Electrical question

[pilot]

I wired an electrical accessory plug, fused, directly to the battery, to facilitate use of a heated vest. A motorcycle mechanic suggested this was a bad idea as doing so could strain the voltage regulator but if I wired it through a relay controlled by the ignition, that it would not do so. That makes no sense to me. Anybody got any pearls of wisdom? :rolleyes:

[Spanner Man]

Good afternoon.
I doubt that it would strain the regulator. However, connecting directly to the battery is not a good idea, as the wire stays permanently live, & could possibly short out against something, flattening your battery if nothing else.

Wiring it via a fused relay is a good idea, for the current for your vest will come directly from the battery via the relay, & yet the circuit will not be live when the ignition is off, & therefore safer.

Cheers.

[jambo]

I have an optimate charger connector at the side of the bike, it's wired straight to the battery with an in-line fuse. It's in a water-proof seal. It's not been a problem thus far. I see the point of the relay, and I've flattened the battery on my old bandit by having heated grips wired directly to the battery, but I've not found this setup a problem.

[Sideshow#36]

I have an optimate charger connector at the side of the bike, it's wired straight to the battery with an in-line fuse. It's in a water-proof seal. It's not been a problem thus far. I see the point of the relay, and I've flattened the battery on my old bandit by having heated grips wired directly to the battery, but I've not found this setup a problem.

I have the same optimate and i havnt had any problems too. Seems to work fine. :)

[Spanner Man]

Afternoon.
As long as you're happy with the set up then keep using it. Just make sure that the wire is safely secured when not in use.

Cheers

[empty]

There are a few ways of wiring in accessories. First is direct connection to the battery, has the advantage (or disadvantage) of being on all the time. Hence this isn't recommended.

Second way is to wire into an existing (ignition switched) circuit with some spare capacity. Accessories then automatically switch off when bike is turned off. However, should something go wrong you are going to lose something on your bike as the fuse will go, common circuits to wire stuff in on are the horn or signal circuits. You could also overload the circuit and blow the fuse if you turn everything on, depending on the load and the fuse rating.

Third way is a compromise between the two, relay controlled by the ignition circuit (low current feed) switching feed from battery (higher current feed). If it fails you don't lose any of the other circuits as (hopefully) only the fuse on that circuit blows, and is isolated from all the others.

Note, the current is always coming from the battery, which is kept constantly charging by the output of the voltage regulator, if there is no fault condition there will be little difference in the current draw (relay coils usually are in the milliamp range) of the three methods, so all place the same strain on the battery and regulator.

MT