Brand New Product... Battery/Alternator Monitor.

Pauly S · Nov 8, 2010

Ive being trying to source a decent, small, high quality voltage monitor, designed for a motorcycle,waterproof,idiot proof and user friendly, and its finally here.
It consists of a remote mounted printed circuit board,the size of your small finger nail, a single small 5mm dual colour led and two wires to feed the circuit board.
Ive done a step by step picture guide on how to fit to an 1150.The unit should work on a 1200, the consumption is so small it shouldnt upset the can bus.
How it works,you feed it from the bike, either the ignition switched live, or a side light feed,when the bike starts and runs normally, and the alternator charges , the led goes solid green, stays on for 10 secs then goes out, until it detects the alternator overcharging, when it flashes green 2 times per second.
If the battery voltage goes under the usual charging threshold (undercharging), the red led comes on, and stays on solid red,if the voltage gets even worse, it will flash red 1 flash per second(this is the oh shit mode),if the led flashes even faster(2 times a second),its getting even worse, if the led flashes quicker still(4 times per second), your''e moments away from a tow truck, or a long push.
The idea is that it will monitor the alternator constantly, if all is well the green led will come on for 10 secs then go out, unless under charging or over charging.The red will also display if the load is higher than the incoming charge, causing the battery voltage to fall.ie too many spotlamps on and heated apparell, or a worn alternator belt.
The second use is to monitor the battery when you first switch on the ignition, you should get a solid red light, if its flashing red, your battery isnt working very well , or its flat.
Price £18 delivered uk and northern ireland.Paypal prefered

rce · Nov 8, 2010

Some links would be useful, it ought to work on any 12v system so am interested for my F650GS, sounds like I could get it all to fit in an accessory plug

brassmonkey001 · Nov 8, 2010

How does it cope with HID lights? I've got a similar thing on my 650 with HID headlight and HID aux lights and when I switch the aux lights on it confuses the hell out of the monitor and it indicates I'm overcharging for about 10 minutes and then resets itself.

I would imagine this would fit anything 12v?
I might be interested in one for my airhead.

Pauly S · Nov 8, 2010

yes you can make it work

But the simple installation of two wires which is childs play by the way, means its really meant to be on the bike all the time, its a small pcb, small led.
The idea is to watch the electrics all the time, you dont want to fit it in an accesssory plug, then leave it at home by mistake, or even get a bad connection in the accessory plug leaving the unit un-powered.
The only condition to fitting it, is that it must not be powered all the time, or it will flatten the battery over a day or so.only when the engine is running.
Its a 40 ma drain led on.
There are no internet links, the unit is bespoke.

Pauly S · Nov 8, 2010

Hid's

brassmonkey001 said:
How does it cope with HID lights? I've got a similar thing on my 650 with HID headlight and HID aux lights and when I switch the aux lights on it confuses the hell out of the monitor and it indicates I'm overcharging for about 10 minutes and then resets itself.

I would imagine this would fit anything 12v?
I might be interested in one for my airhead.

I have a 5o watt h1 hid on my 1150, no problem at all, the software in the ic has been designed with an airhead in mind .hence the various states of under charge (red flashing)

cookie · Nov 9, 2010

Nomad biker said:
If the battery voltage goes under the usual charging threshold (undercharging), the red led comes on, and stays on solid red

if the charge level goes up again, does the red led go off?

i ask, as this sounds handy for airheads, where the charge rate can dip dramatically in normal use. would be no use if the warning was latched.

Kritou · Nov 9, 2010

Neat idea indeed

Like many others, I suspect, my bike (1200RT) has an underused accessory socket within the rider's view - would be nice if you also had a dummy BMW plug with your PCB and LED built into it. Easily moved to another bike, or with an adaptor, to a four wheeler. A lack of LED activity would then warn that the socket is not being powered

Pauly S · Nov 9, 2010

cookie said:
if the charge level goes up again, does the red led go off?

i ask, as this sounds handy for airheads, where the charge rate can dip dramatically in normal use. would be no use if the warning was latched.

yes when the charge voltage goes up to normal levels it immediately goes green for 10 secs then off, and stays this off until another change is detected, nothing latches,it watches all the time and changes immediately in real time.
Its also accurate to 0.03 volts, it has a feature where by if the voltage detected is right between two thresholds ie red or green, its internal voltage damping technology will also stop the very quick red green red green red green scenario.
When this was designed it was made with older and newer vehicles in mind, and the internal values reflect this.
atb Paul

cookie · Nov 9, 2010

sounds good.

i think i'll be ordering a couple of those

Pauly S · Nov 9, 2010

theres an easier way

Kritou said:
Neat idea indeed

Like many others, I suspect, my bike (1200RT) has an underused accessory socket within the rider's view - would be nice if you also had a dummy BMW plug with your PCB and LED built into it. Easily moved to another bike, or with an adaptor, to a four wheeler. A lack of LED activity would then warn that the socket is not being powered

if you just wanted to know the socket is powered then just fit a simple led with a resistor, far cheaper.
if you wanted a bmw din type plug with the pcb inside, this can be done,you can plug it in your car also.

Pauly S · Nov 9, 2010

More information

The address for paypal is
[email protected] please include your post address in the paypal details.
Also when you install any accessory you should fuse it at source at the live, this unit will need a 100ma fuse, this and its holder can be readily sourced from maplins etc, i didnt include it because so many people like this fuse holder, or that fuse holder blah blah, so ive not charged for it nor included it.
More stock on the way.
Also i meant to say that its warrantied for a year from date of purchase.
And this is the best bit, its made in the uk, so the final drive wont let go.

rce · Nov 9, 2010

Nomad biker said:
if you just wanted to know the socket is powered then just fit a simple led with a resistor, far cheaper.
if you wanted a bmw din type plug with the pcb inside, this can be done,you can plug it in your car also.

How to talk yourself out of some sales, two of us have the same idea for the BMW socket yet you pooh pooh it

Pauly S · Nov 9, 2010

rce said:
How to talk yourself out of some sales, two of us have the same idea for the BMW socket yet you pooh pooh it

Its me being honest dear boy, why spend £18 quid to find out a socket is live when you can do it for £2.
Ive already spoke with r+d about fiting the proper pcb volt monitor inside a bmw din plug.which will also fit a car cigar socket.
If you want it me old mucker, we'll make it.

Kritou · Nov 9, 2010

That's great - how do I order it?

btw my comment re the unit's ability to monitor the socket's status was that it would be a plus, not something I'm actively looking to do

Pauly S · Nov 9, 2010

pm sent

as above

Pauly S · Nov 12, 2010

An 1150 easy fit guide for the battery monitor

Step one...remove screen and brackets,if you have have tobinators, dont take them off the screen, you'll be weeks trying to find the sweet spot
Step two...drill hole for led and bezel, be careful now...
step three.... bend the wiring before the led and poke thru hole, fit bezel onto led and push back into hole,cable tie wiring leading back up to dash bulb.
Step four..remove dash bulb of your choice on the top of the clocks, using wire cutters trim back the insulation like in the picture.
Step five.. solder the wires like the picture as per the colours including a fuse holder in the red thin wire complete with 100ma fuse.
Part 2 in next post next week...nah just joking, read on.

Pauly S · Nov 12, 2010

second part of install

step 6...insulate all connections with good quality self amalgamating tape or electricians tape.
step 7...make sure all is routed correctly
step 8... test.turn on ignition and put sidelamps on, the bat monitor will cycle thru its colours, then decide whats going on.
Its prob going to be Amber, fire up the engine, then the light will go solid green if alls well, then go off after approx 10 secs.if you stall the engine, the Amber will come back on,if leave you it even longer with the ignition on,headlamps on but no engine, the amber will turn to to slow blinky red, after a while it will go to med fast blinky red, then after another while it will go to very fast blinky red, and now your bike wont start. :blast

As you can see, the faster the blinky red, the deeper the poo your'e in, amber is ok, and green is good, blinky green means its overcharging, it will get you home , but get it checked out right away, as to why its overcharging.
You'll notice ive changed the colours on the ok light, it was red, now its amber on the new models, ive tried to make it idiot proof,

very fast blink red= below 10 volts, def not good,batt well flat or not charging when engine running
med fast blinky red= 10-11 volts ,not good, batt well flat, or not charging when engine running
solid red=battery voltage below 12 volts, not good, batt flat or very poorly charging when engine running.
amber= ready to go, above 12 and below 12.8, expected standby voltage, or only charging poorly when engine running.may also indicate too many accessories on when running.
green then off = good to go.above 12.8 and below 14.6,charging well, all's well.
blinky green= above 14.6 ,over charging, again not good, but will get you home.seek a professional for assistance.
any questions please ask.
new stock now in with 3 colour leds,woohoo.
pre-production models available for £14 posted.(different colour schemes, same principle and chip design and values).
6 volt units and din plug models in r+d coming soon

Pauly S · Nov 12, 2010

1200 wanted for free install

I need someones 1200 for a photo shoot and a how to guide.
Buy the monitor and i'll fit it for free in exchange for a few piccys.
Tea and biccys included.

Pauly S · Nov 13, 2010

HI Lads

I've recieved numerous orders for the monitor,in fact it has exceeded my stock, what i have got i'm sending out on monday, new stock will be with me on tuesday, so they should be on your doomat, weds/thursday.
I apologise for the delays, but by far the demand was much greater than i thought.
Ive ploughed a lot of time and cash into it ,and for me the icing on the cake would be to hear you like it.
I would really like to know what you think of the bike monitor and any ways you think it could be improved,i'm all ears.
Also im keen to hear what bikes youve fitted it to as well,i'm sure it will work well on the airheads too.
many thanks again Paul.

Zundapp · Nov 13, 2010

Eighteen quids just Paypalled to you.

Be interesting to see the results!

Brand New Product... Battery/Alternator Monitor.

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