Bike Running Lead wire?

On my 2008 WRR I have some heated grips and a powerlet outlet for heated vest wired to an Eastern Beaver 3CS unit which has a switched relay to control power to these devices.
The sensing wire for the relay is connected currently to the headlight wire. So the heated grips and vest only run when the headlight is on.

Anyone know of a wire I could tap into which only is hot when the bike's engine is actually running?
This is a sensing wire so there is basically no electrical load. The wire capacity is not an issue. I'm justing looking for a stock wire on the bike which is hot only when the engine itself is running.

My setup is different than yours, but I used the license plate light wire on mine. When I removed the stock tali light assembly waaaay back, that was one wire that was left over that I felt was perfect for the job.

Yeah - but I'm looking for a wire that is only hot when the engine is actually running.

The headlight and the taillight can both be hot when the engine is not running (ie start the bike, hit the kill switch, the bike is then off with the headlight burning).

The headlight will only turn on after the bike is running, and thats where I tapped to power my heated grips. Just remember to turn the key to off and take the key with you and you wont have a problem draining the battery. Tap the grey(?) wire that feeds the headlight switch, not the yellow and blue that feeds the headlight itself so you don't overload that circuit.

skierd wrote:

The headlight will only turn on after the bike is running, and thats where I tapped to power my heated grips. Just remember to turn the key to off and take the key with you and you wont have a problem draining the battery. Tap the grey(?) wire that feeds the headlight switch, not the yellow and blue that feeds the headlight itself so you don't overload that circuit.

I've already wired the sensor wire to the headlight circuit and it works great, but I'm looking to wire it to something that is energized only when the motor is actually running. Hit the kill switch, heatlight stays on, grips and powerlet turn off. I'm tired of trying to use the key all the times in the woods.

I guess that the ouput post on the alternator would do.

Dancamp wrote:

I guess that the ouput post on the alternator would do.

Bingo! Thanks - why didnt I think of that?
I'll dig in the manual a bit and poke around with a volt meter. I guess I might have to go on the output of the regulator so its 12VDC instead of AC. Nonetheless I think this might be the right track!

How long are you leaving the bike with the headlight running while you're close enough to it to be plugged in? I've sat at longish lights with the grips on and the motor off and the bike restarted just fine. The jacket, gloves, and socks I pull directly from the battery if I'm close enough to be plugged in, the bike's running. Still no problems with everything running. If the battery is healthy, you're not going to kill it in 5 minutes.

I've played with the volt meter in the garage. With the bike running I've got more than 13 Volts with everything running. With the bike off, but the headlight running, heated grips on, and heated jacket liner running it drops to 10 volts in around 5 minutes. The bike will still start but definitely weak. I'm just being cautious here and since it involves just moving one wire with basically no load on it (signal wire for the relay), I'd like to be lazy and not have to always go for the key. The grips are 65 watts and the jacket liner is 100 watts so there's quite a bit of power draw here. Add in 55 watts for the headlight and its up to 220 watts plus taillights, blinkers, gps, and other minor stuff. I can definitely see the battery being stressed over time likely shortening the battery's lifespan just from being drawn down and recharged so much.
Yes, I might be a bit lazy. I can always just switch the key as is, but I'd like a more foolproof system.

Why would you turn the bike off at traffic lights? That's being a little rediculous on gas-saving isn't it?

There are a lot of long lights on my commute, turning off at them usually nets me an extra 20-30 miles per tank.

I don't turn off when I'm running the heated gear or the GPS, just warmer weather when there's no load at lights I know are long by experience. I also cycle the key to turn the headlight off.