I am putting a voltmeter in my car and got the general idea of how to do it, but some more detailed instructions for our specific cars would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

 

depends on the meter. Oddly enough i'm doing the same thing.

 

ah interesting, well, I got a Autometer "Cobalt" Short Sweep Electric voltmeter.

Not really sure what to do, or where to connect wires, help?

 

Just pick up a switched 12 power source, wire up the lighting to the dash lighting circut, and ground it. Voltage gauges are easy.

 

Where is the switched 12 power source or the dash lighting circuit? I guess thats more of the question really.

 

not sure the dash lighting but switched 12v+ is either a sunroof or wiper fuse

 

ok, i know where that fuse is, but still need to know where to hook in to the dash lighting, looked and didnt see it in the fuse box.

 

Go to the dash dimmer button on left of steering wheel and hook into the wire that dims the dash gauges. Use a test light. If you want the light to stay on all the time with no dimming just hook the wire with the other wire to the sunroof fuse.

 

How do you get to to the dimmer switch then? Sorry for my major newb-ish questions, but thanks for the help!

 

Wow, I was planning on the same thing too, haha.

Cobalt gauge as well (I mean, come on, it says "Cobalt"!)...probably analog, but to go short or full sweep...

 

simple question:

whats the importance of the voltmeter?

and what values are optimal? 14 v? 10 v?

 

12-13V, usually.

Lets you know your system voltage. If you have a problem, you could be over or undercharging the system, and you'll see it.

Just something nice to have.

 

Just a word of advice for all you people hooking up a volt gauge in yer cobalts. I have one and i thought my alternator and/or battery were messed up because the gauge will read anywhere from 14.4 volts all the way down to less than 12 at times......I had found out that the cobalts are equiped with a feature called REGULATED VOLTAGE CONTROL....it kills voltage to the battery from the alternator at certain times and when the system meets certain criteria.......Just a heads up for all you folks......Later

 

that doesnt sound right... the cobalt does have a feature that only allows 14.4 from the alt for a few seconds before dropping down to 13.8 but less then 12v means ur getting serious current draw and the batt is draining below its capacity. Theres no way to regulate a battery below its voltage level then draining it all the way

 

lol..............

 

Actually there is if you read about it......maybe try going on an alldata site and read up on it there if you fail to believe my post.......maybe i was incorrect in saying "below 12 volts"......but it is a regulated charging system.

 

He is right its part of the fuel management system, or something like that it helps to keep the MPG down

http://www.duboismarketing.com/pages/article.asp?id=31

For those of you who don't want to read it heres a quote

"Why is this important to you? Suppose you have a customer with a 2005 Chevy Cobalt that comes to you complaining that his volt meter has dropped from around 14 volts to 13 volts. He thinks he has a bad alternator. You think that he might be right. At the least he has a charging system problem. Wrong!!! The RVC system is doing its job. The vehicle computer has made a decision based upon vehicle parameters that 13 volts is the most efficient set point on this vehicle. Replacing the alternator might create a different environment that would cause the set point to again be changed, but it could reset back to 13 volts as soon as the parameters are the same as before. "

 

Hmmm, interesting.

I still see it as a good idea to have a voltmeter - to indicate if you have a real problem - you know, like, a low/dead battery.

 

correct i agreed on that but not below 12v. 13v sure but no computer can regulate the car below battery voltage other then draining the battery

 

All right, I created a how-to, but I'm waiting for it to be approved...

 

damn bright

 

The camera didn't like taking the pictures. It's really not THAT bright - it looks really nice at night...just for some reason, the camera didn't want to take the picture correctly, haha.

 

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-guide-43/how-install-auto-meter-voltmeter-135541/

There's the how-to.

 

looks good

 

funny im getting ready to install a voltmeter here verry soon