I'm thinking about adding an accessory fuse box to clean up the number of additional connections I have on the battery posts.
Right now I only have a battery tender connected to the battery and it was a tight fit just to get those connected on top of all the other stock wires on each battery post. I share this same connection with my heated vest with an adapter but would like to put the vest on it's own connector. In addition, I have one of the Eastern Beaver headlight wiring kits headed this way and it too connects to the battery.
I am assuming I can get a fuse box that has both positive and negative connections to the battery and then wire these accessories into the box with an appropriate fuse for each?
Has anyone done this? If so, what type of fuse box, and where did you get it? Any tips would be very appreciated as I'm generally a hack with electrics!
I did this recently. I have heated grips a cigarette socket (not for smoking but accessories) and power for the additional headlight relays.
I bought an 8 gang fuse box of ebay. Try searching for auto fuse box and see what comes up.
Then I used cable ties to attach it to the side of the relay block under the seat (sport i).
Very useful and I have a futher 5 positions left.
I just had the battery out and back in and it is a tight squeeze.
Waytek wires is here: http://www.waytekwire.com/ Click on "Products" drop down to "fuse products" and page through the many types of fuses, holders, breakers etc. The ATO and ATC as well as Mini fuses are the type usually preferred.
I was having alot of trouble getting all the wires on the battery, so I came up with a solution for the negative side, which was to attach all the wires that going to negative to the frame and then I ran an automotive gauge wire to from the battery negative to the ground point at the frame.
For the positive side I still have to struggle.
I am considering moving a couple of the lines down to the starter terminal.
But a fuse block would be nice if I knew of a good place to fit it.
I already have a nice fuse block, similar to the image that Gary posted, but it is a bit big, kind of heavy, and not really weather proof.
This is good medicine, removing the terminal stack. I did this by using junction blocks zip-tied to the frame. The positive side uses the mount point for the flasher and one zip-tie. On the early Sport the flasher has to be relocated over near the relay block. This requires relieving the seat pan with a Dremel and reseealing with black RTV silicone.
After having the melting 30 amp regulator fuse, I added the outside fuse holder for that circuit and put that terminal feed directly back on the battery.
Thanks for the good info everyone!
I ordered up one of the Centech AP-1's for this little project.
It appears the Centech uses soldered connections on a printed circuit board. These are a prime source of electrical failure in automotive applications.Especially high current loads. The solder does not take vibration stresses well and when the current load increases, heat further weakens the bond. Without a good mechanical connection , the soldered connection is of questionable reliability.
The cross- sectional area of the copper PC land further limits the capacity.
This is good mojo, and something I too have been meaning to do as well once I get the bike back in my garage and get the heated grips working again.
I'd also avoid soldered boards, unless designed for an automotive/MC application. But the Centech is from Aerostitch, and has a good review, so?? I'd suspect it is OK.
"Good reviews" are just a short term look at something that may be easy to use and look pretty. Anyone who works vehicle electrical systems looks at PC connections applied to heavy current areas subject to mechanical stresses with a jaundiced eye. Frequently power window, lock, door and seat malfunctions are caused by solder joint to PC or switch terminal failure. The long term reliabilitly is usually poor.
Thanks Gary. That is good to know. One of the things I liked about the Centech is it's small size..probably a result of using a printed circuit board. I'll try to find some mounting setup to reduce vibrations on it. Maybe something similar to the rubber insulating screws holding the CPU down? Given the risk I don't think I'll try hook any "important" stuff through it, only items like the battery tender and heated vest. I was toying with the idea of hooking up the new headlight relay kit to this rather than direct to the battery and replacing the in-line fuse from the kit with a fuse in this box.
No big deal it is just something to keep an eye on. Try to secure the wires near to the actual connections at the board. Keeping the movement to a minimum is the best bet. Floating around creates stresses on the soldered joints and leads to break down.
Heh, lots of th Guzzi stuff reminds me of my old 1950s Lionel Trains - all switches and solenoids - no spooky black boxes with thin solder lines holding sway against a 120 kph wind.
Good stuff Docc. As an added benefit you are probably getting better action from your regulator. Not to mention heading off a potential future hot-seat episode.
I still wonder if I should add a ground strap to the regulator case.