Electrical hook up....

[WackyDan]

So today I decided it was time to partially take apart the Spyder to at least get the battery tender hooked up and working.

First... What a PITA. I had to take the mounting rack for the battery side GIVI side case completely off in order to get the tupperware off that length of the bike. Once that was off, I partially pulled the plastic cover on the left side that covers the gas tank... Just to get an idea of where I had room to play.

First, in the picture below - what is it? My motolights are hooked up to it. Is this the best place to pull a 12 volt home run from, or should I go direct to battery. Also of note, I'm going to have my battery tender hooked up to plug directly into one of my powerlets... Should I ensure that specific powerlet is hooked directly to the battery or can it be hooked here? the question marks denote the connection I'm talking about.

Next up... Ground. In the pic below is obviously one the main grounding points..... I can answer my own question by trying, but can I hook the tender up to that or does it have to hook directly to the battery on the neg terminal? This is where I'm planning to hook up the ground home run for my main electrical add ons.

Next up... I ordered some power leads from powerlet. They are in the pic below. Thought they were neat if not expensive, but screw it. Now that I've taken the spyder partially apart, I'm wondering if it may make more sense to get one of the fuse/relay blocks that some of you use.

The idea of the powerlet cables below was to eliminate a stack of wires screwed onto the 12volt posts, and to route the powerlet terminal block to an area that is easier to work on the spyder. The cables are fused, and come with rubber boots to protect the terminal block. I was thinking of lengthening the powerlet terminal cables, and routing them to just under the "tank hump" for easy access. I think on the one hand, these do the job, are low profile compared to a fancier fuse block. The only thing I see hooked into them is my powerlets in the dash, and in my helibar setup. I'll also be hooking up my DC voltmeter gauge, though that will be switched.

Anyway... You thoughts are highly valued as always. Want to make sure I have all the pieces I need to really start putting it all together during my Christmas vacation.

 

[truck 85]

I prefer to wire the Tender connector directly to the battery(both leads).....More parts and connections, more to go wrong......The lead lays under the seat, along with the Gerbings connector

:agree:

 

[nickcaro]

just a quick note of caution.
Yes, this is in fact ground and it's good enough to use when you need a jump start. Just don't loosen that bolt. There is a nut on the other side, it's not directly bolted to anything. I nearly lost my mind cause I had some issues after messing with it and it's very tricky to get a wrench in there to hold the nut on the inside.

 

[burg650]

just a quick note of caution.
Yes, this is in fact ground and it's good enough to use when you need a jump start. Just don't loosen that bolt. There is a nut on the other side, it's not directly bolted to anything. I nearly lost my mind cause I had some issues after messing with it and it's very tricky to get a wrench in there to hold the nut on the inside.

Good advice Nick, I lost the nut and had to take the whole back apart to get it back on. I will not go near this bolt or touch it again, stay away from it.

 

[WackyDan]

So far looks like I will hook up the tender straight to the battery. I just liked the idea of just jacking it into a powerlet.

In other news, I charged my battery today. Used my car charger on 2amp and for a bit on 6amp. Switched to the tender and never achieved a full float charge. Going to keep it charging tomorrow and see if I can top it off. Battery is original since purchase of Spyder on April 30th, 2009.

Oy... The more I look at the Spyder the more I realize that given the PITA it is to get the thing apart enough to work on it, I might as well buy every ESI add on ( the lights) now while I'm in there, and just get it all done.

 

[Neez]

Dan, getting at the battery used to be a PITA for me too, but I did a few simple mods to speed the job up and now it's a snap. I've got the Givi bags with topcase and an Ind 7 rack. To get the rack off in a hurry I slotted the rack mounting holes for the bolt under the seat and the lower allen headed bolt. That way, I only have to back them off a few threads to slip the rack section out, no loose pieces to keep track of. The 2 metric bolts that connect the rack pieces together were replaced with 1/4 inch SAE bolts, which are of a slightly lesser diameter and can be slipped out rather than forced out. Most of my Tupperware is fitted with Dzus fasteners. The splash pan in the wheel well has 6 Dzus, all but the rearmost. I slotted the pan plastic on the rearmost screw. Slack this screw a couple of turns, let the 6 Dzus go, slip the pan slightly forward and the splashpan is out in seconds. It takes a bit of setting up, but you'll be able to yank your battery in minutes and a lot of other maintenance is quicker, too.

 

[NancysToy]

So far looks like I will hook up the tender straight to the battery. I just liked the idea of just jacking it into a powerlet.

In other news, I charged my battery today. Used my car charger on 2amp and for a bit on 6amp. Switched to the tender and never achieved a full float charge. Going to keep it charging tomorrow and see if I can top it off. Battery is original since purchase of Spyder on April 30th, 2009.

Oy... The more I look at the Spyder the more I realize that given the PITA it is to get the thing apart enough to work on it, I might as well buy every ESI add on ( the lights) now while I'm in there, and just get it all done.

You can easily charge through a Powerlet...if it is connected directly to the battery or a hot feed that is on with the ignition off. That is exactly how I charge mine. Powerlet sells the cord adapters to fit most chargers.

A word of caution...never, never, never use more than 2 amps to charge a motorcycle battery. Not only will six amps ruin most batteries in a short time, but it can cause some sealed batteries to explode! I also recommend you stay away from most standard or "float" car chargers, even at low amperage settings. They will cut your battery life in half, and greatly increase the rate of sulphation. Use only a Battery Tender, Accumate, Optimate, Xtreme, or some other sophisticated charger intended for motorcycle use. If you cannot get a Battery Tender to switch to float charge, and the connections are all clean and tight, the battery is weak and should be replaced or desulphated. The Optimate and some other chargers have a desulfating mode.

 

[WackyDan]

I hit it with 6amp for about 20 minutes... I was planning on a new battery in the spring anyway given the posts here on the stock battery. So... hopefully no harm.

I am using the official Battery Tender branded product.

You can easily charge through a Powerlet...if it is connected directly to the battery or a hot feed that is on with the ignition off. That is exactly how I charge mine. Powerlet sells the cord adapters to fit most chargers.

A word of caution...never, never, never use more than 2 amps to charge a motorcycle battery. Not only will six amps ruin most batteries in a short time, but it can cause some sealed batteries to explode! I also recommend you stay away from most standard or "float" car chargers, even at low amperage settings. They will cut your battery life in half, and greatly increase the rate of sulphation. Use only a Battery Tender, Accumate, Optimate, Xtreme, or some other sophisticated charger intended for motorcycle use. If you cannot get a Battery Tender to switch to float charge, and the connections are all clean and tight, the battery is weak and should be replaced or desulphated. The Optimate and some other chargers have a desulfating mode.

 

[QuadManiac]

Regarding your first picture with the double ??, that is the starter solenoid and its battery connection lug. The red, soft plastic cap should be covering the lug to prevent accidental contact with anything from causing a short, but the additional wire/s added prevent it from doing so.

Any 12V accessory connected here will be essentially unfused - an appropriate fuse should be added as close to this lug as possible for each addition, else chafing along the path of the new accessory's wire could wreak havoc and possible fire.

 

[WackyDan]

Thanks all... I'm really starting to rethink a few things, and considering buying the PC-8 Fuse bus and relay.

 

[retread]

Thanks all... I'm really starting to rethink a few things, and considering buying the PC-8 Fuse bus and relay.

Get an accurate measurement from the battery to the place you want to mount it, they've got several different lengths available. I like the one I've got.

john

 

[Firefly]

Great advice from everyone so far. I agree 100% with direct wiring to the battery of the tender.

I wouldn't have hooked the motolights to the solinoid.....

 

[WackyDan]

Great advice from everyone so far. I agree 100% with direct wiring to the battery of the tender.

I wouldn't have hooked the motolights to the solinoid.....

Well... I didn't do the hooking up. :gaah:

I've found a few points in that guy's wiring job that I would have done completely different. So it looks like I'm going to redo that as well or at minimum, clean it up.

Still not sold on the PC-8. I can't see myself needing that many circuits other than the powerlets I'm adding now and maybe hard wiring a Zumo and XM in the future.... I already spent too much on some of the powerlet stuff. - we'll see.

 

[richie]

:agree:don't mess with the nut on neg. side. I drilled and tapped a hole in the metal strap under the nut and connected with 8-32 stainless steel screw wit lock washer.

 

[WackyDan]

Nope... Not going near it.

Bought the Eastern Beaver PC-8... INstall starts tomorrow.

 

[wyliec]

Nope... Not going near it.

Bought the Eastern Beaver PC-8... INstall starts tomorrow.

PC-8 is great. You won't regret it.

 

[jgwoods]

I put a PC-8 in my SE5, bought the longest leads they had with a diode in the switch wire so it wont feed back to the Can Am wiring in any way. I wound up sticking the fusepanel under the speedo with a piece of velcro, and enough extra wire to just rip it loose and make wiring changes.

 

[bone crusher]

I prefer to wire the Tender connector directly to the battery(both leads).....More parts and connections, more to go wrong......The lead lays under the seat, along with the Gerbings connector

Totally agree...I leave them on all the time and just put some velcro under the seat to keep the lines in place...it's nice they also have caps to keep any dirt out...

 

[NancysToy]

I prefer to wire the Tender connector directly to the battery(both leads).....More parts and connections, more to go wrong......The lead lays under the seat, along with the Gerbings connector

Totally agree...I leave them on all the time and just put some velcro under the seat to keep the lines in place...it's nice they also have caps to keep any dirt out...

It is not necessary to connect both a battery charging pigtail and a heated gear pigtail. There are adapters sold by Powerlet, Whitehorse Press, and others that will connect most battery chargers to a heated gear connector, or to adapt heated gear to most battery charger connectors.

 

[bone crusher]

It is not necessary to connect both a battery charging pigtail and a heated gear pigtail. There are adapters sold by Powerlet, Whitehorse Press, and others that will connect most battery chargers to a heated gear connector, or to adapt heated gear to most battery charger connectors.

Scotty,

I don't know much about your pigtails and such :shocked:, but I will say that I attached the two leads that came with my battery tender plus and all has been good ever since...no issues...it is simple and makes it so all you ever have to do is attach the lead from the actual unit...as you know, it's a fast connection and all is good...just sit back and watch it keep your bike ready to go!

Now I have to start it up every 2 weeks to just keep the gaskets from cracking and the like...argh! Would love to ride but 40 mph winds with 15 degree temps (nighttime) ain't cuttin' it for a ride...