Power Distribution Questions

[sparky3008]

The terminal I circled in red. What are they 2?

 

[sparky3008]

obviously the ones on either end are Positive and Negative from Battery or Relay.

Are the other 4 just unfused farkles?

 

[sparky3008]

Ok I see those are the negative terminal.

Never mind...

 

[sparky3008]

Ok here is a question.

Following Warchilds instructions.

He had Positive of Battery to #30 of relay and I would assume at least 10 gauge wire.

Negative from battery to (in my case Blue Sea fuse block) negative 10 gauge wire.

Now from #87 as warchild wired his goes to positive on fuse block again 10 gauge wire.

From his 85 to one of the fuse blocks ground terminals using 12 or as some 14.

From 86 to a power source also use 12 or 14.

Now I realize that some of the relay numbers can obviously be changed around. I am just trying to orient wire size to what Warchild had.

Thanks

 

[Bounce]

...since you don't use a fuse block just power strips do you use a fuse in line to each of your farkles?
On the link to the auto-retract site. I don't see where they make the jumper that you show you use. The FJR info site looks like they just disconnect the connector and leave it as such. Did I mis something?

1. Fuse blocks: I fuse the main link to the PdB with a max load (20 amps or 30 amps depending on the ga of the wire back to the battery). I then use in-line fuses between the PdB and the device connected to it (they usually come with their own any way).

2. By jumper, do you mean this?

or the feeder line that I made from it (this)?

The first is the OEM jumper that is in place when the auto-retract works and which is then removed to disable the auto-retract. The second is simply a power lead I fabricated using the jumper (first photo) and the hot side of the loop. I cut the loop, extended it by soldering a longer piece of wire to the hot side, and "capped" off the "dead" side of the loop to keep it out of the way. The other end of the extension then terminates in the proper spade female to activate the energizing circuit of the relay which then feeds the "switched" PdB. The energizing circuit doesn't take much current to pull the relay "active", so it can use a smaller ga wire than the one that flows the primary load (that's the reason for using relays).

The unswitched PdB goes back to the battery via a fuse and is always-on for those devices like the GPS and the memory for the Clarion CB/Intercom.

So, simply:

battery -> fuse -> PdB (unswitched) -> fuse -> powered device

battery -> fuse -> relay -> PdB -> fuse -> powered device

..............................^

..............................|

...............................energizing line made from auto-retract jumper

 

[Bounce]

The terminal I circled in red. What are they 2?

You circled something in red? care to make the width of the line bigger or pick a color that us chromatically-challenged viewers can see? :huh:

 

[sparky3008]

In this picture it looks like what is being disconnected doesn't just look like a jumper.

Is the picture just deceiving?

Also the ones I circled in red I figured out are just the negative wires to the farkles.

I do have one question though. If you use a relay and run the ground wire from the realy to the block wouldn't you have 1 less ground lead available. I the picture from Mixed up Mitch it looks as if he has the same amount of positive and negatives. Does that mean he ran his ground from the relay to something else?

 

[Bounce]

In this picture it looks like what is being disconnected doesn't just look like a jumper. Is the picture just deceiving?

Yep. They didn't pull it from the harness. It's tucked in there pretty tightly, but when removed, is the item in photo #1 above. I thought I covered that in the write up, so went back and double-checked. Yep. It says (right after the link to their tech page),

"You can remove the jumper connector instead of leaving [it] stuffed up in the bundle of wires like they do at FJR Info."

I do have one question though. If you use a relay and run the ground wire from the realy to the block wouldn't you have 1 less ground lead available. I the picture from Mixed up Mitch it looks as if he has the same amount of positive and negatives. Does that mean he ran his ground from the relay to something else?

Since relay grounds aren't as critical as something like a Power Commander 3, I tend to run them to a nearby chassis ground so the ground wire doesn't need to be routed through a bunch of the bike (and the total length of wire is shorter).

 

[sparky3008]

Thanks to everyone, I think I got this part down.

 

[boardsNbikes]

I'm one of those "Like to Know How It Works" type people but never got into electronics. Can anyone point me to a good introductory electronics book useful in my future farkling? Thanks.

 

[Pappy]

I disconnected the green-circled harness...

Yesterday while digging there to find that jumper I concluded that on my '05, there's no power running through it. I clipped the jumper, reinstalled it and no matter which one I probed, no juice.

I ended up using the turn signal +12 to power my relay. Anyone know if they changed that jumper on '05 models?

 

[sparky3008]

I'm one of those "Like to Know How It Works" type people but never got into electronics. Can anyone point me to a good introductory electronics book useful in my future farkling? Thanks.

I took an electronics course on computers years ago that involved using oscilloscopes, capacitors and resistors to measure frequenies and resistance and such.

Anyway this type of "electronics" has been of almost no use to me as I never went into repairing circuit boards or anything as a hoppy or professionally. Some of the programmers I work with like to repair old computers as a hoppy and use these types of instruments and knowledge.

Working on your bike it is really nothing more than installing a 12v positive and negative system. I had a brain fart really understanding relays but I don't know why as I use to work on big printing presses that used relays all the time but I was over thinking it. For only a few items such as the upgraded horns which draw more power than the stock switch was designed for are relays necessary.

For most stuff you will do it is as simple as running positive to positive and ground to ground and maybe putting in a fuse do not burn out a device.

Nothing really anymore complicated than that really...

 

[sparky3008]

I disconnected the green-circled harness...
Yesterday while digging there to find that jumper I concluded that on my '05, there's no power running through it. I clipped the jumper, reinstalled it and no matter which one I probed, no juice.

I ended up using the turn signal +12 to power my relay. Anyone know if they changed that jumper on '05 models?

Are you referring to the windshield auto retract loop?

If so I have an 05 and the windshield wouldn't auto retract if there wasn't power.

I have this to power the relay to power my fuse block on my 05???

 

[sparky3008]

I'm one of those "Like to Know How It Works" type people but never got into electronics.  Can anyone point me to a good introductory electronics book useful in my future farkling?  Thanks.

I took an electronics course on computers years ago that involved using oscilloscopes, capacitors and resistors to measure frequenies and resistance and such.

Anyway this type of "electronics" has been of almost no use to me as I never went into repairing circuit boards or anything as a hoppy or professionally. Some of the programmers I work with like to repair old computers as a hoppy and use these types of instruments and knowledge.

Working on your bike it is really nothing more than installing a 12v positive and negative system. I had a brain fart really understanding relays but I don't know why as I use to work on big printing presses that used relays all the time but I was over thinking it. For only a few items such as the upgraded horns which draw more power than the stock switch was designed for are relays necessary.

For most stuff you will do it is as simple as running positive to positive and ground to ground and maybe putting in a fuse do not burn out a device.

Nothing really anymore complicated than that really...

I would add this, car stereo's with amplifiers and subwoofer's would be one place where understanding ohm's law in regards to ohm's and impedence will come in extremely handy so as to not blow up a $$$ amp. (Don't ask me how I know )

https://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/woofer_configurations.asp

Good luck...

 

[ionbeam]

one place where understanding ohm's law in regards to ohm's and impedence will come in extremely handy so as to not blow up a $$$ amp. (Don't ask me how I now

I read this statement then I look at the name -- Sparky -- Coincidence? I think not… :shock: :rolf:

Alan

 

[sparky3008]

one place where understanding ohm's law in regards to ohm's and impedence will come in extremely handy so as to not blow up a $$$ amp. (Don't ask me how I now

I read this statement then I look at the name -- Sparky -- Coincidence? I think not… :shock: :rolf:

Alan

That's right. Funny thing is doing commercial or residencial electrical work has no relation to car audio other than the fact that electrons and protons are involved

 

[Pappy]

Protons aren't involved. You'd need to overcome the Strong nuclear force to liberate them.

I think I read that somewhere :dribble:

 

[sparky3008]

Protons aren't involved. You'd need to overcome the Strong nuclear force to liberate them.
I think I read that somewhere  :dribble:

Protons are involved but they are not what is moving. Electrons are moving from atom to atom. As the atoms wants to be balanced with the same amount of protons and electrons and we disrupted that the atom is constantly trying to acquire balance. The loss of an electron and the ion is now positively charged it is an attractant for another electron to come along and attach itself.

Good conductors such as a wire allow the electrons to easily detach from atom to atom and create a current. Without the Proton we would have no movement... (opposites attract kind of situation...)

Geeze.

 

[ionbeam]

ion is now positively charged it is an attractant

:blush2:

 

[Bounce]

I disconnected the green-circled harness...
Yesterday while digging there to find that jumper I concluded that on my '05, there's no power running through it. I clipped the jumper, reinstalled it and no matter which one I probed, no juice.

I ended up using the turn signal +12 to power my relay. Anyone know if they changed that jumper on '05 models?

You have to test both sides of the loop once it'd clipped in half. Do it with the ignition on and with the ignition off. You might be surprised which is hot and when.

Oh yeah. Just in case, the jumper has to be connected back into the harness when testing the sides of the clipped loop. If you're testing it on the bench, without it attached to the harness, both sides will show "no voltage" all the time. :blink: