Towzatronics 12V (Cigarette) Power Socket

Originally Posted by specialone

Its not complicated at all and its the correct way to do it imo, if you took it to an automotive technician to have one done im sure it would be like this, plus i was given a load of relays so had most of the stuff.
Factory ones will be stand alone as well.

Check out any car cigarette lighter socket, they are always wired directly to the fusebox whether switched by the ignition or not... no relays involved unless it's some piece of cr4p made in Italy, and we know all about how good their electrics are. If it's good enough for Mr General Motors, Mr Volkswagen-Audi and Mr Ford, then it's good enough for me.

Mine's a waterproof in-dash mounted socket rated at 120W wired directly to the battery with a 10A fuse inline, because I mounted it in a place where I'll be able to spot anything plugged into it when I leave the bike overnight, and I want to be able to use certain plugged in items without having to have the ignition switched on. I thought having one under the seat would be bloody annoying when I'm touring as it means unstrapping everything from the pillion seat then restrapping it down again twice every time I wanted to charge my phone or anything else. With it where it is I can just run the charger lead into my tankbag and charge it up as I ride.

If you install a quality one correctly they look like they belong on the bike and don't knock anything off the value.





http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/cigarette-ciga...item3f016bd8ef

Originally Posted by specialone

Horses for courses, i prefer to do it my way cos i know it wont give me any grief.

You've added another component into the equation, thereby doubling your chances of grief.

As my old mentor told me when I was an apprentice "Keep it simple, stupid"

The problem you get when not using a relay (accepted if wired directly you dont have the same issues) is the contacts wont be substantial enough to support switching the 12v socket as well.
Its a no brainer imo, relays are dead cheap to quickly change over if it goes pete tong, igntion circuits / components wont be.

I accept if you're only pulling 120 watts then it shouldnt cause a problem, but my tom tom power cable pulls a lot more than that, so it just not worth the risk.
I could easily run 5-8 amps through mine with no issues.

BTW mine does look neat so wouldnt de value the bike.

Nice job..how did you install it looks so neat?

Originally Posted by Lozzo

Check out any car cigarette lighter socket, they are always wired directly to the fusebox whether switched by the ignition or not... no relays involved unless it's some piece of cr4p made in Italy, and we know all about how good their electrics are. If it's good enough for Mr General Motors, Mr Volkswagen-Audi and Mr Ford, then it's good enough for me.

Mine's a waterproof in-dash mounted socket rated at 120W wired directly to the battery with a 10A fuse inline, because I mounted it in a place where I'll be able to spot anything plugged into it when I leave the bike overnight, and I want to be able to use certain plugged in items without having to have the ignition switched on. I thought having one under the seat would be bloody annoying when I'm touring as it means unstrapping everything from the pillion seat then restrapping it down again twice every time I wanted to charge my phone or anything else. With it where it is I can just run the charger lead into my tankbag and charge it up as I ride.

If you install a quality one correctly they look like they belong on the bike and don't knock anything off the value.





http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/cigarette-ciga...item3f016bd8ef



You've added another component into the equation, thereby doubling your chances of grief.

As my old mentor told me when I was an apprentice "Keep it simple, stupid"

specialone, do you use the powerlet socket allready fitted to the bike, i just bought an adapter to take it ciggarette socket fitting cost 9 quid plus postage, seems very secure, not used in anger yet though.

Originally Posted by bluefishman

specialone, do you use the powerlet socket allready fitted to the bike, i just bought an adapter to take it ciggarette socket fitting cost 9 quid plus postage, seems very secure, not used in anger yet though.

Yeah i do, Hein gericke sell adaptors and replacement plugs for pennies.
My problem was my tom tom, i cant replace the plug as its a 5 amp invertor inside the 12v plug, i didnt want cable trailing all the way to the other socket.
So i use a trailing converta socket for other stuff and the switched one for my tom tom.
I had the same socket set up on my sv and that performed brilliantly so done the same on the st.

Originally Posted by specialone

Yeah i do, Hein gericke sell adaptors and replacement plugs for pennies.
My problem was my tom tom, i cant replace the plug as its a 5 amp invertor inside the 12v plug, i didnt want cable trailing all the way to the other socket.
So i use a trailing converta socket for other stuff and the switched one for my tom tom.
I had the same socket set up on my sv and that performed brilliantly so done the same on the st.

How did you drill the hole in the instrument surround panel without it splitting/cracking?..job you have done looks like it was there in the first place..great job

Originally Posted by ty_uk

How did you drill the hole in the instrument surround panel without it splitting/cracking?..job you have done looks like it was there in the first place..great job

Hole saw, piece of p1ss.
It has a 6mm pilot drill which guides the cutter, i did remove it from bike though just to be safe.

Originally Posted by specialone

Hole saw, piece of p1ss.
It has a 6mm pilot drill which guides the cutter, i did remove it from bike though just to be safe.

Cheers

Originally Posted by specialone

The problem you get when not using a relay (accepted if wired directly you dont have the same issues) is the contacts wont be substantial enough to support switching the 12v socket as well.
Its a no brainer imo, relays are dead cheap to quickly change over if it goes pete tong, igntion circuits / components wont be.

I accept if you're only pulling 120 watts then it shouldnt cause a problem, but my tom tom power cable pulls a lot more than that, so it just not worth the risk.
I could easily run 5-8 amps through mine with no issues.

Granted if you run it through the ignition switch then you might encounter problems so a relay is needed, but I don't see the point of doing that. I want to be able to use mine to pump up airbeds and suchlike, so having the ignition on would be a pain.

Originally Posted by specialone

BTW mine does look neat so wouldnt de value the bike.

I like that, nice and neat like it belongs there.

Originally Posted by ty_uk

How did you drill the hole in the instrument surround panel without it splitting/cracking?..job you have done looks like it was there in the first place..great job

The plastic used for the surround panels is usually quite pliable and takes some unearthly force to crack or split it. Just drill carefully after measuring up and checking at least three times. If you need a hole that has a flat on one side, file it out carefully checking with the socket regularly to make sure you don't file too large a hole.