SparkBright Battery Voltage Monitor

[Setchman_imp]

If anyone else out there is as anal as I am about wanting to know everything you can about your engine's systems, in this case, electrical/battery, this little device might be just what you're looking for.

On my old bike I used a [url=http://www.signaldynamics.com/heads-up-voltage-monitor/]Signal Dynamic's Head's Up which was fine because I had a fairing I could use to hide the module that houses the "brains" of the device. This wasn't practical on the CB1100 since there was no good place to mount the module. Thankfully, the same type of monitor is made by a company in the U.K. It's perfect for the CB since the microprocessor is so tiny it's installed inline with the wiring, super simple. The one with the dimming feature is the Eclipse which is the one I installed.

[url=http://www.sparkbright.co.uk/index.php]SparkBright Home Page

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This is a cheap mod, too. Delivered from the U.K. in about 2 weeks, it only cost about $29 depending on the exchange rate at that moment. The rest of the parts I used I bought at the local hardware store and where also inexpensive. It's also non-invasive unless you chose to splice into the bike's wiring, which I did not. I wanted an accurate reading and simple installation so I hooked it up directly to the battery. Because I did it this way there is a nominal draw on the battery if left connected. Since I can't ride everyday I always hook the battery up to a Battery Tender after each ride so this is moot for me but for those who don't use a Battery Tender like this you may want to tie into a switched circuit. If I need to I can disconnect it by taking out the fuse I installed just in case I'm away from my Battery Tender.

The wires are not long enough to reach the battery unless you have the manufacturer make them longer for you which they will do on request. I decided to splice into some wire I had lying around the house which worked better since I wanted a beefier wire anyway.

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I then taped up the thin wires and covered it with shrink wrap for added girth and to hide the red and black wires. It blends in much better up near the headlight where all the wires are already black. The instructions recommend adding a small fuse so I found an inline fuse holder and .5 amp fuse at Radio Shack. I then soldered on some ring terminals and it was all done. The shrink wrap made the finished wire nice and stiff so there was no need to completely remove the gas tank to get it to the front of the bike. Just remove the tank bolt so you can lift it up a bit and push the wire up to the front. It'll just slide right up there.

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I bought a cheap piece of aluminum strapping and cut a couple inch piece off, bent it, drilled a 5/16" hole in it (didn't do a very good job centering it, though ), painted it with some flat black paint I had lying around the house and added a piece of double-stick tape for mounting it on the side of the instrument cluster.

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Here are a few shots of the finished installation:

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Under the seat I have the wire coming up and over the tool compartment so I can have easy access to the fuse if I ever need to disconnect it.

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This isn't my video but it shows the SparkBrite in action, even comparing it to the Signal Dynamics one.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR7RJ2LevTM]Motorcycle (KLR650) Voltage Monitors

This is a great little device if it just happens to be something you're looking for. It might even keep you from having to push her home someday.