I used an universal voltage gauge once as I had problems with the regulator.
It was one of those cheap small, but long digital gauges which also show internal/external temperature. You can find them in any car shop usually. It was only so high that it could be fitted above the instrument panel (in the gap between the instrument panel and the front fairing. As it was illuminated and digital and only had a + and - wire to connect I had to include a small switch to turn it off. There`re for sure better solution, but this did what it should.

it was something like this

http://www1.conrad.de/conrad/layout2/de ... iew=search

Gerhard

I bought a rather large voltage gauge to run on a total-loss race bike, but it turned out the LED display drew too much power, kinda defeating the purpose. So I shelved it.

I have just installed a Battery Monitor on one of my bikes to test. It is sold by Electrical Connection, part # 04101, available at http://www.electricalconnection.com. It is a small LED that is red below 11.5v, yellow from 11.5 to 11.9v, and green 12.0v and over. Costs $25.

Here's a pic of it installed:

It's the little one in the middle. The ones above are neutral light and low fuel light.

Here's the Monitor on the bench:


In my opinion, the light is not bright enough. The 2 LED's above it are easily visible in daylight. The Monitor's light is not as bright. However, it can be seen, and the information it provides is better than the simple "idiot" alternator light.

What I have learned from blowing up 5 rectifiers over the past 15 years is that frequently there is a warning. Two of my rectifiers burned out one half of the unit several months prior to completely failing. They wouldn't charge the battery at idle, but as the rev's rose, the one side was enough to begin charging. Hopefully this Monitor will catch this before I'm stranded on the side of the road, calling my wife to bring me another battery so I can ride it home!

For the Paso I'm trying to come up with something that will also show overcharging. I burned up several batteries on my first Paso because of the overcharging issue. Haven't found a meter that does that yet...

By 3000rpm the voltage is about 18v.
Al

SURELY TOO MUCH!!!! Change regulator and check all charching wires!

Btw, with SUCH voltage, Your battery is VERY SOON drained and its gone also!