Autocom - help .......

[jennybob]

Has anyone fitted an Autocom system to their bike?
I need to find a place to wire the power lead - not sure if it should be to the rear lights or not. If it is, which is the power lead?
Can anyone post a few piccies.

thanks

[riktherider]

you need to connect it to a constant live, ie a live which is constantly on. you can either have it connected directly to the battery, or you can plug it into the lights but bear in mind that the power will only come on when you turn the lights on. get a haynes manual and read the wiring diargram. it will clearly show you which wires go to the fuses and battery and which ones are earthed.

[RandyO]

I would not connect direct to the battery. too easy to leave on and drain the battery

on the nekid models thare is an extra switched power lead inside the headlamp bucket

[thor]

On the pointy there is a spare slot in the fuse box. That is switched so it goes off when the key is off. Otherwise across the tail light is next best thing.

Do yourself a favour though - label all the wires, and use a proper connector so you can disconnect it easily.

[Kylie]

Fitted a starcom to mine this month, I wired it across the battery.

I had a bit of bother at first (see http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=39459&highlight=) because I stupidly wired across the starter relay, don't do that. In the end I wired directly to the battery - bought some "blue" size crimp ring connectors from Halfords which did the job fine.

I have bought a wee relay and ultimately want to wire up a switched arrangement like thor suggests but I wanted to prove the whole thing works to start with. The starcomm switches off when you disconnect the cable (autocomm might do that too) so I am not worried about battery drain. And I don't know where this extra connection in the fuse box is!

[thor]

There's no connector in the fuse box, just a spare hole on the underside! You have to just stuff it in and fix it somehow.

[Kylie]

You have to just stuff it in and fix it somehow.
So do you have to buy the right crimp terminal for this, is there a solder tag? Had a look in the "electrical" bit of the SV manual online but doesn't cover fuses....

Definetly like the sound of doing it this way, don't really want to cut the wire to the rear lamp.

[Patch]

Autocom must be wired to a switched circuit as it takes a constant drain of power, there is no on or off mechanism. A good feed is the lights as this enables you to switch off your pillion when they are getting on your nerves.

Starcom on the otherhand can be wired to the battery, this is because if the riders headset is not plugged in the unit switches off.

[thor]

Like I said, I found no way to properly fix the wire into the fuse box slot. On the underside of the fuse box there are square holes that wires come out of. There is at least one hole that has no wire. If you bare the end of the live autocom wire you can stuff it in there to make contact with a piece of metal. There is a small fin that can be bent to clamp the wire but it's shaky at best. That plus some tape or glue should last a while. If it falls out you know what to do at least. I found no way to dis-assemble the fuse box correctly to do a better job. The other autocom wire can be connected direct to the ground of the battery or frame.

On the pointies there is no light switch! You could fit some switch and hide it behind the fairing on bolt to the bar or something. Alternatively you can disconnect your helmet!

It's also quite important to find somewhere to mount the unit that enables easy adjustment of the volume and vox settings. Also make sure you know which is which, and what direction up and down is for both. Otherwise you can waste a lot of time faffing about getting them right. Blasting wind noise to your mates' helmets when rushing for a ferry ain't cool. If you fit it under the seat you run the risk of having to remove any tailpack to adjust.

Personally I found a space under the right side panel. That way it's easy to adjust without removing the luggage. The wiring is 'creative' and the unit get's rubbed by the tank, not ideal but seems to work.

[Kylie]

I've been talking to the starcom folks today as I had some trouble with noise on the wire from my GPS unit and first thing they recommended is wire the starcom direct to the battery, low noise that way apparently. Mine has always been wired that way so don't know if thats true. I'll probably leave it running off the battery so...

I mounted mine under the pillion seat like so (tis behind the scottoiler):
http://upload4.postimage.org/432856/Image003.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/432856/photo_hosting.html)
Yes I have to stop to change the volume but haven't had to do that yet, plus I will install a car lighter socket under the seat and stick the mp3 player under there powered from the socket for long trips, saves having wires going everywhere and keeps it all dry(ish).

[Stig]

I have an Autocom. I have it fitted under the pillion seat. Also it is wired to the battery via an on/off switch mounted on the handlebars and via an inline fuse.