fuse block mounting

[racer1735]

I finally took the plunge tonight and began wiring my fuse block and plan to wire the driving lamps tomorrow night. Decided against wiring a relay between the battery and the fuse block, as the lights each have a relay in their circuit anyway (plus, I was so da**ed frustrated trying to figure out how to do it and I was tired of trying to solder connections!!). I did run an inline fuse between the battery and the fuse block.

One question...I see people mention that tney mounted their block under the seat. I can't find a locatoin 'under the seat' that will allow the seat to sit down enough to 'catch' the latches. I ended up just letting it rest in the tail and will eventually get a flat piece of plastic to velcro the block to. Is there a spot 'under the seat' that's not in the tail section that has enough space to put the block (I have the Blue Sea model)?

[STeve1300]

Good Luck!

The reason some of us put a relay control to the fuse block is to limit the power to be on only with ignition or accessory. You will have power from the battery even with the key off, but I'm sure you realize that.

Have fun! I have my bike completely stripped for the first time. Even the fuel tank is off. I'm wiring all my stuff at once..GPS, autocom, XM, FRS, Steble horn, heated grips, power outlet, Sigma trip meter, LED turn signal indicators, I upgraded to silverstar headlights, and changed the air filter for the heck of it. I'm in just a little over my head :eek:

[Blrfl]

Is there a spot 'under the seat' that's not in the tail section that has enough space to put the block (I have the Blue Sea model)?

I've seen a couple of people stuff it in the space above the battery, which I didn't care much for. Mine is mounted in the tail above the slot where the tool bag would go. Some velcro keeps it from moving laterally, and it's lashed down with a very small bungee cord secured to the bottom of the slot with cable ties and adhesive cable tie bases. I've been thinking about moving it back some and standing my Autocom vertically in that slot if it'll fit in there.

Photos here: http://archive.feitography.com/2004/12/21 (Sorry, I neglected to take any pictures of how the bungee is mounted.)

--Mark

[racer1735]

I opted not to do the relay as (at least for now) the only attachments would be driving and fog lamps...both of which will tap power from the quartet harness (and thus be 'switched' from that point), and a battery tender.

Am I overlooking something, or does this setup make sense?

[ccryder]

Kent:
Your driving and fog lights take power from the Aux fuse box, right? The power you are getting from the "Q" harness is the Red/ black stripe wire that is switched by the key I seem to recall that one other wire in the "Q" is also switched). That wire should go to power the relays for your Drive/ Fog lights. The power to energize the relay is much less than required to turn on your lights.

BTW: what size fuse do you have b/t your aux box and battery?

Time2Work.
Neil S.

[racer1735]

Right now I have a 20 amp fuse between the battery and the fuse block. And, based the above description, I don't need a relay between the battery and the block to still have switched power for the lights (as the r/blk wire serves this purpose). Finally, where should I ground the relay? The point under the tank is a bear to get to.

[ccryder]

The ground for your relay can go to any bolt that screws into the frame or fairing bracket.

Neil

[bcst1300]

I chose the battery cover for a couple of reasons. It fit there and was easy to pop rivet it without interfering with the cover. It keeps my electrical in 2 places both oriented to the original locations. IE if I have an electrical problem it is usually at the fuse block or the battery side.
I also chose to relay the block as it is supplied with a 30 amp fuse and I did not want to run a big load to the back of the bike then run all my loads to the front. That saves me from some voltage drop and extra wire.
The relay is just fed from the same relay circuit as the main power relay. The unused pole of the relay is where I plug the tender so it also disconnects the tender circuit if I start the bike. The added benifit is it also permits me to plug my compressor in with the ignition off. I also relay it to help me to remember to shut accessories off.

I also found a little empty area by the battery and behind the main power relays that my Autocom fits nicely into. Some foam and a ty rap and I am good to go. The accessory wires are all long enough to go to the left side of the bike for rider and pillion connections as well it gave me a little more length on the radio lead.

A word about grounds. Much of your frame is aluminum and your wiring is copper. A little electricity and we have a recipe for galvanic corrosion.
While you will always have grounds connected to the frame it is still a prudent decision to run return wires to a ground block wired close to and connected to the battery directly.

For the purpose of voltage drop and current carrying use #14 copper stranded wire for loads up to 12 amps. It is rated for 15 amps but voltage drop can be significant at 13 volts.
#12 stranded copper to 16 amps. # 10 stranded copper for 24 amps.
Stranded wire should be fine stranded as opposed to building wire. Fine stranding is for the vibration on a bike.

Marine cable is a very good product as it is jacketed for extra protection and has both the positive and negative wires right there. It is fine stranded and often high temperature too.

Wire routing should always be as short as possible but never tight and as much as possible avoid routes that go past the coils or ignition wires. For example when going to the bars from the back or mid section of the bike route wires in the space between the frame and the airbox as opposed to the outside of the frame where the coil is mounted. The frame will assist in shielding the wires from ignition noise. For anything electronic like radios, intercoms or other Audio producing the power for these devices should all be grounded at the same place and as much as possible, supply power from the same place. Don't run 1 device direct to the battery and the next from a fuse block in the tail. Ground loops are caused by the smallest voltage differences between 2 devices and are then amplified by your audio amplifiers.
Ignition noise filters can help too but you can go a long way to avoiding some of these problems by good routing, Short wire runs, shielding, and common ground points wired direct return.

My experince to give this advice? 25 years of electrical and electronic work, a lot of reading, and fixing my, and others mistakes.

[ligito]

I used the Blue Sea, wired direct to the battery, using longer battery bolts.
It lives where the tool bag was.

I keep it in a heavy plastic bag, for protection.

I also left enough wire on it, to pull it out of the tail section, for any work that I may want to do.

I have my heat trollers wired to the battery, as well.
I don't have any sound systems wired.

You can always put another one up front, if you choose.

[Highrider]

Racer

It depends on the fuse block your mounting, I didn't see what brand you were talking about.
I mounted a Centech fuse block under the front section of my seat. I keep my seat adjusted in the middle slot and there is polenty of clearance. I had to make a simple metal bracket to mount the unit to - see picture. Routing wires from the battery and to the accesories is simple.Dave
:biker:

[John Anthony]

Here's where I mounted mine. I like the idea of having a switched block. It's just too easy to forget to turn something off. And with this particular fuse block, there's separate wiring for a battery tender that's also switched. I automatically disconnects the charger when the ignition is turned on.

John

[racer1735]

Project complete! I mounted the fuse block in the tail section. Took an unused DVD case, duct taped it shut on all four sides, then put some industiral strength velcro on the top and a strip on the bottom of the fuse block. Block sits on the DVD case, on top of the tool pouch and doesn't move around. If I need to access it, it simply lifts out. I did not relay the fuse block, but tapped into the q-harness for my 'switched' power. At this time, I only have driving and fog lamps running from the block.

Many thanks to Neil, Curt, Pat, Eric and anyone else I haven't mentioned for the many words of advise on how to do this farkle. This forum is great....great people and I hope to meet many of you in a couple weeks at the Moonshine run.

[Mikef53]

This is great stuff!! I built a power strip with relay from parts at Radio Shack. I mounted my strip to the frame at the right rear under the seat. My choice was drill and tap or lash - I opted for the latter. I used zip-strips on each end, then pulled them together with another to keep them from slipping off the strip due to vibration. This method allows me to move the unit under the frame when the seat is on, and raise it to work on it. I have about 150 miles so far with it in place and it works perfectly. I'll get to test it more next week on a trip to Ohio (from Vermont).

[Gonzo]

Here's how I did mine:

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34499&highlight=frugalfarkle

[Mikef53]

For what it's worth, I made my own power block and zip-stripped it to the frame at the right rear. THe strips are over each end perpendicular to the frame. Then, I used another horizontally to pull these together to keep them from coming off the block. It allows me to swivel the block under the fram for storage, then bring it back up if I need to work on it. Works great - just went 2000 miles to Ohio and back to VT last week with no issues. Yes...do relay the block.