Just curious...
I blew the fuse that goes to my clock and radio, and the only fuse I had was a red fuse instead of a white fuse. After that, the Voltometer reading has drastically changed...When I 1st installed the Voltometer, the needle read past "16", and now the needle is about 3/4 and whenever something that uses the battery is operated, the needle pulsates a little bit. Is this okay? I'm going to my house tomorrow and I'm going to replace the fuse with the proper one, so could this be the case that the fuse is giving the voltometer false readings?

Volt meters have a wide range of "normal" readings. The one I installed in my Duett (under the dash) reads just at the bottom of the red near the 16 when the car is runnig. This is verified by a DVOM to be 14.7v or at the high end of normal charging. The one in my 240 reads just above half way at the same voltage, this sounds like what yours is reading now. The reading doesn't concern me the change does.

What happened to blow the fuse? It sounds like there may have been an issue with overcharging that is now OK. Check the real voltage with a multimeter (DVOM) and be sure you are now getting somewhere between 13.5-14.5v
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California
'63 P-210
'67 1800s
'88-240
my pages

Well it always read a constant +16 when I installed it- I thought nothing of it. I blew a fuse by installing a better CD player..."'Alice' pounds now" Yeah I have a really loud (But very nice system) in my car that can is consistantly playing classic rock (Haha take that hommies). When I go into work tomorrow, I'm going to hook the battery up to a separate voltometer because the one I have in the car is probably faulty since it read +16 (And stayed that way even through cranking the engine, blasting my music, etc.) the whole ride home.

I have installed a Volvo voltmeter in both my 1986 244 and my 1988 244. They are not connected the same.

I changed the 1986 connectiom so it reads when the key is in "Accessory" position, or Position I. The 1988 reads only when the jey is in II, or "Runs".

They move the same way when the same things happen, but the values are not the same. Dunno why, don't really care.

In the 1988, the needle dips with the turn signal, not so in the 1986.

In both, the reading is high after a start, expected as the alternator recharges the battery. The needle drops down when a power window reaches its full-up or full-down stop. A great help to learn when the rear windows are up without taking the eyes away from the road more that a half-second.

In no case in either car does the needle rise to 16 volts.


Hope you find this helpful.

Bob

:>)

Walrus was completely right in everything he described. I just want to add that you should never have seen 16+ volts.

I'm sure that was some error (wiring, something, although I can't imagine what) -- there should never be that much voltage in your car's wiring. It's probably not enough to fry your car's electronics, but it could certainly 'cook' and destroy (shorten the lifespan of) your battery if it stayed at that voltage for long!

Possibly, your voltage regulator had a momentary glitch -- you haven't said how old your car is -- and perhaps (it's a long shot) the added voltage increased current flow (although usually current is limited by the devices) enough to have been the cause of the blown fuse.

If you ever see 16 volts again on your voltmeter, try to lower the voltage (put on your headlights and fan) and go to a shop that can check out your alternator (it has its regulator built-in, but replaceable) or your external regulator (if your car is a late '70's model).

Yeah it reads 12 1/2ish when the car runs...BUT...It's sitting on 16+ when I turn the key to II. It's a 1991 ...So is this okay?

Check the gauge by hooking it up to the battery with the car off, it should be just above the lower red marks it shoud go up to ~3/4 or so with the car running. If the gauge is defective contact the seller, I'll bet it's fully guaranteed ;-) I've seen one bad volt gauge out of 25+ that have gone through my hands, it's rare but it does happen.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California
'63 P-210
'67 1800s
'88-240
my pages

If the gauge reads 16+ when you turn the key to II (assuming you meant from I to II, and you haven't started the engine yet), there shouldn't be any way to get genuine 16 volts in the car's electrical system -- so that gauge is lying.

I would suspect (strongly!) that the gauge is faulty -- has some short in the galvanometer coil that drives the needle.

No, it should read about 12½ with the motor NOT running and higher (13-14)
with the motor running. If it only reads 12½ with the motor running, if it
is reading correctly, your charging system is not doing its job and your
battery will run down.

Better get a separate voltmeter and check it out. And it should never read
higher than 13 with the engine not running because the battery's normal
voltage is 12.6. It takes more than that to charge it because you have to
force current back through it to charge it.

If it is reading 16 volts without the engine running the meter is at least
highly suspect.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

No.
The voltmeter (not voltometer) should read about 12½ volts when the engine is
not running, drop somewhat when cranking, and read somewhere between 13-14
volts with engine running. It is not surprising for the voltmeter to pulsate
a time or two when you turn on something that takes a lot of current to operate.
The color of the fuse indicates ONLY the amount of current that will cause the
fuse to blow. If you put in too big a fuse you risk damaging the wiring
in case of a short. That is about the only difference.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!