I'm getting pee'd off with Smiths/Caerbont/Speedycables whatever they want to call themselves.
I ordered a new voltage regulator yesterday, cost £16.21 from Europa, and it arrived this morning - well done Europa.
I tested the regulator - it gave 10.44 volts - ( notice past tense!)
It got quite hot, while I left it connected to the battery, and when I tested my gauge it would not work
Re-check the output voltage - it now gives zero volts!
This is exactly what the last one did too. I assumed with it I must have got my wiring wrong: and being an enquiring sole decided to pull the first one to bits to see what it looked like in side.
Now I suspect Smiths may have a production problem.
The wiring can not be any easier to wire up:
Battery positive to the B terminal
Case to Earth
Instrument to the I terminal
Instrument (via sender) to Earth
Input voltage checked + 12.5v from the car battery
Output voltage can then be checked by measuring I terminal to Earth - Zero, Zilch Nothing!
Rang Smiths - they advised it should cope comfortably with pulling 0.25 amps all day long under load, and certainly not get warm with no load. So he is going to test one in their work - and get back to me -
in
2 days!
How long does it take to test a b***dy circuit!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Bloody electrics!!
Give me a piece of metal that I can cut, weld, grind, and polish any day!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinClan
Just my 5 penneth.....
You will certainly need a voltage stabiliser if the instrument is designed to work that way. The theoretical 12v that comes from your car's electrical system is not actually 12v anyway, and also not particularly stable.
Using an electronic regulator may or may not work well - although a linear one is better than something fancier (digital). Car electrical systems are full of noise which plays havoc with anything electronic.
Personally I would try to stick with stuff specifically designed for the job. I would use the smiths regulator - even if you have to fix it the right way up!
Robin
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