SAE Connectors, polarity?

[ST Gui]

I do also have a 3 ft extension SAE to SAE cable and a gender changer for just such a circumstance... to provide a trickle charge, NOT a jump

That's why I stated slow charge. I had occasion some time back to use a 4' 12ga lamp cord charging cable with small clamps to charge a somewhat flat bike battery with my GL1000. A bunch of us were sitting around for about 20min. My GL was set to idle at 1500RPM while it charged the other bike's battery. It probably could have been bump started after 10min or so but what the hey. The bike wasn't enthusiastic about firing up but it did.

 

[MidLife]

My Tender harness is fused at 7.5A.....

Wouldn't work for @rjs987

A properly wired Battery Tender cable will have the correct polarity for anything you want to plug into it. The typical Battery Tender cable is 18 ga and has either a 3 amp (about) or 7.5 amp fuse. I bought one for my bike on Amazon that has 16 ga wires and a 15 amp fuse. This allows me to use it to plug in my Battery Tender and also to power Gerbing gloves and also my Slime mini compressor. Most stuff is fine with 3 amps or less fuses but my compressor MUST have 15 amps or it will blow the fuse instantly. The cable I installed also does have the red wire indicating which side is hot.

In this case where the tender line MUST be 15A, might as well also use it for heating. Or use the heating harness for tendering.

 

[Larry Fine]

Remember that most fuses are chosen to protect the wire, not the load.

A 15a fuse is too large to protect 18ga wire from overheating over time.

You can easily find SAE connectors with as large as 10ga wires attached.

A boating-supply store is an excellent source for 12v wiring and devices.

 

[rjs987]

Wouldn't work for @rjs987



In this case where the tender line MUST be 15A, might as well also use it for heating. Or use the heating harness for tendering.

That is exactly what I did on my current bike. BUT... and this is the most important bit... make sure the cable is 16 ga or bigger wire. The typical Battery Tender cable is only 18 ga (smaller wire) and really shouldn't have more than 10-12 amps running on them. Reminder: smaller ga number means bigger sized wire.
Of course, length of the round trip run from + to - is also a factor (from battery positive post all the way out to the load and BACK to the battery negative post) but not knowing for sure if you'll have a short run it's better to be safer with the bigger ga wire.

When I run wire on my bikes I'll use 18 ga for anything that will be no more than 5-10 amps and 16 ga for 15-20 amps. The link I posted earlier is a 16 ga cable set.

If desired, here is a link to a cable set that is 10 ga that will handle up to 30 amps and even comes with a gender changer.
https://a.co/d/90sIUOB

 

[Larry Fine]

When I run wire on my bikes I'll use 18 ga for anything that will be no more than 5-10 amps and 16 ga for 15-20 amps.

I prefer even larger than that, even though bikes' circuit lengths are shorter than buildings'.

Voltage drop is dependent on only two things: the circuit current and the circuit resistance.

However, a given voltage drop is more detrimental to the load of a lower-voltage's system.

For example, while 1v is only 1/120 of 120v, it's 1/12 of 12v. That's a big loss for a 12v load.

The compressor of the Wolo air horn on my NH750 responds much faster using 12ga wire.

 

[MidLife]

That is exactly what I did on my current bike. BUT... and this is the most important bit... make sure the cable is 16 ga or bigger wire. The typical Battery Tender cable is only 18 ga (smaller wire) and really shouldn't have more than 10-12 amps running on them. Reminder: smaller ga number means bigger sized wire.
Of course, length of the round trip run from + to - is also a factor (from battery positive post all the way out to the load and BACK to the battery negative post) but not knowing for sure if you'll have a short run it's better to be safer with the bigger ga wire.

When I run wire on my bikes I'll use 18 ga for anything that will be no more than 5-10 amps and 16 ga for 15-20 amps. The link I posted earlier is a 16 ga cable set.

If desired, here is a link to a cable set that is 10 ga that will handle up to 30 amps and even comes with a gender changer.
https://a.co/d/90sIUOB

Gauge size should be OK: Am looking at tendering through the Gerbing harness, don't see real need (yet!) for adding a separate tender line.

 

[MidLife]

I prefer even larger than that, even though bikes' circuit lengths are shorter than buildings'.

Voltage drop is dependent on only two things: the circuit current and the circuit resistance.

However, a given voltage drop is more detrimental to the load of a lower-voltage's system.

For example, while 1v is only 1/120 of 120v, it's 1/12 of 12v. That's a big loss for a 12v load.

The compressor of the Wolo air horn on my NH750 responds much faster using 12ga wire.

But then the thieves will steal the bike for the copper.....

 

[Larry Fine]

But then the thieves will steal the bike for the copper.....

Not the way I wire. It's either hidden or looks factory.

 

[ST Gui]

Wouldn't work for @rjs987

Which is the point I was making in general about using a Tender lead for any heavy lifting. Or connecting a Tender to an SAE lead fused at 10/15/30A. Just because it's an SAE connector lead doesn't mean it can be used with any device also having an SAE connector or device to which an SAE connecter has been cobbled.

 

[rjs987]

As was mentioned... the fuse is more to protect the wiring and not so much the device plugged into the wire. That is why it is REALLY BAD to simply put in a bigger fuse. Doing that cancels any protection to the wires from overheating and insulation melting and possibly even a fire starting.

 

[Larry Fine]

As was mentioned... the fuse is more to protect the wiring and not so much the device plugged into the wire. That is why it is REALLY BAD to simply put in a bigger fuse. Doing that cancels any protection to the wires from overheating and insulation melting and possibly even a fire starting.

Exactamundo! Even in homes and businesses, the number one danger of electricity is fire, largely due to insulation damage from overloads and from improper connections.

The NEC is as much about protecting the environment from the wiring as it is about protecting the wiring from the environment. In fact, the NEC is produced by the NFPA.

NFPA | The National Fire Protection Association

NFPA is the world’s leading resource on fire, electrical, and related hazards. NFPA is a self-funded nonprofit dedicated to eliminating loss through knowledge.

www.nfpa.org

 

[MidLife]

Which is the point I was making in general about using a Tender lead for any heavy lifting. Or connecting a Tender to an SAE lead fused at 10/15/30A. Just because it's an SAE connector lead doesn't mean it can be used with any device also having an SAE connector or device to which an SAE connecter has been cobbled.

I should be OK. Mine is certified for @rjs987 service. Still thinking about charging the battery through the Gerbing coax though, don't see a need for this extra line just for tendering.

 

[MidLife]

,,,,,,,,,,,the number one danger of electricity is fire, largely due to insulation damage from overloads ,,,,,,,,

This is far too involved for my Igofar level of electrics understanding.

In my simplistic world, if I have a non fused single low Amp device on a dedicated heavy gauge harness, I'll stick with sizing the harness fuse for the device.

The Gerbing Harness comes with a fuse assortment. Looks like they would like me to be somewhat sensitive to what is hooked up to it?

 

[Larry Fine]

In my simplistic world, if I have a non fused single low Amp device on a dedicated heavy gauge harness, I'll stick with sizing the harness fuse for the device.

Fusing smaller to suit your load is never a problem, as long as it's not too small, of course.

 

[rjs987]

Fusing smaller to suit your load is never a problem, as long as it's not too small, of course.

And this is exactly why I needed the bigger wire size for my mini compressor. Since the compressor requires a minimum of 15 amps, simply putting a bigger fuse on the cable would result in risk that the wire would be overloaded and over heated. So installing a bigger wire size to handle the bigger fuse solves that problem.

BTW- I did have the Gerbing harness that connected directly to the battery. But since I always wanted more farkle connections (fused of course) and I didn't want to end up with a half dozen ring terminals directly on the battery, I installed a auxiliary fuse block fed by one set of heavy wires from/to the battery, with a relay to turn it on only when the bike was turned on. Then I cut off the ring terminals of the Gerbing harness and connected that harness to the fuse block. With my new bike, since I wasn't certain I wanted to permanently hook up the heated gloves, I put a SAE connector on the Gerbing harness and just plugged that into the heavier BT cable I installed for my Battery Tender, and heated gloves, and compressor, and ...
That way I didn't need multiple connections to the battery. I do still have an aux fuse block for some farkles that are permanently connected but only powered when the bike is powered on. Like a LED tail light bar with flashing brakes and my Uni-Go trailer harness, etc.
Those SAE cables come in handy for a lot of different things that need power but also need to be unplugged sometimes. I can also use it while riding to plug in a SAE to USB adapter to charge my phone or any other USB powered device while going down the road.

 

[Larry Fine]

And this is exactly why I needed the bigger wire size for my mini compressor. Since the compressor requires a minimum of 15 amps, simply putting a bigger fuse on the cable would result in risk that the wire would be overloaded and over heated. So installing a bigger wire size to handle the bigger fuse solves that problem.

Exactly, plus compressors start and run better with less voltage drop due to the heavier wire, and also much better with the engine running.

 

[MidLife]

I installed a auxiliary fuse block ...

Exactly what I need to do on my newer ST. But still trying to figure out its electric maze for now.

 

[rjs987]

Exactly what I need to do on my newer ST. But still trying to figure out its electric maze for now.

If you are installing an aux fuse block the only wire you need to find is the Auxiliary Power wire on the factory fuse block. There should be one labeled on the lid for Aux so that should be easy to find (there was on my ST1100). I would use a Posi-Tap on the output of that fuse to turn the fuse block on/off only when the bike is on/off. Then get power to the aux fuse block for all your farkles with a pair of heavier wires directly from the battery. Don't trust the bike frame for ground but run that wire directly to the negative post of the battery. That way you only have 3 ring connectors max on the battery (one is factory, one is Battery Tender lead, one is the switched aux fuse block). The only connections to any factory wire is to simply trigger a relay for the function you want. Never get power from any factory wire to protect the bike. Those wires are sized only for the load the factory expects them to carry. This setup isolates power to any farkle you install. It is how I've wired every bike I've owned since 2003 when I started doing my own wiring and adding electrical farkles, including the trailer harness I installed on 3 of my bikes.

 

[MidLife]

If you are installing an aux fuse block the only wire you need to find is the Auxiliary Power wire on the factory fuse block.

The Eastern Beaver panel I am planning to use plugs into the Diagnostic Port for switching the relay.

Honda ST1300 Accessory Fuse Box and Wiring Kits

Eastern Beaver ST1300 wiring harness. Quartet harness for Honda SR1300

www.easternbeaver.com

But I have not been able to locate the Diagnostic Port on this 2012 yet. It was there in plain sight on the 03. Maybe on this 2012 the port is hidden and tied up somewhere in the back for triggering its blinking brake lights, haven't figured that out yet.

On the 03, the Diagnostic Port was colored (brownish if I remember), don't see anything like that on the 2012, only white.

If I cannot find the diagnostic port, will have to find another trigger for switching the power relay on the block.

 

[STRider]

But I have not been able to locate the Diagnostic Port on this 2012 yet. It was there in plain sight on the 03. Maybe on this 2012 the port is hidden and tied up somewhere in the back for triggering its blinking brake lights, haven't figured that out yet.

On the 03, the Diagnostic Port was colored (brownish if I remember), don't see anything like that on the 2012, only white.

If I cannot find the diagnostic port, will have to find another trigger for switching the power relay on the block.

It's under the seat on the right side on my 2012. And the connector is red. I can't recall if the protective cap was red or otherwise.

I vaguely recall it being tucked under that big cable harness and not obvious unless you dig for it. That cream-colored connector plugs into it for my aftermarket gear position indicator.