Fuse Block

[Berzins]

Hey Guys.

I've been looking through the posting in regards to fuse blocks and must admit I am not sure which way to go.

The Bluesea one looks great, but I am concerened about the size. The Centech one looks good for size but it appears to be made out of metal?

Second thing is that some of the posts say it should have a Negative Bus.

Can someone set me staight with this? Suggestions?

Dave...

[crazykz]

The Bluesea is big but it does seem to fit. I have the Centech and yes it has a metal cover plate but that hasn't been an issue for me. The centech has a ground bus but I'm assuming the Bluesea does also (not positive though, no pun). If the metal on the Centech bothers you just put a thread protector cap over the bolt for the positive lead. I really like the Centech with it's no terminal type screw down clamps.

I came up with a solution for about $15 for the rear of the bike that includes a relay for the switched voltage. The centech and the home made fuse box or both in this post of mine:
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=984

It's pretty easy to make but it's not as clean as the other solutions but I really like it. I can close the lid to make it psuedo splash proof and it fits in the back along with the control unit for the MCCruise.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=984

The Centech and the Bluesea are the two best ones I've seen for the bike but you can always brag about the one you built. ;) I get some good comments on it for it's design which I like. The box is a fly fishing tackle box from Gander Mountain, the fuseblock you can get at any autoparts store, the relay you can get at radioshack, and the two extra bolts (for ground points), and the electrical connectors you can get at a decent hardware store. All for under $20. Remember for under $20 you have the relay also for switched power.

The only thing I would change is using some smaller guage wire. Nothing bigger than 16 gauge unless you're going to pull some big current. For me it powers my rear LED side markers and my intercom unit. No real power demands there. I use the empty slots now to carry spare fuses.

Curt

[Berzins]

I will certainly agree that the Bluesea one has a nicer finish to it. Where do most people mount them? I've seen the rear and I thought the opposite side of the battery as well?

You also bring up another point. How do you only supply battery power when the bike is on and not all the time. Some sort of relay I assume. There is another question... Which one and where do you get them?

Sheesh... I hate when projects become bigger projects! <lol>

Dave...

[crazykz]

The relay is super common. It is a standard 30-Amp relay. You will need to find a wire that has 12V when the bike is turned on. That 12V wire will go to energize the coil in the relay. The opposite side of that coil will go to ground so the 12V has the potential to energize the coil. That's just to get the relay to close. There are two other prongs on the relay. One is for constant 12V from the battery or from a constant 12V source. The other side is still 12V but goes to what ever you're trying to supply 12V to (i.e. your fuseblock).

This is a very common thing with fuseblocks and why more manufacturers don't offer a relay option is beyond me. To review the relay has a coil and a contact. The coil is energized with switched 12V and has ground hooked to the other side of the coil. When the switched 12V is supplied to the coil is closes the contact. That contact has 12V on one side of it that, once the contact is closed, will supply that 12V out the other side to whatever you want to light up.

Here's the link for the one at RatShack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=275-226

Now how to get switched 12V to your relay. I used T-Taps which you can get at an autoparts store and tapped off of the running lights on the back of the bike. I don't really recommend this but it is possible. You can get it from the fuse block on the bike but that means cutting a hole in the fuse block cap which I didn't like. The other way would be to run a wire from the quartet harness all the way to the back of the bike. This is the most non-invassive and probably most reliable way to get switched 12V to your fuseblock in the tail of the bike but it is also kind of a pain and to do it right requires the pins and connector to mate to the quartet harness. Those are the only three ways I've heard of but if you find another let me know. I'm waiting until winter to move mine and come off the quartet harness on the front of the bike instead of T-tapping off the rear running lights. My centech is switched on off the quartet harness right now so I will probably just run a wire from there to the back.

There's plenty of help here to get this wired up so don't be afraid to ask. I sort of new what I was doing when I built mine but somehow still managed to get stuck. Now I'm an expert. ;) Well maybe not but I'm sure I can help you get you going. The box I built is a little big also but it does lie down in the back of the bike. My centech is mounted on the outside of the left fairing pocket in the front of the bike.

[Berzins]

Awesome. Thanks for all the info! Will go a long way in me getting this done. Now all I have to do is take off some the plastic to run all the wires!

Dave...

[crazykz]

Awesome. Thanks for all the info! Will go a long way in me getting this done. Now all I have to do is take off some the plastic to run all the wires!

Dave...

I save that for winter. I've taken the plastic off so much running my stuff I just do it when it's cold. That way I clean and wax everything over winter so it's ready to go come spring. Feel free to bug me if you need any help.

Curt