[GoldDigger]

For Christmas the wife and I got new heated gear. I tied her main wires to the "accessory" connections. Can I tie my wires in the same place or should I take it directly to the battery?

 

[Dalma]

When I installed heated gear I like to tie the power back to the battery but to install a fuse and relay rather than directly to the battery.

 

[fossil92]

You can tie them directly but as Dalma said you should have an inline fuse. I used the EC auxilary fuse panel with relay. Wired it in to the start circuit so that when you engage the starter the relay disengages. I believe it is a much nicer setup, individual fuses for the accessories on an easy to reach block right at the battery makes a whole lot more sense to an old fossil.

 

[detdrbuzzard]

i have synergy electric gear and there is a fuse in the harness that comes with the gear. it connects to the battery

 

[budoka]

Haven't had heated gear for a long time, but I tied my wife's Widder vest direct to the battery (as they suggested at the time) and the pig-tail stuck out just under the edge of the seat. It had an inline fuse.

 

[Ron Robertson]

I would prefer the relay fuse combo.
A fused lead from the battery to the open relay contact the other half of the contacts to the heated gear. And use a lead from the accessory terminal on top of the fuse panel for the trigger/activating voltage to the relay coil.
That way there will only be voltage on heated gear lead when the bike is running.
From the Northwest Corner.
Ron

 

[Comanche]

I connected mine directly to the battery. On Jan 1 the inline fuse not only blew, but broke in half. I put a spare fuse in and then discovered I could not turn off the tourmaster heated jacket. I notified Motorcycle Superstore where I bought it and in two days had a new controller. It works fine now.

 

[sean mccarthy]

I would check the current draw of the grips (both sets) before I would connect to the aux points. That should only be a 5 amp fuse. Do you have anything else connected to the same point?

 

[Badrider]

I have my wifes and my own hooked up directly to the battery with in line fuses. I have never encountered any problems with this set up.

 

[GoldDigger]

Don't know anything about replays so educate me. My connection wire has built in fuse and as I connected it to the EC fuse block it does not become hot unless the key is on. What type of relay? What do I ask for and what is the purpose of a relay other than disconnecting juice. Since the top screws on the EC fuse block does not become hot until I turn the key is there any need for the relay? Seems if I connect directly to the battery it will be hot all of the time and therefore would need a relay to kill it. Am I correct?

 

[Ron Robertson]

You are right if you connect it directly to the Battery the lead coming of the battery would be hot all the time. But if you run it through the relay it stops there just like all the other circuits on the bike.
How many Amps does each piece of riding gear draw ?. The Accessory circuit is rated at 5 amps before it blows the fuse. Consider what the total draw will be when you have all your gear connect and turned up to max. And please do not put a larger fuse in, in place of the existing fuse. The wire going to accessory terminal could over heat and cause damage to the entire wire harness. It's all a safety issue.
From the Northwest Corner
Ron

 

[GoldDigger]

Ron, from what I understand about a relay is that it is no more than a switch and if I have a controller, that is a switch also. The juice does not flow until I turn the controller up. So why do I need a relay (switch) ahead of the controller? Is it for the purpose of taking the power off of the plug adapter when nothing is attached to it? If so, I can see the reasoning. Next thing...is this a special relay or a relay in general? Does this connect directly to the battery and then the controller wires to it? Can two controllers attach to one relay?

 

[Ron Robertson]

Golddigger: All the relay is, is a electromagnetic switch. With the trigger voltage applied to the coil of the relay, the contacts close and pass the voltage onto the device ie: heated clothing. If your control will turn completely off, you may not need the relay.

If you use a relay, you can either use a switch to control the trigger voltage, so that the relay does not get turned on until you turn the switch on. This would keep voltage off the circuit for the clothing till you need it.
Or you can use the voltage from the Accessory terminal to as a trigger voltage to turn the relay on when the bike is turned on.
How much current does each piece of clothing draw. ? That would determine the current handling requirement of the relay, I'm thinking one 20 amp. relay would be enough. to handle both
You would want a 12 volt automotive relay with a current ratting of at least twice the total current required for the clothing. You do not want to fry the contact.
If you want I can send you schematic drawing of how I just wired some lights on my wing using a relay, same principle.
If you have a Pep Boys auto parts , I'm told they have Pilot Relays and that the NV-RY1 is a 12 volt 20 amp replacement for the 12volt 20 amp relays on the 1500 Gold Wing.
We don't have Pep boys up here so I don't know for sure.
Here's my e-mail [email protected]. if you want to contact me directly.
From the Northwest Corner
Ron

 

[Ron Robertson]

Golddigger:
here is the phone number
360-988-2305
Ron