Battery charger/electric vest cabling for 2015 RT Ltd

[Questions]

Hi, I was wondering whether anyone could tell me whether I'm thinking of ordering the right thing here? I have a 1.25A battery charged/maintainer. Works fine but I would like to extend the cable out to the seat area. It has several harnesses with 7.5A fuses but all are about 22". I also want to be able to plug in the controller for my old Eclipse Yukon Classic vest. It's an SAE connector and I have the short SAE battery harness for the charger already. According to what I could dig up on the web, the vest is 45W and draws under 5A maximum. So I think all I need is a sufficiently long SAE to SAE extender that is rated to at least 7.5A. Correct?

Powerlet seems to be about the only place that gives complete specs on their stuff and I see they have a 4' extension rated to 15A. So I'd have a few inches under 6'. I know a 6' phone charger cord could reach from the battery to about 15-18" past the front edge of the seat on my old ST, which would be plenty. But is it the same distance on an RT, and will the extra thickness and stiffness (it's a flat cable with two 18 gauge copper conductors) cause problems with routing)? Also, will the heavy cable route out from under the side of the seat OK when the seat is closed? My bike is in winter storage so I can't check how much room there is..

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Bob Denman]

If the charger was your only consideration: I'd say to just set the rear power port up to be hot all of the time, and plug it in there. :thumbup:
(The instructions for doing this, are in your owner's manual)

 

[easysuper]

I added an outlet for my vest from the battery and it only took about an hour. There are some great videos on how to remove the Tupperware .

 

[Questions]

If the charger was your only consideration: I'd say to just set the rear power port up to be hot all of the time, and plug it in there. :thumbup:
(The instructions for doing this, are in your owner's manual)

I've seen that mentioned, but wouldn't want the vest pigtail rubbing on the trunk (if there was even room to get an SAE adapter through with the trunk closed). The seat option seems like the best. If I needed more length, Powerlet sells a 4 ft SAE battery harness and I could just replace its 10A fuse with a 7.5. But that's an extra $20 so I'm wondering whether just the 4ft extension and 2ft harness will do the trick.

 

[Questions]

I added an outlet for my vest from the battery and it only took about an hour. There are some great videos on how to remove the Tupperware .
View attachment 140747 View attachment 140748 View attachment 140749

where did you lead it out at, and what length cable did you need?

 

[Questions]

Well, the service manager at my regular shop seems to think it'll work fine. Guess I'll order the 4' extender.

 

[robhowen]

2-Cents worth for your consideration

My response is a general response to what you are wanting to accomplish. I share this only because it worked well for me.

I ran a fused connection directly to my battery. When I say fused, I mean like an inline fuse you would find on the Battery Tender connection to your battery. I then ran these wires, from the battery, up along the left side of the bike (as you are sitting on it) and came out right about the gas cap area with an extension long enough that I can bring it up beside my seat to connect to my electric vest. When I'm not using the electric vest, I leave my line curled up underneath my seat.

I hope this was clear, if not let me know.

Rob

Hi, I was wondering whether anyone could tell me whether I'm thinking of ordering the right thing here?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Jetfixer]

I use the Tourmaster Synergy 2 line of heated apparel on my 15 RTL. Their system comes with all the wiring you need to do exactly what you describe. I ran the fused power cable directly to my battery and routed it up to the seat area. I can easily plug in my dual controller from this location. I used an extra male cable and spliced it to my battery maintainer. Since the wiring is direct to the battery, this is a very easy way to plug in the charger. The cable stays out of sight during the summer, or when not needed to charge the battery. In the one photo you can barely see the connector wire when it's stowed under the seat.

 

[Joerolwing]

Heated vest connection

Keep in mind when you wire your heated clothing direct to your battery you should delay getting warm until after your start the engine.

 

[Jetfixer]

Keep in mind when you wire your heated clothing direct to your battery you may delay getting warm until after your start the engine.

It's the other way around. If I turn the clothing on for too long before starting the engine, I could drain the battery. I am direct to the battery, not through the switched fuse.

 

[Questions]

My response is a general response to what you are wanting to accomplish. I share this only because it worked well for me.

I ran a fused connection directly to my battery. When I say fused, I mean like an inline fuse you would find on the Battery Tender connection to your battery. I then ran these wires, from the battery, up along the left side of the bike (as you are sitting on it) and came out right about the gas cap area with an extension long enough that I can bring it up beside my seat to connect to my electric vest. When I'm not using the electric vest, I leave my line curled up underneath my seat.

I hope this was clear, if not let me know.

Rob

Yes, that's exactly what I'm planning. Fused connector to the battery (same harness and fuse that came with my charger), and an extension cable to get the end under the seat where I can lead it out near my leg to connect the vest controller cable, or alternatively the trickle charger. The fuse should allow me an appropriate amperage for either.

 

[Questions]

It's the other way around. If I turn the clothing on for too long before starting the engine, I could drain the battery. I am direct to the battery, not through the switched fuse.

True - using my vest on previous bikes, I've never dared turn it on until after the engine was running, although that might be a bit over-cautious.

That was on two-wheelers and it was a cinch to wire it due to the location of the battery and absence of fairing. This time I may let the shop do it next time I get an oil change...

 

[Jetfixer]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm planning. Fused connector to the battery (same harness and fuse that came with my charger), and an extension cable to get the end under the seat where I can lead it out near my leg to connect the vest controller cable, or alternatively the trickle charger. The fuse should allow me an appropriate amperage for either.

Be very careful using any type of extension cable. Any additional joint in the wire run can be a spot that water gets in creating a short circuit. Best case scenario would be a dead battery. Worst case = fire. I am by no means advertising Tourmaster, but as an example, their wire harness has an inline fuse and is long enough to go from the battery to the seat area easily. There was nothing difficult about installing this wire after removing some left side panels.

 

[easysuper]

where did you lead it out at, and what length cable did you need?

Came up thru the front frame after removing tupper-ware, came off the battery with a fuse. A 36" cable is plenty long.

 

[Questions]

Be very careful using any type of extension cable. Any additional joint in the wire run can be a spot that water gets in creating a short circuit. Best case scenario would be a dead battery. Worst case = fire. I am by no means advertising Tourmaster, but as an example, their wire harness has an inline fuse and is long enough to go from the battery to the seat area easily. There was nothing difficult about installing this wire after removing some left side panels.

Thanks for the reminder. Heat shrink or even duct tape on the connection might be a good idea!

 

[EdgarSpyder]

Connection thought

All good info as I am working on a solution to getting power to my heated gear on my 2017 Spyder. My 2011 was under the seat but with the battery in the frunk just adds some more work running wires (I hope). But just wanted to say that you can use "marine heat shrink" on connections if desired. It has a 'glue' inside to keep out moisture.