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g'day everyone, this is my first write up so bear with me on this one....
want to keep an eye on your voltage? well a volts gauge is the best way to keep an eye on your battary volts, its a good idea to install one if you've installed a decent stereo system thats running at least 2 subs, and its just cool!!
the things that you'll need
a volts gauge i bought a speco thomas one
ether a gauge mounting panel or cup, if you installing it into the dash then you wont need ether of em
an 8mm spanner and a 7mm spanner
a couple of screws and a screw driver for the gauge mounting panel or cup
a hole saw if your installing the gauge into the dash, if you dont have one make a template out of cardbourd
side cutters
wire strippers
some wire
electrical connecters, you'll need to buy some real small ones for the gauge
solder
soldering iron
heat shrink
and a cigurette lighter
on the back of the gauge there will be 3 connections. there is a positive an earth and a miscellaneous one (im not sure what it does) the bottom one is positive and the one on the right is earth. the instructions will tell you as they can vary between brands
firstly find a spot that you like to mount your gauge, i mounted mine under the dash. in my case i used a mounting panel and i had to bend the panel a little bit to get the right angle that i wanted
next disconect your battary, this will prevent a blown fuse or a major short circuit.
now the gauge needs a 12 volt switched ignition power suppley and earth to operate, you can get power from ether your stereo headunit or a cigurette lighter, i got power from the red wire off the head unit. cut a decent length of power wire and splice into the power wire your going to use and do a good amount of solder on the wire's to ensure they last. theres a couple ways you can do this, you can ether cut the power wire, solder and use heat shrink, use tape to cover and protect your solder or liquid electrical tape. its like a paste and it can be bought from your local electronics shop.
cut some earth wire find a good spot the earth the gauge, i earthed mine to where the dash bolts to the car body.
now crimp on the connecters for the gauge and the earth, temporary install the gauge and tighten up the 7mm nuts for the gauge connectors you want them tight but not too tight that you strip the thread or crack the plastic.
run the earth wire to the spot you found and tighten it into postion.
it should look something like this
now reconnect your battary and turn the key to ACC, the gauge should be pointing on 12 or a little over 12 if, its below 12 ether the battary is not charging propurley or it stuffed and if its over 14 then its being over charged, contact and auto electrition for help.
to hook up the backlight, you can ether run the power wire for the light to the headlight circuit or interior light circuit. the advantage with the interior light cicuit is that it can be dimmed at night.
now lets deal with the light itself, cut some earth and power wire long enough to reach to headlight switch and strip one end of the wire. solder and heat shrink the wire together, it should look abit like this
i used heat shink to keep the wires together and neat.
route the wires through and under the dash so your feet wont get tangled up in it, you'll need to earth the backlight somewhere, you can splice into your earth wire for the gauge or to chassis.
now we'll need to find a wire that turns the backlight on and off with the headlights, you can ether hunt around with a multi meter or find the wiring diagram in your workshop manual
once you've found the right wire strip the other end, splice into it and use good solder.
its a good idea to heat shink the wires together to keep them neat and to use corrugated splite tubing.
should look abit like this
route it into position and install it into the back of the gauge, use cable ties too keep it out of harms way.
now you are pretty much done!! now install the gauge in its cup, dash or mounting panel. if you installed the gauge into the dash or used a mounting panel use the supplyed bracket and nuts and tighten up the two 8mm nuts tight but not too much that it'll crack the dash.
at night it should look abit like this
this is my setup, i also installed a vacuum gauge and a mechanical water temp gauge.
enjoy happy days and not having to keep worring about the voltage as you now have an eye on it.
want to keep an eye on your voltage? well a volts gauge is the best way to keep an eye on your battary volts, its a good idea to install one if you've installed a decent stereo system thats running at least 2 subs, and its just cool!!
the things that you'll need
a volts gauge i bought a speco thomas one
ether a gauge mounting panel or cup, if you installing it into the dash then you wont need ether of em
an 8mm spanner and a 7mm spanner
a couple of screws and a screw driver for the gauge mounting panel or cup
a hole saw if your installing the gauge into the dash, if you dont have one make a template out of cardbourd
side cutters
wire strippers
some wire
electrical connecters, you'll need to buy some real small ones for the gauge
solder
soldering iron
heat shrink
and a cigurette lighter
on the back of the gauge there will be 3 connections. there is a positive an earth and a miscellaneous one (im not sure what it does) the bottom one is positive and the one on the right is earth. the instructions will tell you as they can vary between brands
firstly find a spot that you like to mount your gauge, i mounted mine under the dash. in my case i used a mounting panel and i had to bend the panel a little bit to get the right angle that i wanted
next disconect your battary, this will prevent a blown fuse or a major short circuit.
now the gauge needs a 12 volt switched ignition power suppley and earth to operate, you can get power from ether your stereo headunit or a cigurette lighter, i got power from the red wire off the head unit. cut a decent length of power wire and splice into the power wire your going to use and do a good amount of solder on the wire's to ensure they last. theres a couple ways you can do this, you can ether cut the power wire, solder and use heat shrink, use tape to cover and protect your solder or liquid electrical tape. its like a paste and it can be bought from your local electronics shop.
cut some earth wire find a good spot the earth the gauge, i earthed mine to where the dash bolts to the car body.
now crimp on the connecters for the gauge and the earth, temporary install the gauge and tighten up the 7mm nuts for the gauge connectors you want them tight but not too tight that you strip the thread or crack the plastic.
run the earth wire to the spot you found and tighten it into postion.
it should look something like this
now reconnect your battary and turn the key to ACC, the gauge should be pointing on 12 or a little over 12 if, its below 12 ether the battary is not charging propurley or it stuffed and if its over 14 then its being over charged, contact and auto electrition for help.
to hook up the backlight, you can ether run the power wire for the light to the headlight circuit or interior light circuit. the advantage with the interior light cicuit is that it can be dimmed at night.
now lets deal with the light itself, cut some earth and power wire long enough to reach to headlight switch and strip one end of the wire. solder and heat shrink the wire together, it should look abit like this
i used heat shink to keep the wires together and neat.
route the wires through and under the dash so your feet wont get tangled up in it, you'll need to earth the backlight somewhere, you can splice into your earth wire for the gauge or to chassis.
now we'll need to find a wire that turns the backlight on and off with the headlights, you can ether hunt around with a multi meter or find the wiring diagram in your workshop manual
once you've found the right wire strip the other end, splice into it and use good solder.
its a good idea to heat shink the wires together to keep them neat and to use corrugated splite tubing.
should look abit like this
route it into position and install it into the back of the gauge, use cable ties too keep it out of harms way.
now you are pretty much done!! now install the gauge in its cup, dash or mounting panel. if you installed the gauge into the dash or used a mounting panel use the supplyed bracket and nuts and tighten up the two 8mm nuts tight but not too much that it'll crack the dash.
at night it should look abit like this
this is my setup, i also installed a vacuum gauge and a mechanical water temp gauge.
enjoy happy days and not having to keep worring about the voltage as you now have an eye on it.
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