Which wire goes where (voltmeter)

I've just brought a very cheap standard voltmeter off ebay (i hate blanked off holes in dashboards) and assumed the wiring on my 89 110 would be tucked away behind the blanking plate.

It wasnt - did they use a different loom for the base models, or the ones without the votmeter as standard?

Wiring the dash light bulb was easy, just piggy backed off the temp sensor bulb but .... does the voltmeter just need a 0 and +12v connecton, is it switched or can it be permanently live?

Other than not being totally sure how to wire it up the only issue i have with the voltmeter is it's too clean and shows the rest of the dash up, a tin of spray on grime would come in handy if only to hide the fact i have been buying parts again.

I have no experience of the LR voltmeter, I've had no need to take it out.
but I would assume it has only two terminals, 0 and 12 as you say. Why dont you try it between earth and the 12v you just put on the dash bulb ? The meter is showing the voltage across the whole system (since it is all connected together) it may show a slight difference to the voltage at the battery if you have some poor connections (extra resistance) on the feed to the meter. It is normally switched by the ignition - key out the meter is dead. You could leave it on all the time but is must be easier to plug it into the dash light feed than find another unswitched supply.

Oh, The dash lamps are switched on my '87 so you would have to have them on to see working. Better to find another switched feed. There are some about, I wired in a stereo recently and found several switched by the ignition but none permenantly supplied so it forgets the radio stations each trip..Easy to find them if you have a voltmeter or a spare bulb and some wire etc. sorry I cant recall the colours.

Well you should have 2 wires on the meter, a + & -
You can try to connect it to any 12v source, if the meter goes offscale at the bottom end, thats backwards. it shouldnt damage it, but dont leave it reversed for long.

Yes, you want a switched 12V. (andycooper) its not a good idea to leave it permanently connected, the few mA that the meter will take, could discharge the battery of a period of time.
If you are not too worried about a perfect reading, connect to any accessory feed (radio, lighter socket etc) but a more accurate reading of the battery will be found if you connect directly to the wires from the Ignition switch (i forget if its white or purple) but be very carefull you make a stong & well insulated connection if done there, as a mistake can leave you with blown fuses or worse, on fire.

no no no don't do that! you must logon to www.wikipedia and get all the facts first before you do anything. it very dangerous to take advice from people on specialised forums as they don't know what they are talking about. you could bring about the end of the world. you must do a google search for the required information or just go straight to wikipedia. they will have all pertinent facts relating to your query.
once again ..never never listen to any one with experence in anything as it will be wrong.
hoss i'm surprised at you, i didn't think for one second you would be fool hardy enough to pass on information like that; or did you get it from the internet.

hmm, the resident forum troll strikes again.

I really feel sorry for people who don't know how to keep their mouth shut, when all they have to say is b.....ks

nothing beats feeling sorry for yourself!

hello friends, i have to say i agree with hoss. but he really should stop feeling sorry for himself! its not his fault he didn't have the benifit of an educashun from me. I can offer a remedial course on how to stop talking bollocks, for a small fee. the course would take place in the vestibul of the school and afterwards perhaps he would like to look at me etchings.
as for this myth about exploding bushes, well what can i say ? i spend 10 years in the missions of darkest africa, living mainly in the bushlands and although the natives burned the bushes for heat and cooking i never ever seen one explode. perhaps mr hoss can explain why no one has ever seen a bush explode? or is his psychological problem such that he has to talk bollocks so he can then feel sorry for himself?
I have a shrink in my parish and i'm sure if i asked him he could help mr hoss with his problem, of course mr hoss would have to want to change. i also note that aswell as his problem about feeling sorry for himself he is also a liar, in that he stated he was going to play with the grown ups in the grown ups forum, yet it is plain to see he is still hanging around. is this because the grown ups wont let him talk bollocks? so he has to remain here to satify his lust for self pity
your servant
icahbod horsetrumpet

ok, now i get it. This forum is troll infested.
what will your split personallitiies do when all of the sane folk are driven off?

we'll pick on the insane ones, starting with you. unless of course you have buggered off to the big boys forum by then