Marcus has very practical suggestions.

If you really want to measure voltage, just use a voltage divider --
two resistors in series and measure the midpoint voltage.

For instance, 10K Ohm resistors will allow 12V/2*10^4 = 0.6 mAmp
current with a midpoint voltage of 6V (or so, the bttery voltage might
start a little higher).

The DS2438 can measure 2-10V easily and draws 50uA so should work for
your analysis.

In fact, the DS2438 is a battery monitor and can measure current draw.
It's sensors (Vsens) actually measure a voltage differential of up to
250mV. So measuring voltage across a 1 Ohm resistor in series with the
load can give current readings up to 1/4 amp.

See DS2438 datasheet: http://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS2438.pdf

and  OWFS man page: http://www.owfs.org/uploads/DS2438.3.html

On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 2:08 PM, Markus Gaugusch <mar...@gaugusch.at> wrote:
> On Jun 16, Jason C. Lamb <l...@gweep.net> wrote:
>
>> I am fairly new to 1-wire, though I setup a temperature probe about 4 years
>> ago with excellent success.  Today I am looking to 1-wire to monitor the
>> voltage on my car battery.  It seems to drain over night.  I can measure the
>> voltage at night using a multi-meter (13.1 VDC) and by the morning it is 0.2
>> VDC.  The problem I am not sure if the voltage drop is slow and steady, or
>> there is a defect in the battery that is causing a sudden drop off.
>
> While this is not a 1-wire solution, I'd rather pull some fuses of
> suspicious consumers (like radio) and see if the problem persists. If you
> know which fuse is relevant for the battery draining you can find the
> problem more easily.
>
> Additionally, you don't need a voltage meter but an ampere meter to
> measure the current. Voltage won't tell you how much power is consumed
> (it will only tell you when the power is over, that's it).
>
> But: This is more dangerous, as you have to put the ampere meter in-line
> with the consumer, and not parallel like a voltage meter. Some devices
> suck significant amounts of power, so be prepared for some sparks to fly!
>
> I'd probably pull out a fuse, and put in an ampere meter instead. Another
> suspect (apart from the radio) is any consumer in your doors. The cables
> there tend to loose their insulation over time and can cause more or less
> significant current flow.
>
>
> best regards,
> Markus
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> EditLive Enterprise is the world's most technically advanced content
> authoring tool. Experience the power of Track Changes, Inline Image
> Editing and ensure content is compliant with Accessibility Checking.
> http://p.sf.net/sfu/ephox-dev2dev
> _______________________________________________
> Owfs-developers mailing list
> Owfs-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/owfs-developers
>

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EditLive Enterprise is the world's most technically advanced content
authoring tool. Experience the power of Track Changes, Inline Image
Editing and ensure content is compliant with Accessibility Checking.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/ephox-dev2dev
_______________________________________________
Owfs-developers mailing list
Owfs-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/owfs-developers

Reply via email to