldn't start at home so I put it on a charger overnight and it's been good ever since. I got lucky. I also started my 2018 Husqvarna, no problem. I didn't check the voltage prior to starting. Darn it! It was 12.33 after running it for maybe 5 minutes max. I used my regular voltmeter as I still have to put a battery tender connector on it. Irregardless of the battery, I start any and all machines maybe a couple or few times in the off seasons to get fuel moving through the systems. Gummed up systems are far worse to deal with than batteries in my book.
I have a USB port/voltage display up front on my bike. It’s wired up to ignition on so i don’t need to worry and I can see it whilst riding. Mine has a tracker and needs a little top up, as you can see (although the KTM will likely fire right up from that, she’s a good girl)
So that is an aftermarket device? Do you have to turn the key on to view the voltage? I like the plug in indicator I have because I have other non bike things with batteries that I can use it for as well. I would consider something more permanent that looks good on my Monster.
It is aftermarket. It replaces the old cigarette adapter that was fit from factory, although that was always live so I changed that to an ignition feed. The little orange bit is a rubber USB port dust cover to keep any wet weather out of the unused port (it has two)
That’s probably where I got it from. There or Amazon. Always had USB wired up to all my bikes as I always use my mobile for shatnav and I usually power an action cam too
