(ET) e-meters on ETs

[Jim Coate <jbc coate org>]

To those who have used an e-meter on their elec-traks, how have you 
hooked up the meter? The standard meter is meant for 12 & 24 volt 
battery packs, and the specifications say 40 volts max on the power 
input and 50 volts max on the voltage sense input.

So... for power either need to tap the pack (3-4 batteries), or use a 
dc/dc convertor, or maybe some sort of voltage regulator (which wastes a 
couple of watts as heat).

For the voltage sense, the pack probably stays under 50 volts on charge 
but might go a little over. Have folks not worried about it and been OK, 
or used the pre-scaler (0-100 volts), or maybe a zener to clip off above 
50 volts (but making voltage readings wrong if it gets that high)?


And for those who haven't seen an e-meter, it is $200 "fuel" gage that 
uses a microcomputer to track battery voltage and current and then based 
on battery parameters you program in it determines the approximate state 
of charge.

_________
Jim Coate
1992 Chevy S10
1970's Elec-Trak
http://www.eeevee.com