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GPS Wiring

dhomoney

New member
So many of y'all have mounted GPS on your :spyder2:, so how are you wiring up the GPS. I can mount it, that is not a problem, but I am looking for is where you ran the wires and what you attached for power. Thanks. Pictures would be great, video even better. :)
 
welcome

Wiring can be routed into the fronk's 12v accessory jack, a fuse block or directly to the battery.
 
I got that, though I don't know the best way to run to the battery. Where do you route the wire to get it to the battery?
 
I just finished wiring my GPS this weekend. First I wired in a Centech fuse box under the seat on the left hand side. Tapped into the positive battery terminal and the battery ground. I think Scotty already discussed the problems in tapping into the ground. Eventually we replaced that bolt with an 8mm.

Then we ran the Zumo wiring down the gap behind the handlebars. We took off 3 side panels so we could fish the wires through, then brought it to the back as we zip tied it to what seems to be the cable to the starter, and then up to the Centech.

Doing the Centech and the GPS took almost an entire day, including one trip to Sears and one trip to Radio Shack, and never having taken off (or put back on) the body side panels before.
 
I think Scotty already discussed the problems in tapping into the ground. Eventually we replaced that bolt with an 8mm.
My auxiliary fuse blocks are wired directly to the battery, although on the RS I went to the main frame ground up front, instead of the battery negative post. I would recommend that nobody ever uses the jumper terminals under the seat. You are aware of the ground bolt problem. The battery terminals themselves are not hard to get to after you remove some panels, and it is a much more positive connection.
 
My auxiliary fuse blocks are wired directly to the battery, although on the RS I went to the main frame ground up front, instead of the battery negative post. I would recommend that nobody ever uses the jumper terminals under the seat. You are aware of the ground bolt problem. The battery terminals themselves are not hard to get to after you remove some panels, and it is a much more positive connection.

No I am not aware of the issue under the seat, care to expound or provide a linky?
 
No I am not aware of the issue under the seat, care to expound or provide a linky?
The negative (jumper) terminal under the seat is connected with a plain nut and bolt. The nut is almost inaccessible, so if the bolt is loosened, you have to jump through some hoops to get it tight again. The 6 mm bolt actually goes through a hole that is tapped for 8 mm, but an 8 mm bolt won't fit the cable terminal. Some of the 8 mm holes are not threaded completely, or have welding slag, also, so they must be tapped. The cable terminal can be enlarged and an 8mm bolt used. A search here should find you several references to the problem.

The best bet is always to go straight to the source (battery) for any auxiliary fuse block. Remember to use heavy gauge wire and fuse it properly.
 
I got that, though I don't know the best way to run to the battery. Where do you route the wire to get it to the battery?
I ran a main line from the battery thru the boxed frame to a (Blue Sea) fuse block in the front which is switched by a relay wired off the 12v in the fronk.
 
I ran a main line from the battery thru the boxed frame to a (Blue Sea) fuse block in the front which is switched by a relay wired off the 12v in the fronk.
I ran mine through some split wire loom that I zip-tied from front to back.
 
The negative (jumper) terminal under the seat is connected with a plain nut and bolt. The nut is almost inaccessible, so if the bolt is loosened, you have to jump through some hoops to get it tight again. The 6 mm bolt actually goes through a hole that is tapped for 8 mm, but an 8 mm bolt won't fit the cable terminal. Some of the 8 mm holes are not threaded completely, or have welding slag, also, so they must be tapped. The cable terminal can be enlarged and an 8mm bolt used. A search here should find you several references to the problem.

The best bet is always to go straight to the source (battery) for any auxiliary fuse block. Remember to use heavy gauge wire and fuse it properly.

Yeah, the basics of electrical wiring are not lost on me. I did a bunch of electrical on my old bike, Kawi Vulcan 1600 Nomad, where I wired up a PC-8 aux fuse box, GPS, Fairing w/ stereo, 12 volt adapter, and battery tender. So the electrical isn't the issue for me. It is that path the wires were run and the best way to route to the battery from the RT-S handle bars. I am getting the KewlMetal mount, but was trying how to best route the cable.
 
Yeah, the basics of electrical wiring are not lost on me. I did a bunch of electrical on my old bike, Kawi Vulcan 1600 Nomad, where I wired up a PC-8 aux fuse box, GPS, Fairing w/ stereo, 12 volt adapter, and battery tender. So the electrical isn't the issue for me. It is that path the wires were run and the best way to route to the battery from the RT-S handle bars. I am getting the KewlMetal mount, but was trying how to best route the cable.
I mounted my Eastern Beaver 3-fuse block near the battery, and used split loom to run the power forward. I recommend staying away from the ignition area, to reduce noise. That may take extra wire. I removed the glovebox and installed Powerlets on each "Y" panel, but the center of the switch panel would work, if you don't intend to use it for something else, and you don't have a comm system. Some folks have routed their gps power and audio wires through the plug in the center of the handlebars, where the factory adapter routes the wires, then sealed the modified plug with silicone. Once you get the panels off, the choices will be more obvious. There is no simple, existing solution.
 
I mounted my Eastern Beaver 3-fuse block near the battery, and used split loom to run the power forward. I recommend staying away from the ignition area, to reduce noise. That may take extra wire. I removed the glovebox and installed Powerlets on each "Y" panel, but the center of the switch panel would work, if you don't intend to use it for something else, and you don't have a comm system. Some folks have routed their gps power and audio wires through the plug in the center of the handlebars, where the factory adapter routes the wires, then sealed the modified plug with silicone. Once you get the panels off, the choices will be more obvious. There is no simple, existing solution.

Ok, that makes sense. I don't think I am going the fuse box route, as I don't think wifers is going to want anything else, though I guess I should make sure and do it up front in case she does. I guess I have some questions to ask the Mrs. Anyway :shemademe_smilie:
 
Oh, one final question, how much of a pain is it to remove the panels on the RT? Anyone care to comment? Also, if I need to go the route of a aux fuse box, where is a switched lead that I can tap into for the relay?
 
Oh, one final question, how much of a pain is it to remove the panels on the RT? Anyone care to comment? Also, if I need to go the route of a aux fuse box, where is a switched lead that I can tap into for the relay?
Big pain! They all interlock or overlap. Goes OK once you get the hang of it, though. No worse than my BMW RT, but not as easy as the Spyder RS.

If you are closest to the rear, on an RTS with passenger grip heaters, utilize the light green/gray wire to the grip switch lights to trigger the relay. I think this wire is also present up front, but I have not verified that. You need a wire that is fed through the load shedding relay, but is not monitored. A diode on the relay feed is not a bad idea, to avoid possible CanBus problems.
 
I must be lazy. I popped off the right speaker grille to gain access, (snaps on and off, no fasteners), pulled the wire through the center of the handlbar after removing the silver plastic pop off piece (or you can run it where ever you like if you aren't mounting in the center of the bars...removed the 4 small torx screws on the guage trim, popped out the temp guage and tied my gps to the positive and negative wires for the lamp illumination. The GPS has a very very insignificant draw versus , say heated clothing, so this was a no brainer and its switched so no worries of battery drain. Total project time.. about ten minutes. ;)
 
I must be lazy. I popped off the right speaker grille to gain access, (snaps on and off, no fasteners), pulled the wire through the center of the handlbar after removing the silver plastic pop off piece (or you can run it where ever you like if you aren't mounting in the center of the bars...removed the 4 small torx screws on the guage trim, popped out the temp guage and tied my gps to the positive and negative wires for the lamp illumination. The GPS has a very very insignificant draw versus , say heated clothing, so this was a no brainer and its switched so no worries of battery drain. Total project time.. about ten minutes. ;)

Any pictures?
 
How do you get to the battery terminals directly ??
I'd love to run a ground directly to the battery and avoid the frame altogether.
 
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