Put Your Battery Warning Light to a Better Use

[Grumpy]

After upgrading to an AGM battery from Wesco, my Voyager battery sensor light was no longer needed - but I didn’t want to waste the possible use of a dash-board warning light. I found a way to a great solution on the web.
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At Radio Shack for about $1.75 (yup, less than $2) you can buy a chip about the size of your thumbnail - it's actually a minature voltage regulator - that takes 12VDC down to 5.2VDC, regulated, perfect to keep the battery light out.
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Ok, here's how I use it. There are three leads on the chip, and simple instructions that come with it. One lead goes to ground. Another to the battery sensor wire (that's the 5.2 VDC output). The third - well, you can choose what 12 VDC source to attach it to. You can tie it directly to the + side of the battery- no problem. Instead, I wanted to make it useful again. I chose to attach it to the fused side of an accessory fuse block I put in - that way, if the accessory fuse is blown, power won't go to the chip, and the battery light will come on :) - letting me know my accessories aren't working - or have over-drawn that circuit.
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Here's the part number, cost & description just gleaned from http://www.radioshack.com: " $1.59 - +5V Fixed-Voltage Regulator 7805 Model: 7805 | Catalog #: 276-1770 This high-power regulator has capabilities up to +5V at 1 amp."
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(forgive me if this is posted here elsewhere ... I can't find it today, but I could swear I put this up here a few days ago....)

[xszgrider]

I think this is a great idea. I am going to attach mine to the running lights. I never can tell if they are on during the day and I like to use them in the city.

However, I don't believe you need the 5 volt regulator. A resistor from 1K to 5K will work and be easier to install. I am using a 5k now attached to the battery. I am just going to move it to the running light relay.

Thanks for the great idea.

[Grumpy]

John, from what a electrical techie tells me, you're right about the resistor as you could just install in 'in line'. The only concern he had was to ask how much current the circuit draws, and does the voltage going into the resistor vary at all. But if you've been running with that already, I can't imagine it being a problem or you'd already have other weird stuff going on. There's always more'n one way to skin a cat, or customize a bike :-)