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I miss having a Voltmeter on this 2018 F-150 Lariat. I've never owned a vehicle without a voltmeter. I even add them to my motorcycles. It's not like there aren't plenty of gauges - it's great to have Boost and Transmission Temperature gauges. However, a vehicle that is so dependent on it's electrical system, especially with Auto-Start/Stop in use, deserves a Voltmeter.
I've played with the displays for hours and read the Owner's Manual thoroughly, but no sign of a Voltmeter. I get that there is a warning indicator in the symbol of a battery, but somehow, not seeing a warning lamp fails to give me confidence that my battery is in its happy place, especially while stopped at a long traffic signal with the engine off.
I have no desire to stick some cheesy after-market gauge on this truck. So if I've missed the secret Voltmeter hiding place, please let me know. Otherwise I may have to go to Gauges Anonymous for some confessional therapy so that I can learn to believe that the absence of malfunction indication means everything is fine..
Hi, my name is Boondocker and I'm a gauge-aholic.
Last edited by B00Ndocker; Dec 11, 2018 at 03:54 PM.
Reason: added poll
i could be wrong but i think the volt meters in the ford trucks are like the oil pressure ones...idiot lights disguised as gauges. I'd much rather have the trans temp
Part of the reason you don't see the voltmeter is because of the smart battery charging system. Unless the needle was dampened substantially, you'd see the voltage fluctuating a lot - since the management system is deciding voltages based on a lot of other factors besides what the alternator can deliver.
i could be wrong but i think the volt meters in the ford trucks are like the oil pressure ones...idiot lights disguised as gauges. I'd much rather have the trans temp
agreed, they are pretty much there to let you know the alternator has crapped the bed.
Part of the reason you don't see the voltmeter is because of the smart battery charging system. Unless the needle was dampened substantially, you'd see the voltage fluctuating a lot - since the management system is deciding voltages based on a lot of other factors besides what the alternator can deliver.
This is true. My "cheezy" Scangauge shows a lot of fluctuation.
I definitely miss a real time voltmeter in my truck.
A real time voltmeter can tell so much about what is going on with the battery/charging system.
Next best would be an amperage draw meter as with some of the much older vehicles.
I've got a real time voltmeter on my old Jeep XJ and monitor it a lot along with the real time oil psi gauge.
Seems like all these new vehicles are going backwards with less driver real time information..
Great! I was afraid it would be more complicated than Ford just cheaping out on an additional gauge. They could have given me an "idiot light disguised as a gauge" and I'd have been none the wiser.
Looks like I'm going to need that therapy after all to sooth my analog brain.
Originally Posted by MNgopher
Part of the reason you don't see the voltmeter is because of the smart battery charging system. Unless the needle was dampened substantially, you'd see the voltage fluctuating a lot - since the management system is deciding voltages based on a lot of other factors besides what the alternator can deliver.
I too was surprised to learn a Truck like these does not have a Voltmeter!
So, I found this quick fix at a local hardware store!...it's Digital BUT tells voltage AND it has a couple USB's.....
( and it's better-n-nuthin'! )
Voltmeter
