Thoughts on Eastern Beaver relay kits

[rwthomas1]

Hello All,
A commentary on the building of your own relay kits VS simply purchasing Eastern Beaver relay kits:

I wanted to install relays for the headlights and horn on my ST1100 to shed that load from the wiring harness. I looked closely at the Eastern Beaver product, probably the highest quality option available. Ultimately, I chose to build my own using Ancor marine wire and parts from Cycle Terminal, etc. Overall, I think it went well. I may have achieved a slightly better quality than Eastern Beaver as the wire used is a heavier gauge, tinned, and every terminal is sealed with adhesive lined heat shrink.

Was it worth it? I have no idea. I can tell you that it was 3-4hrs of workbench time assembling and some time on the computer ordering parts. Ultimately I think I saved about $40. Certainly not enough to make it worth doing unless you happen to have time and enjoy that kind of work. Being a glutton for punishment, I did the work over a few nights with a beer in my hand and tunes on. However, if this isn't your forte, Eastern Beaver offers a lot of value, and I think worth the price.

Now I just have to complete the installation....

RT

 

[st11ray]

IDK but my easternbeaver relays and wiring harnesses that I purchased and installed way back in 2007 are still going strong!

 

[SMSW]

My college buddy once told me (when I was talking about building a canoe) he "would rather use it with my sons than build it". He completely missed the point of building something to use, especially when you can use the experience as a teaching tool with your kids. On the other hand, he has none of the manual skills or experience I have, and I do not have his management/people skills. To each his own.

I've bought stuff from EB twice, and have no complaints about this guy's build quality. It is first rate.

 

[rwthomas1]

The post wasn't intended, and isn't a knock on EB's quality. I think its first rate. I went a bit beyond with the shrink tube and tinned marine wire. Neither are necessary but its the way I'm used to doing things from years of messing with boats. Used the exact same relays EB uses, and high quality terminals. I built my own because I can, others may choose not to for many reasons. But don't think you would be able to "save money" doing it yourself, not to EB's quality for sure.

RT

 

[SupraSabre]

I've setup 4 different ST1300's with home made wire harnesses and relays. The first one (on my '05), I found that the relay was too weak and I burnt it up a couple of thems before I realized I needed a heavier relay (30amp VS 50 Amp) The others I have done have had zero problems. I run my horn, tankbag with Garmin, driving lights, heated gear and was running headlights before going to LEDs.

Depending what all you want to run from it, I also use the BlueSea fuse blocks. Those horns need 20amps to run properly!

Good luck with your harness!

 

[jrp]

I build my own custom harnesses, but only use Japanese-made relays. Haven't had one fail yet. I did buy the Eastern Beaver 3CS-S (a quality harness) and modified it to suit my installation. I am building a harness right now for my dual horn installation because I happen to have all the parts needed already.

 

[heffly]

Mine has a fuzeblock, no trouble from it 60000 miles in...building is interesting. I think i would like that...

 

[Sadlsor]

Functionally, I think most fuse blocks will be a set-it-and-forget-it affair, whether Electrical Connection, Blue Sea, Eastern Beaver, or Amazon's recommendation. They have a purpose, and the technology has been around for decades now.
At the same time, an accomplished (and maybe somewhat lesser-accomplished) DIY'er can perform the same functionality, and perhaps even better, in that you can customize size, number of connections, etc. to your own specific needs and space (as on a bike.)
Electricity has, for most of my life, been FM* to me.
I now know enough to be moderately dangerous to myself and some smaller animals.

*FM -- "Freaking Magic"