9 hours of wiring....(picture heavy)

[ejsaenz]

I needed to install relays on the bike to get more power to the headlights, so I went in with both feet. I also wanted a relay to switch in the fuse block I needed and to provide a safer way to connect my battery tender.

I used:
4 Bosch-type relays 3SPDT and 1 SPST
1 6 position Buss fuse block
4 sockets for the relay
1 headlight socket -female
A bunch of wire
Heat shrink tubing
Tape
Zip ties
Crimp on butt splices misc. hardware.

I sometimes forget to disconnect the battery tender fom the bike when working on it and this causes it to display a fault. One SPDT relay connets the source (30) connection to the battery and the 'a' connection to the battery tender and the 'b' connection to the fuseblock. This way when the bike is off, the battery tender can charge the battery, and when I have it on, the tender disconnects and the battery powers the fuseblock and the bike. I've discharged the battery many times when testing and repairing problems.

The other relays power the low beams, high beams and the passing lamps. The passing lamps control circuit is tied in to the headlight's low beam output with a switch, so when in high beam, they go out automatically and not overtax the charging circuit.

I also rewired my 12V power port off of the battery terminal, to the starter solenoid power feed, so I won't have to deal with extra wires on the battery when maintaining it.

I had to relocate the original fusebox lower in the right side compartment to make room for the relays. This involved cutting open the harness and retaping it back to move the fusebox. I had to cut off the mounting bracket to make room.

On the left side, I relocated the wiring harnes to behind the tubing and mounted the new fuseblock to the side of the toolbox using L-brackets one outside the box and one side of an L-bracket on the inside of the box for better support. My fuse kit came with a little yellow fuse puller and it fit the power connecton stud perfectly. It protects the stud and is a handy location for it.

I havent found a suitable switch box or location for switches, so I twisted a small L-bracket to fit on the bolt that holds the ignition key cover in place and mounted the switch inconspicuously.

Everything fits well and works awesome. Here are the pictures...

Right side cover showing relays and original fuseblock.


Left Side showing fuseblock and switch.


Top view of seat pan area.



I still have 3 positions left on the fuseblock. I have to do the math for my loads, but I think my fuses will be:

30A main feed
10A low beam
15A high beam (has headlight modulator)*
10A passing lamps

*modulator kept blowing original 10A fuse before the modification. Not sure if it was due to the small wire and voltage drop or it requires more current to operate, now there is no issue.

I'm planning on adding driving lights on the pegs on the highway bar for more visibility at night, accent lighting(?) and maybe an audio system in the future.

[GiveItToMikey]

I think I'll stick to flying 747s.

A lot less complicated.

[xrayr]

I suck at electrical work if there is anything, but plug & play connectors involved.... I would have never attempted anything like that... Congrats to you!!!

[gjordan8981]

Being an EE, I can appreciate the hard work and time it took to complete this project. Looks good. Got me to thinking, I will re-work mine this week also. Great job!


Sent from my Motorcycle iPhone app

[davelisowski]

very impressive. tackling electical work is tough work.

i'll have to reference this thread later. keep up the good work!

[ejsaenz]

I finally got around to drawing up a wiring diagram for those interested or needing to wire in their own relays. It's a bit sloppy, maybe I'll get around to cleaning it up.

Hope this helps those who need it.

[nolls]

Very nice job. Wiring can be a pain in the arse! I had to take mine all apart and clean it up and replace some sections and that wasn't much fun, so I can only imagine that work....Again nice work!

[jpr1968]

If you are referring to your running lights as pasing lamps that fuse is way too big, should be around 1 to 1 1/2a max. The headlight should only require a 10a fuse. There is either a wiring issue with way it was or you have a buld that's higher wattage then is standard. Plus, how hard is it to remember to unplug your battery tender? Running it through a relay isn't really any safer then running it direct to a battery. I agree with Give it to Mikey, simpler is easier and a lot less to go wrong.

[ejsaenz]

1A to 1.5A would be perfect if I had 12W to 18W driving lamps. I have two 35W lamps so the fuse should be 6A minimum. 1A would be suitable for the relay solenoid, but not the lamps

Basic electrical theory: (for those that don't know or understand wattage values)

Watts/Volts=Amps

To solve for amps, divide watts by volts and you get fuse size.

35W + 35W = 70W total

70 Watts / 12 Volts = 5.83 A
so I can use a 7.5A fuse and be ok.
(I don't have an issue with a larger fuse for my uses.)



When I installed the headlight modulator, it blew the 10A fuse constantly. I don't know if this was due to the current requirements of the modulator or that the conductor was too small gauge to handle the voltage drop due to resistive losses in the conductor. [I*I*R losses] I fuse for the size of the conductor and not for the power requirements of the device, especially if it's just a light circuit. If the device was electronic in nature (radio or GPS), then I would size according to manufacturer's specifications. I haven't tried putting a 10A fuse in it to verify theory, no time and the circuit can handle the size fuse installed with no worries of overloading.

*modulator kept blowing original 10A fuse before the modification. Not sure if it was due to the small wire size and voltage drop or it requires more current to operate, now there is no issue.

The purpose of the tender relay connection is for testing. When I key on the bike or start it, it causes the tender to go into trouble mode.

The way I wired it solves some issues for me.

The tender charges or maintains the battery when the key is in the OFF position.

I start the bike for testing or verifiying work, so the relay ELECTRICALLY disconnects the tender and the bike operates normal state, it does not physically disconnect the plug. If I turn the key off, it ELECTRICALLY reconnects the tender to maintain the battery as I work on another issue, the same issue or just walk away from the bike. At no point does it physically remove the plug from the bike. The battery has a tendency to not have enough power to start the bike if I do several start and shut down cycles in a row without some way of maintaining the charge. The current draw from the starter would drain the battery, This way the tender can charge the battery so I won't have any concerns about having the tender connected straight to the battery while the alternator is running. I don't want to take a chance on damaging the tender or charging circuit on the bike if they are both charging the battery at the same time. If you have a tender, start the bike with it connected and verify that it goes into fault mode. Mine does. It is a pain to constantly physically disconnect and reconnect the battery tender while I'm working on the bike at each test step; meaning I have to put my tools down, get up, move to the side of the bike to operate the plug and go back to continue work. It save considerable time and energy to just have it do it automatically as I'm working when I operate the key. That and it puts more wear and tear on the connector and strain releifs every time it is manually connected and disconnected.


It is a very simple circuit that is easy to bypass if trouble arises. I think even GiveItToMikey would like it. The most complicated part was cutting the harness wrap off, retaping, and relocating the original fuse panel. I think the job could have been easier and shorter length of time if I had a motorcycle table lift instead of working at ground level, that and not having my workbench with all the tools at hand for the job. My garage is a bit of a mess. I kept forgetting where I left the tape, solder, heatshrink, wire connectors, etc...

I wrote down the wrong wire sizes on the diagram. I'm using 12GA wire for all circuits leading to the lamps. The control wiring is 16 ga and factory size wiring (20GA?).

I've been a journey level electrical mechanic for over 15 years and working on automotive wiring for more than 30 years. This work is from experience and training. My line of work involves working on 500KVDC, 500KVAC all the way down to board level electronic circuit repairs. I work for a power utility in the generating division. This stuff is fun to work on and less stressful than the high voltage stuff at work.

[Paulie]

Wow, I feel like I learned alot in the two hours it took me to comprehend what you did, although I know I still don't know anything. Thanks for posting.