3 Circuit Solution & Heated grips

I wanted to add some electrical accessories such as heated grips, heated vest, GPS, etc and wanted 12 volts switched. I installed Eastern Beaver Company's 3 Circuit Solution. It comes pre-wired with a 40A relay and 3 switched fused circuits protected with a 30 A ATM fuse. It's small enough to fit under the seat unlike the Centech II or Blue Sea but has doesn't have as many circuits. I only need three so it will be fine. I also had them include the grounding unit.

http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Products/Fuseboxes/3_Circuit/3_circuit.html

Just enough room to tuck everything in.


Metri-Pack 3 ATM fuseholder with cover cap


Used the WR's relay for power and ground as I already have a battery Tender attached to the battery.


Tucked the relay down under the vacuum hoses


Installed heated grips from Dual-Star. http://www.dual-star.com/index2/Rider/heated_grip_kit1.htm

Just waiting for the hands guards to arrive.

Lookin' good, Rumble! my battery tender runs off my electric vest plug...which also runs my air compressor and my power inverter for 110V stuff.

Lynn- which wire did you hook up to to power your heated grips? I know you had discussed it in the past but I can't find it now.
I need to change my set up as I'm popping fuses. Big Dog tapped into a brown wire that powers the high/low beam switch but you used something different.

Thnxs

OK, I found it over on TT.

"DO NOT hook up the lead wire to the headlight!!! Your lighting system wasn't designed to handle the extra load. Splice into the magneto wire coming off your ignition switch; this way you will not draw your battery when the bike is shut off, and the grips can only work when the bike is running. The wire on mine is brown."

I wanted a neat & tidy way to run some accessories (GPS, 12V lighter socket, heated grips & jacket). Also, to prevent a dead battery I wanted to wire it such that said accessories were only able to run while the bike was on.

My goals are to have a set-up that had minimal wire runs, little clutter, and most importantly doesn't negatively affect the stock wiring.

For the latter, I'll just use a simple 4-pole relay (I got mine from Advance Auto for $7, along with the fuse block). I always cringe when folks simply "tie into this or that stock circuit for power, it'll be fine!!"... Not the best idea since most circuits are designed only to carry the the intended load. You might be fine running off an existing circuit for months or even years, but the circuit's components (fuses, wires, connections, etc.) will usually weaken over time and could strand you eventually (hopefully just temporarily w/ a blown fuse, but maybe much moreso). Voice of experience here, trust me...

The way relays work is that they take a signal from a stock circuit (a "key-on" circuit in most cases) to "switch" on a circuit that feeds power directly from the battery to the accessory. When the key is off (and therefore the stock circuit and therefore the relay), the relay "switches off", thereby disconnecting the accessory from the battery.

The relay only needs a tiny bit of voltage from the stock circuit to "switch", so they have almost no effect on whatever circuit you tie them into.

Most relays have 4 labeled terminals:

• 87: this goes to your ACCESSORY that you are adding (in my case, it will go to my fuse box, and power distributed from there)
  
• 85: Connect to GROUND
  
• 86: Connect to a KEY-ON power source (I just tied mine into the front running light wire)
  
• 30: Connects to the BATTERY (+ terminal). Definitely use a fuse between the battery and the relay, as shown below
  
  

here
is where I tapped into a key-on circuit of the bike - the blue + wires
of the front running lights. I cut them, then soldered a 3rd wire which will lead to terminal 86 on the relay. Used some liquid e-tape
and regular e-tape to insulate, then tied everything back up above the
headlight.

So again, the relay allows you to have a key-on power source, with very little effect on the existing wiring circuits. Most importantly, it allows you a straight shot to the battery and your own separate fuse for the accessory - this way you aren't overheating stock circuits.

If you only need to add one accessory, you're good to go - just attach the wire from the relay's 87 terminal to the accessory and then ground the accessory - done!

I would be a little worried about that setup when it rains or when washing the bike. How do you plan to waterproof that fuseblock behind the headlight shroud?

mwakey wrote:

I would be a little worried about that setup when it rains or when washing the bike. How do you plan to waterproof that fuseblock behind the headlight shroud?

I thought about that as well - I kept an eye on this area during a recent ride through a rain storm and it stays surprisingly dry. I plan to give the fuses and wire terminals a good coating of dielectric grease to prevent moisture from encroaching on the connections, plus spray the thing w/ WD-40 when needed to displace any errant water drops. In addition, I'll seal the outer portion of the wire terminals the whole way to the end w/ shrink-wrap tubing.

If water becomes a problem after all that, it shouldn't be difficult at all to hang a flexible plastic/rubber screen over the fusebox to keep water from direct access to that area. There are numerous stock wire connections behind the headlight shroud already, Yamaha just wrapped 'em up in a bundle with a black flexible rubber outer coating!

Bear in mind the amount of power the bike can make
Rough number would be about 40 watt's of spare power or about 3 amp's
Add up the amount of load you plan to apply

Good point about the power output.

Here's some numbers to consider...

Total output = 350 watts

headlight = 55w low beam and 60w high beam
turn signals = 21w front and 21w rear, for a total of 42w when signals are on.
running lights front = 10w
license plate light = 5w
There is no watt spec for the LED taillight or the LED idiot lights and meter readout, but figure in a few watts for them and the other relays etc...

Also consider the fact that this is an EFI system and TCI system. Which means you need plenty of battery power to drive the igntion coil and the EFI fuel pump. Mainly the igntion coil. It gets ALL it's power directly from the battery. Low battery and no sparky the plug. You should be OK with the things you want to install depending on what you plan to use the cigarette lighter outlet for. Also not sure what the amp draw is on heater items like grips and jackets. I live in Florida, we don't need heat here.

Yes, agreed and considered. Also, I'll replace all 4 turn sigs w/ LED, they draw a lot less amps than the traditional halogen bulbs. The tail light obviously hardly draws any amps as it already is LED.

I will likely install a tiny voltmeter to keep an eye on the battery/charging system; its reading will ultimately dictate whether I can run the jacket and grips simultaneously, or alternate between them if they're drawing too much when run together.

Ya know, back when it mattered i saw an ammeter that simply turned on a light when the system was discharging
A volt meter is not really usefull, 12v mean's your battery is dead so even if your voltmeter says 12.5 volt's you are still discharging the battery
Try and find a nice little waterproof ammeter, maybe marine parts?

I ran my vest, grips and seat heater and there wasn't any problem whatsoever. That thing is like a small city with what it puts out.

Did you say seat heater?
A fridge and Cappuccino machine Ya, but a seat heater!
Now that's bein spoiled LOL

0007onWR wrote:

Ya know, back when it mattered i saw an ammeter that simply turned on a light when the system was discharging
A volt meter is not really usefull, 12v mean's your battery is dead so even if your voltmeter says 12.5 volt's you are still discharging the battery
Try and find a nice little waterproof ammeter, maybe marine parts?

Yip, but correct me if I'm wrong: you can use a voltmeter to keep an eye on the charging system when the bike is running by making sure it stays above ~13.5VDC when riding (not idling - on most bikes idling is actually discharging anyway).

BPG wrote:

0007onWR wrote:

Ya know, back when it mattered i saw an ammeter that simply turned on a light when the system was discharging
A volt meter is not really usefull, 12v mean's your battery is dead so even if your voltmeter says 12.5 volt's you are still discharging the battery
Try and find a nice little waterproof ammeter, maybe marine parts?

Yip, but correct me if I'm wrong: you can use a voltmeter to keep an eye on the charging system when the bike is running by making sure it stays above ~13.5VDC when riding (not idling - on most bikes idling is actually discharging anyway).

Yes you can, different battery's have different standing voltages so would just compare your standing voltage to your running voltage and do the math
An ammeter is much more simple, you are either making amperage or your losing it

Has anyone installed a 12V plug outlet to run an inverter? Be great for packing a hair dryer if your camping so you can get a blow job done.

Mikey wrote:

Has anyone installed a 12V plug outlet to run an inverter? Be great for packing a hair dryer if your camping so you can get a blow job done.

*cough* |3

Eh hem... I sure it wouldn't be too hard, just would have to find someplace to stash the outlet out of the way. Run the leads to the ignition, or straight off the batt.

Heated grips...LOL i would not even have thought of that(but i dont plan on riding it in the cold ether though)

Rumble... have you actually ridden your bike yet?

Your bike looks utterly clean

even Mark has got some dust

Now that the snow is melting I've been able to put 200 miles on it. LOL!

Mikey wrote:

Has anyone installed a 12V plug outlet to run an inverter? Be great for packing a hair dryer if your camping so you can get a blow job done.

"somebody" cut out all the funny posts in this thread "for a reason", and here you go making jokes again, you naughty girl.

Hair dryer? Power inverter? What exactly do you need to run with 110v on the trail that you can't live without? Let the wind blow dry your hair while you enjoy the ride. Power inverters suck the juice big time. Unless you keep the bike running at a decent RPM, you will surely drain your little battery in no time flat.

I love the solution. Well thought out... I just want a way to protect it all more from water ingress.

0007onWR wrote:

Did you say seat heater?
A fridge and Cappuccino machine Ya, but a seat heater!
Now that's bein spoiled LOL

Baby, you can sit on it any time you want to...you'll have nice toasty nuts. Spoiled? Maybe if it came stock that way but I installed it so NYAH. You know you love me.

LOL
It's my hand's that get cold so til my handwarmer's arrive maybe I can just warm my hand's on your seat

Would you like that wrapped, or unwrapped? Unfortunately my seat only has one setting...hi. Oh and thanks for the tips. I got my air flapper and all that pollution crap taken off. All ready for the Power Programmer now!!