Added volt meter

LS Tractor Owner · Jun 22, 2019

I hated not knowing what the battery status was at, so added a digital volt meter. Has a red, yellow, and green bar around the edge and a digital volt readout. Wired it into the fusebox supply, so a good reading.

WranglerX · Jun 22, 2019

The lit circle is just fluff.... The actual numeric value is what is important.... Good job.... Don't know why all tractors have not gone to this.... The 14.2 volts indicate good charge voltage/system status voltage...

Dale

LS Tractor Owner · Jun 22, 2019

DL Meisen said:
The lit circle is just fluff.... The actual numeric value is what is important.... Good job.... Don't know why all tractors have not gone to this.... The 14.2 volts indicate good charge voltage/system status voltage...

Dale

What I really like about it is that when you just turn the key on, it will give the battery volts, then after starting, the charging volts. I agree that the manufacturers should have them standard.

RjCorazza · Jun 23, 2019

Nice install. I also think voltmeters should be standard on all vehicles. I cheaped-out on my L4060 by using a USB plug in adapter that also displays voltage. It's behind the operator, so less than ideal.

k0ua · Jun 23, 2019

LS mt125 owner said:
What I really like about it is that when you just turn the key on, it will give the battery volts, then after starting, the charging volts. I agree that the manufacturers should have them standard.

Yep, good addition. As noted they should be factory. They certainly are cheap enough. I added one several years ago to my Kioti.

tmcj · Jun 30, 2019

That looks cool and serves the purpose. Nice!

I started out just wanting to add a clock to my dash and found the volt meter/clock from Trail Tech. Their stuff is geared more towards ATV's and off-road vehicles but made a good solution for what I wanted. You would think that a volt meter would be standard equipment on any tractor.

LS Tractor Owner · Jul 1, 2019

tmcj said:
That looks cool and serves the purpose. Nice!

I started out just wanting to add a clock to my dash and found the volt meter/clock from Trail Tech. Their stuff is geared more towards ATV's and off-road vehicles but made a good solution for what I wanted. You would think that a volt meter would be standard equipment on any tractor. View attachment 611054

That's pretty cool, I didn't see any that had a clock when I was looking. (I also didn't have that requirement in my seach however)

29toter · Jul 2, 2019

Has anybody added a digital tachometer to the tractor? I have a an older tractor and the Tach/hours meter does not work. Just wondering if anybody has any suggestions for a reliable unit.

Thanks

tmcj · Jul 2, 2019

Look up Trail Tech. They have all sorts of meters up to basically an entire instrument panel. Pricey, but they do take a beating in the off road rec vehicle world.

SG51Buss · Jul 5, 2019

I like the voltmeters.
Added a $3 voltmeter to my TC35 dash.

Dave M7040 · Jul 13, 2019

29toter said:
Has anybody added a digital tachometer to the tractor? I have a an older tractor and the Tach/hours meter does not work. Just wondering if anybody has any suggestions for a reliable unit.

Thanks

Tiny Tach makes a digital meter for diesel engines.

There is a pressure transducer which you clip to an injector line and it senses pulses.

You set the number of cylinders on the meter. $95

Diesel Tiny-Tach | Design Technology, Inc., Home of Tiny-Tach

Dave M7040

LS Tractor Owner · Jul 13, 2019

SG51Buss said:
I like the voltmeters.
Added a $3 voltmeter to my TC35 dash.

Nice! Looks like it came from the factory!

woody · Jul 14, 2019

I've been thinking about this for a while you may have just motivated me. but I want to add one to my solar powered gate and my dump trailer.

LS Tractor Owner · Jul 14, 2019

woody said:
I've been thinking about this for a while you may have just motivated me. but I want to add one to my solar powered gate and my dump trailer.

The LED voltmeters draw miniscule amounts of power even if they are on all the time. They would be perfect for that application.

Dave M7040 · Jul 14, 2019

LS mt125 owner said:
The LED voltmeters draw miniscule amounts of power even if they are on all the time. They would be perfect for that application.

I have a number of these volt meters on various machines.

One was a Toro Zero Turn. I wired it on all the time. In a week my battery was dead.

A little current 24/7 adds up.

Dave M7040

def38 · Jul 14, 2019

LS mt125 owner said:
I hated not knowing what the battery status was at, so added a digital volt meter. Has a red, yellow, and green bar around the edge and a digital volt readout. Wired it into the fusebox supply, so a good reading.

Today's automotive alternators are very reliable and rarely fail. I would rather mind engine coolant temperature and engine oil pressure. For me, charging voltage is always OK unless the alternator lamp glows after engine start. This was the case with my used M-F when I purchased it. My DVOM at the battery terminals engine running showed lower than normal voltage (14.2 is typical alternator charging voltage for a flooded SLA battery. AGMs charge at a higher voltage, ~14.7 VDC). I disassembled the alternator only to find the copper slip rings almost worn away. A rebuilt alternator was installed and all is now well. Remember too, a diesel engine will run for some time in a total loss situation. I could run most of the day with my crippled alternator.

woody · Jul 15, 2019

LS mt125 owner said:
The LED voltmeters draw miniscule amounts of power even if they are on all the time. They would be perfect for that application.

the gate meter would be on all the time, but the dump trailer I was thinking maybe a momentary switch so I can confirm the batteries state of charge and also that it has a good connection when I connect it to the truck