fuse block options

[Shagomatic]

For those that are interested... I figured out how to post a picture.

Shag

 

[LAF]

I would think location is up to the DIYer. It's not the where, but the how that what I like.

I bought this bracket from a forum member that goes under the rear seat. FuzeBlock used.

I also used a Centech on my BMW. I like the FuzeBlock as well and the bonus of having a circuit hot at all times if I want.

Where did you get those fancy wires?

For those running the fuzeblock, what did you guys do for a wire harness to the battery? Cyclenyz sells one but its 35 bucks....seems pricey given that the relay is part of the block and not the wire harness...

I bought spool bulk 12 or 14 wire and heat resilient sleeves and ran it all from the battery back. That bundle holds my hot and ground from battery to power it. Then GPS, TPM, electrified tank bag Moto lights, hot to PC V and ground to battery, and electric gear plugs, Givi AddMore light kit, and I forget what else.

It also does not show the blue wire into it, and I drilled holes in the mounting plate right near the hot, ground, blue wire and put a wire tie on them to help hold them in place where they enter the FuzeBlock.

I am very happy with it and my work. Especially since I had a broken neck, broken right arm, broken right ankle, and 3 broken ribs as I was doing it. Of course it sat for almost a year before I was cleared to ride so I had plenty of time.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I guess I didnt look that close at it...Thats very cool!although if the relay goes then I need to buy a whole new fuzeblock?

Nope. Just move all the fuses over to the "constant" position and it still works like any other fuse panel. If you want it switched you can add an external relay at that time. But I have yet to hear of a FuzeBlock that had a failed relay. Just follow the manufacturers recommendations about maximum load current (they advise splitting the load switched and unswitched).

I'm have the Universal panel from Electrical Connection. I like the 10 ga. feed as the FZ1 only has 12 ga. Everything is switched via the relay, and only my GPS has constant power.

https://www.electrica...plate-02202.htm

Of course, any decent MacGyver would know that you can use a 10 gauge feeder if you really want to. You can just pull a few strands out at the FB end. Yeah, that little spot in the wire will not be 10 gauge anymore, but the entire rest of the length will be, and it's the cumulative resistance over the length that you are concerned with.

Of course all of this is pretty much overkill anyway as 10 gauge wire is rated for 55 amps, and 12 gauge is rated for 41 amps. If you are drawing more than 574 watts of accessories power through your FuzeBlock then you are definitely going to have certain other problems. :huh:

edit - Oh yeah, the bike shop tech is apparently an electrical 'tard. When you add accessories wired direct off the battery none of that additional current goes through the key switch. So that is what they should be encouraging you to do.

Fred, while I won't disagree that under ideal conditions a 10 ga. can carry 50 amps for a very short distance or low ambient temps, and given that many wire charts can be conflicting or confusing, I'd never play that close to those limits even though could in a low risk environment. Given the environment, wire length, etc., and worst case continuous load of heated gear, aux. lights, I prefer to not take wire gauge to the limits. One such calculator from Blue Sea says 25 amps for fixed load, 6 feet, 2% drop, engine compartment, can run 12 ga. but anything more than that, 10 ga.... That might be slightly conservative, but my preference. YMMV.

https://circuitwizard.bluesea.com/

 

[Fred W]

Fred, while I won't disagree that under ideal conditions a 10 ga. can carry 50 amps for a very short distance or low ambient temps, and given that many wire charts can be conflicting or confusing, I'd never play that close to those limits even though could in a low risk environment. Given the environment, wire length, etc., and worst case continuous load of heated gear, aux. lights, I prefer to not take wire gauge to the limits. One such calculator from Blue Sea says 25 amps for fixed load, 6 feet, 2% drop, engine compartment, can run 12 ga. but anything more than that, 10 ga.... That might be slightly conservative, but my preference. YMMV.

https://circuitwizard.bluesea.com/

My main point was, even if you are sizing the wire to pull 25 constant amps that's ~350 watts of accessories power at the nominal 14V alternator output. Even the 2nd gen alternator is only capable of producing ~590 watts (first gens are about a hundred less than that), of which the bike will use the first 370 - 380 watts just to run. In other words, I wouldn't count on pulling 25 amps through your accessory fuse panel for any length of time.

Now, the fuses in the panel may add up to that much (or more) but that doesn't mean your alternator is ever going to give you that much.

OTOH, having bigger wires is never a problem. YMMV

 

[ionbeam]

[A really long winded way of saying that I agree with RaYzerman19 -->]

You go to your handy Wire Gauge table and look up the current that you expect your circuit to carry, then read across the table and see that the wire gauge is #10. In this case your wire has an ampacity rating of 55 amps for chassis wiring. This current rating (current carrying capacity = ampacity) is the current that this wire can carry continuously and stay within its temperature rating. The temperature rating is composed of the wire's insulation rating, the resistance of the wire, the ability to shed heat and the ambient temperature where the wire will be located (not related in the FJR -- the frequency of alternating current).

In the common tables where you find the gauge to ampacity rating it is assuming one conductor, not a bundle, in free air, at ambient temperature. Zip tie a bunch of wires together, stuff it in sleeving (insulator) and then run it through the engine compartment or under the tank. What do you think that is going to do for the ability of the wire to shed heat?

If you are running wires in the afore described way and you would be in the upper ampacity range for a wire gauge it would make sense to use one gauge bigger. Bigger wires are harder to work with and run, and take noticeable bigger terminals. The lack of flexibility will also cause more strain as your FJR bounces along the rutted and potholed roads. Heavy gauge wires can also damage the items to which they are attached.

Fred makes a good point about understanding the practical amount of steady current flow through a feeder wire going to the fuse block. A Gen II has a maximum rating of 50 amps (fused limit). The motorcycle systems alone can draw up to ~35 amps to supply the normal running loads leaving you with ~15 amps to play with. A 16 ga wire will be more than enough for the job and a 14 ga wire will offer twice the power rating as the feeder wire requires allowing for bundled runs through an engine compartment or under the tank.

To complete the job a quality volt meter mounted on the bike is a must if you plan to use all of the extra watts.

...since I had a broken neck, broken right arm, broken right ankle, and 3 broken ribs as I was doing it...

Man, I've pinched a finger and incurred some cuts while doing an install but damn, that's rough. I think you must have been doing something wrong if that happened while doing it.