Battery Tender pigtail in dash

I've never really liked the way Battery Tender pigtails just dangle around and wanted to find a better solution. I was looking at the Powerlet tank bag connector -- that bulkhead fitting that people use to add power to their tankbags (see it here, it's the "tankbag connector kit"), and I thought, "It's black, it's plastic, it should look pretty much like stock."

It does. In fact, it looks pretty nice. Here it is installed in panel C, a very logical choice since it's close to the battery and there's a ton a room (relatively speaking) behind that panel:



The connector is just a short, straight through extension cord for the Battery Tender pigtail with a molded flange for the plug on one end. The photo below shows the back of panel C with the connector installed. The piece comes with the nylon locknuts so the little buggers won't come lose and rattle around in the Twilight Zone somewhere. It also comes with the metal backing plate which not only helps keep you from ripping the thing out of the panel but is also a handy template for marking where you need to drill the holes. You just plug your pigtail into the back before you put the panel back on and stuff the wires into the space around the mirror mount.



And here's a photo with the Battery Tender plugged in, keeping my battery happy while I wait out winter running the snowblower.



So that it's not a wasted outlet when I'm on the road, I'm hooking up an SAE plug to my Zumo. It'll plug right into this always hot outlet, leaving the switched cigarette lighter outlet in the foreground of that last photo for some other use.

Life is good.

Nice. Where can we get a Powerlet tank bag connector?

JohnB said:

Nice. Where can we get a Powerlet tank bag connector?

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I bought it directly from Powerlet Products here. Scroll down to item 2 on the list. I'm sure a bunch of other places sell them too. Maybe one of the forum's vendors will pipe up?

Excellent...just bought a battery tender and was wondering where to run the pigtails. So where is the most common place to run it in case I dont go this route?

dbvolfan said:

Excellent...just bought a battery tender and was wondering where to run the pigtails. So where is the most common place to run it in case I dont go this route?

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My B/T harness is routed around the outside of battery and comes down and out between tank and frame. Only the last few inches of cable are visible. Sorry for the lack of pics. My bike is in FL and I'm in snowy OKC now.

Hang on to your hats gang the Boffins are working on wireless charging Via a magnetic field?

JohnB said:

Nice. Where can we get a Powerlet tank bag connector?

Click to expand...

You must be kidding, right?

Powerlet Products at SportbikeEffects

Please note the links in my signature.

Nice idea and nice installation. I found these

RV ROOFTOP CONNECTORS that appear to be the same so I ordered four of them....As opposed to the plug, they have a 10" lead coming off of them instead. At $5.00 each instead of $24.00 and change I figured it would be worth a shot. Right now I have a lead coming off the battery and I tuck the connector between the tupperware and the frame. This should clean it right up.

You could have made the sae connector a powerlet outlet. They have an adapter from sae to powerlet plug for the battery tender. Then you would have a power outlet instead of an sae. I have my tank bag powered up. Autocom, radar detector cig. lighter plug, gps, Ipod and phone. Unplug the gps, take the tank bag off and out of site out of mind. Nothing except the GPS to unlock off the bike itself. Very convenient.

That's exactly what I did. Wound up with a multi-purpose outlet.

In my particular case, I already have two powerlets on the back for heated gear, a 12V socket in the left front panel, and the 12V socket in the glove box. I can't really see the necessity of a powerlet socket in that panel so I would want it specifically for the battery tender and for the compressor which is already converted to an SAE plug.

TheAxeman said:

Nice idea and nice installation. I found these RV ROOFTOP CONNECTORS that appear to be the same so I ordered four of them....As opposed to the plug, they have a 10" lead coming off of them instead. At $5.00 each instead of $24.00 and change I figured it would be worth a shot. Right now I have a lead coming off the battery and I tuck the connector between the tupperware and the frame. This should clean it right up.

Click to expand...

Well, the price is right. Of course, you'd want to add a backing plate for mounting on thin plastic panels. And then you'd have to deal with having Panel "C" dangling when removed, unless you also added an appropriate quick disconnect on the inside...

Nice find.

fjrvtx1300s said:

You could have made the sae connector a powerlet outlet. They have an adapter from sae to powerlet plug for the battery tender. Then you would have a power outlet instead of an sae. I have my tank bag powered up. Autocom, radar detector cig. lighter plug, gps, Ipod and phone. Unplug the gps, take the tank bag off and out of site out of mind. Nothing except the GPS to unlock off the bike itself. Very convenient.

Click to expand...

That is an excellent idea, except I don't have any accessories which use a powerlet plug so that would have done nothing for my purposes but require me to buy an adapter. Hooking the SAE plug to the Zumo makes the outlet multipurpose for what I ride with. When I put together my farkle plan, I decided that if I ever fork out for heated apparel, I'd install the powerlet outlets that go below the seat. I like that set up.

We have the various Powerlet items mentioned above in stock at our store. Premier Cycle Accessories

dbvolfan said:

Excellent...just bought a battery tender and was wondering where to run the pigtails. So where is the most common place to run it in case I dont go this route?

Click to expand...

I took a more simplistic approach. I took the Battery Tender supplied ring connector/SAE plug connected direct from the battery & ran the pigtail out the right side fairing opening. The pigtail tucks nicely between the fairing & the foam insulation inside the fairing when not in use. (see red arrow in photo):



I use the SAE connector as a direct 12V output for such things as the stripped down Wal-Mart air compressor that now has an SAE plug connector instead of the cigarette lighter end.



Or connected to the Battery Tender while in the garage. I'm saving vital space on the panels for future farkles. :clapping:

TheAxeman said:

Nice idea and nice installation. I found these

RV ROOFTOP CONNECTORS that appear to be the same so I ordered four of them....As opposed to the plug, they have a 10" lead coming off of them instead. At $5.00 each instead of $24.00 and change I figured it would be worth a shot. Right now I have a lead coming off the battery and I tuck the connector between the tupperware and the frame. This should clean it right up.

Click to expand...

Just an update. I ordered these connectors on thursday and they were here this morning Priority Mail. They are good quality and a deal at $5.00 each. Of course you have to solder on a few connectors to tie into the battery and get yourself 4 screws and a nylon backing washer, but if your garage looks anything like mine, I'm sure you have that stuff laying around anyway.

FYI, another way to do it. Here's how I did mine:

SkooterG's battery charger pigtail installation

One more approach:

Zip tie the BT connector to the front brake hose and wiring coming up the right handlebar. It's tucked in nice and tight, about 3 inches above the triple clamp, and is barely noticable when sitting right next to the brake hose and wiring going to the right handlbar.

In addition, I stripped down a small 12v air pump which now fits nicely in my tool tray and added the same connector to it. Now, I have easy access to 12v for the pump if I ever need it. This may work for some of you out there that don't have/want powerlet connectors to run an air pump in your tire kit.

I have found a SAE connector on a 4" lead tucked in on the right side of steering head on my bike. I have never found any post from anyone who has made reference to this factory connector. Has any one else found this on their bike? I can't be the only one to have this connector.