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I believe another of these gauges would work if you put one on the cable from the alternator. However, I would much rather have one gauge that works the way I would like. It seems from the description that the gauge you posted would do this.
I did make the commute with the new gauge installed this morning. I learned a bunch of interesting info:
1) Power usage:
- 2A with they key in the ON position
- 6.5A with the engine running
- another 2A for running lights
- more testing to come on this...
2) The alternator can indeed spit out it's rated power, at least briefly. The highest I saw was actually 91A for a short period. I'm not sure what kind of continuous power it can output, but that is of little concern for my setup. When things are more setup, I plan to get some video of things working. It's too slapped together right now to do so.
3) The Mirage is pretty darn efficient when it comes to power use IMO. I figured that it would use a lot more power with being a newer car. If I am using 7A on my 30 minute commute, that means I only have to regen/charge 7Ah a day. That is not that much energy. I highly doubt it can all be done by regen, but with a small solar panel I am sure I could get away without plugging in to charge under most circumstances.
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