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PDXWesty
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2006
Posts: 6247
Location: Portland OR
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 Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Finally found a spec on it: Current consumption: with all LEDs On - 34 milliamps
http://www.tac-comm.com/VoltMinder.html
Q. - What is the current consumption of the Volt Minder?
A. - The total current consumption is 34mA in standby with the alarm set, 27mA.in standby with no alarm set. 5mA is drawn by the LED on the cigarette lighter power cord. If a lower current consumption mete is desired, consider the TVM-1 or TVM-2 which draw less than 3mA.
Doesn't sound like it should draw the batteries down that much. At that draw, it would take 7 weeks to draw 40 amp/hrs. Maybe you had the back light on? Is there a way to turn that off?
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto |
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markz2004
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2007
Posts: 944
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks PDX,
The backlight is always on (at least on mine). I sent Voltminder an email with questions and I'll post the response when I receive it.
Mark
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87 Westy, 250k GW 2.4 - 2.0  , 16" wheels |
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Timwhy
Samba Member
Joined: January 01, 2009
Posts: 4002
Location: Maine
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Jon_slider
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007
Posts: 5091
Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:57 am Post subject: |
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yes the backlight stays on
I monitor my ignition battery, when playing the stereo while parked, until I get my Aux battery installed.
I dont leave volt minder plugged in, if Im not going to be there to hear the alarm, whether hiking, or parking.. |
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markz2004
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2007
Posts: 944
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:23 am Post subject: |
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| Timwhy wrote: |
| markz2004 wrote: |
Thanks PDX,
The backlight is always on (at least on mine). I sent Voltminder an email with questions and I'll post the response when I receive it.
Mark |
Did you ever get a response to your questions? |
Yes ~
I'll paraphrase the response:
The spec draw is 34mA and you cannot turn off the backlight. The product "assumes you are around to start your truck engine and charge the battery. It is for monitoring an active power consumption operation and alert the operator to take action."
My draw may be from other sources and I'll need to perform some electrical diagnosis.
Mark
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87 Westy, 250k GW 2.4 - 2.0 , 16" wheels |
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irgsmoore4
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2010
Posts: 211
Location: Bellingham WA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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So I just got a voltmeter from GW and was wondering at what level I should set the alarm at? A discharged bat is 11.98 ( I think) and I did some research on old posts about bat levels but at what point will there not be enough to crank her over???
Thanks for any help
Ivan 
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Ivan
99 Eurovan (The Tortuga)
87 2.1 WBX Vanagon ( Elsie ) sold
Wife,3 kids 1 dog(luna)
"Needle Noddle Noo" |
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davevickery
Samba Member
Joined: July 16, 2005
Posts: 2887
Location: Fort Collins, CO
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for posting this product, just what I was looking for. I would want an on/off switch with it permanently mounted. The GW adapter plug I guess would be good enough, but I was thinking a toggle switch like on the fridge LED panel.
To the last poster, when you are running things like a heater or fridge, the reading will be lower than your resting battery level. At least that's what I see on my el cheapo cigarette lighter voltmeter.
I would play with it and see what it reads with everything on, then at rest and subtract that amount from where you want the alarm to actually go off. I bet you'll want it set around 12.3. |
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irgsmoore4
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2010
Posts: 211
Location: Bellingham WA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:17 am Post subject: |
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I set it at 2.1, at least this is what the instruction slip suggested, we have a tintop so no fridge or amenities it's so I can put the radio on when we camp( and so I know that the alt is running ok, a bad alt left us stuck on the freeway a while back!!) so the new engine has lots of info stuff , OP gauge. Voltminder!
I read a few of tencents posts about bats and alts and learnt a lot ( it's good to have a bunch of smart people guiding the rest of us) .
Ivan
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Ivan
99 Eurovan (The Tortuga)
87 2.1 WBX Vanagon ( Elsie ) sold
Wife,3 kids 1 dog(luna)
"Needle Noddle Noo" |
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Timwhy
Samba Member
Joined: January 01, 2009
Posts: 4002
Location: Maine
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:46 am Post subject: |
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Hey Ivan,
I think that 12.3v is a good place to set it as well. Unless you have an amp connected to
your stereo, and are trying to power several things at once. I think that you'll be in good
shape. Most newer stereos do not draw much power on their own but when you add
an amp then you'll see a real power draw. Have you considered putting in an aux battery
just for the stuff you want to power. Then you'd always be set for starting power from the
starting battery?
FWIW my charge controller says that a half discharged battery is at 12.2 volts.
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'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary
http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee |
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Odd_Dutch
Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2011
Posts: 82
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 4:18 am Post subject: |
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| irgsmoore4 wrote: |
So I just got a voltmeter from GW and was wondering at what level I should set the alarm at? A discharged bat is 11.98 ( I think) and I did some research on old posts about bat levels but at what point will there not be enough to crank her over???
Thanks for any help
Ivan |
I think it's hard to say what should be the absolute minimum, depends on the state of your wiring, connections etc...
Mine started with 11.5V, but don't think its good for your battery on the long run. |
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I am Wildcat
Samba Member
Joined: February 03, 2011
Posts: 318
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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Out of curiosity has anyone else found another solution like this?? I really like the functionality of the Voltminder, but am not a huge fan of how it looks.  If I install it out of sight, it kind of defeats the ability to easily look at it to determine the state of the battery.
I assume you would need two of these if you wanted to monitor two batteries?
The only other solution I can come up with is two VDO style voltage gauges that are wired to a button that would power them on when the van is off and the keys are out of the ignition. Otherwise, they would have full power when the van is turned on.
The downside of this setup is the lack of sound once your batteries reach a certain level and the fact you would have to push a button to activate them when the car was off (or else leave them running indefinitely...but we can't REALLY sleep well knowing that minute power draw is going on, can we??).
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No more van. Wildcat has a new home.
1997 Land Rover Defender 90
2005 MB SL55 AMG
2014 Tesla Model S P85+ |
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Timwhy
Samba Member
Joined: January 01, 2009
Posts: 4002
Location: Maine
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I am Wildcat
Samba Member
Joined: February 03, 2011
Posts: 318
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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Definitely a cleaner look.
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No more van. Wildcat has a new home.
1997 Land Rover Defender 90
2005 MB SL55 AMG
2014 Tesla Model S P85+ |
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