Electrical scare this morning on the bike

[cajun1104]

So I was just about to work this morning, which is only about a ten minute ride. The weather today was brisk, in the mid 30's. I Have installed a pair of fog lights to the lower portion of the forks. I intended these to be just for night riding but got in the habit lately of just leaving them on all the time. Anyways, just made my final turn onto the campus where I work and notice smoke coming from the speedometer area. I high-tailed it to my parking area, shut down the bike and noticed the wires from my fog light switch were on fire. Luckily I was wearing gloves today, so I reached in and ripped the buring wires and switch out. I guess I learned why having the right size fuse is a must. Everything else on the bike still functions properly. Just wanted to share my wake-up story for today.

[John Hopkins]

Wow..has that front tire ever been ridden, it needs a couple of hundred miles and a bit of leaning into the bends..

John.

[jpr1968]

Not just the right size fuse but also the right size wire. If the switch and wires burned up due to no fault other then over amperage then the wires also were under sized. Any part in the circuit should be able to handle the load without burning up. What size wire was used and what wattage lights?

[cajun1104]

Originally Posted by jpr1968

Not just the right size fuse but also the right size wire. If the switch and wires burned up due to no fault other then over amperage then the wires also were under sized. Any part in the circuit should be able to handle the load without burning up. What size wire was used and what wattage lights?

the lights are 55 watts, upon further inspection, the switch is fine. the wire used was either 14 or 16 ga. It also looks like there was a short somehow between the negative and power wire. What gauge wire should I use?

[cajun1104]

Originally Posted by John Hopkins

Wow..has that front tire ever been ridden, it needs a couple of hundred miles and a bit of leaning into the bends..

John.

in this picture no. brand new tire. I put that picture up just to show the lights. I think it was taken back in March. the tire now has almost 5000 miles and plenty of leaning on them. great set of tires.

[Big B]

Those 55 watt lights are gonna put a strain on your system especially if you're leaving them on all the time. Might wanna change out to a lower wattage bulb. Also if you're not running them through a relay, you should do that as well.

[GilaMinumBeer]

Originally Posted by cajun1104

the lights are 55 watts, upon further inspection, the switch is fine. the wire used was either 14 or 16 ga. It also looks like there was a short somehow between the negative and power wire. What gauge wire should I use?

IIRC, Power over volts equals amps. 55 divide by 12 is 4.6.

16ga multi-strand is capable of carrying up to 20amps
14ga ms is capable of carrying up to 40amps.

The 16ga would lose nearly 1 volt over a 3 foot run.

I think guage is fine. Question is whether or not the wire insulation is rated for the wattage/amperage it's being used for. Should say on the wire somewhere.

[cajun1104]

Originally Posted by Big B

Those 55 watt lights are gonna put a strain on your system especially if you're leaving them on all the time. Might wanna change out to a lower wattage bulb. Also if you're not running them through a relay, you should do that as well.

Yeah, I am looking into getting some LED bulbs for them. I do have them ran through a relay.

Originally Posted by GilaMinumBeer

IIRC, Power over volts equals amps. 55 divide by 12 is 4.6.

16ga multi-strand is capable of carrying up to 20amps
14ga ms is capable of carrying up to 40amps.

The 16ga would lose nearly 1 volt over a 3 foot run.

I think guage is fine. Question is whether or not the wire insulation is rated for the wattage/amperage it's being used for. Should say on the wire somewhere.

I will have to check on the insulation of the wire. Thats what it looks like is the problem though. I think I might leave these disconnected until I can get the LEDs installed, then I wont have a need to worry too much about the amps. Thanks for the responses.

[gmck]

speaking of the tire, isn't it mounted backwards?

[cajun1104]

Originally Posted by gmck

speaking of the tire, isn't it mounted backwards?

You make a good point. Never really thought about till now. I have a local shop put it on. The rotation arrow is pointing the right direction. However, it is on the right hand side. What side should the arrow be on. Might be taking the tire off soon the flip it.

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