Cigarette lighter socket on V-Strom 650?

[Guest]

Okay, i have a question myself now. In case it sounds too stupid, remember, as i mentioned before, i am not a bike technician or engineer.

So here it goes:

I want to install a socket so as to be able to use the bike's battery to charge gps and whatever... (When another member mentioned to me some time ago he had installed a cigarette lighter on his bike i screamed "Are you crazy?? Why do you need to smoke at 50mph??". Well, i was stupid, i didn't think of what you can use it for... )

Thus some days ago i bought this one myself (picture):

http://tinyurl.com/b3msrh

And this is a description of one guy of how he installed it on his two bikes (both different to mine):

http://tinyurl.com/bo9kue

(scroll down one page)

However: When i looked a bit around in the depths of my motorbike (under the seat, between chassis and tank, etc. etc. ), i saw so many cables and connectors that i couldn't figure out how and where to install that beast! Ideally i would like the socket to be permanently what people call "hot" (say "on" - else it would be linked to "engine on" only), and socket and plug i thought should both be lying (fixed) under my seat next to the battery (so as not to get wet, however they seem waterresistant). Drawback: The other end of the plug, leading to the handlebar, would then be this one connector only, or i'd have to take the topbox and the seat off to change the plug/cable to use something different to GPS for instance.

Anyone got any decent idea of an overall good solution, and more so, HOW to install it then?

[Guest]

permanetly on ....

i would suggest finding the battery and there are two connections

One positive + marked on battery( normally cable attached is red)

one Negative - marked on battery (normally cable attached is black)

on your socket wires normally are a red and a black cable (see a pattern )

btw personally i would not have chosen that type as it is metal chassied and the risk of earthing it are high and risk a short circuit

the type i would have chosen isimilar to http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/Images/Products/5019328000611.jpg

cutting off the plug and using that as it is fully insulated

some types her

i had one on both gpz and zzr i ran the wiring up through bike so socket was by speedo so easy to access for plugging in chargers etv

but have gone a bit more robust now

anyway

to the red (positive ) i would recommend fitting an inline fuse of around 15 amps so if a short does occur ot blows the fuse not melts the wires and sets fire to the bike

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... &U=strat15

then it is a case of fitting two ring terminals that fit the battery bolts and undo the battery connections place the ring terminals on their relevant connections and then tighten the bolts back up and hey presto .. your wired up

[Guest]

Ah, great Tim, thanks!

personally i would not have chosen that type as it is metal chassied and the risk of earthing it are high and risk a short circuit

 

Yes, i already thought that i will wrap the whole thing in electrical tape, to be sure. Strangely i had found this maplin one myself, but when i went to maplin and asked they said "not for motorbike, only inside the car"...

I should have asked you earlier!

 

i had one on both gpz and zzr i ran the wiring up through bike so socket was by speedo so easy to access for plugging in chargers etv

but have gone a bit more robust now

 

Hmm, what do you mean "more robust", what exactly wasn't good about the solution you describe? What do i misunderstand here?

 

i would recommend fitting an inline fuse of around 15 amps so if a short does occur ot blows the fuse not melts the wires and sets fire to the bike

 

Okay, mine has already a 10 AMP fuse in it. Is that enough AMP?

 

then it is a case of fitting two ring terminals that fit the battery bolts and undo the battery connections place the ring terminals on their relevant connections and then tighten the bolts back up and hey presto .. your wired up

 

That's the tricky bit! I had found the battery and connectors but firstly i didn't want to plug more connectors on top but rather find something like the "fuse box" some people wrote about, and click them in empty "slots" there (if my bike has such a box?). And secondly i couldn't figure out how to get the cable SAFELY along the bike up to the handlebar. (I deem myself unable to take the bike apart, place the cable in position and put the bike back together.)

[Guest]

for more robust i mean that some of the extension cable types as shown the cables are quite thin and if lots of movement will break the cable as i found that every few months i had to redo the socket connections due to the this but it can be elimanted by fixing the socket so that it does not move about .....

as for my one is more of a panel mounted type similar to

http://images.maplin.co.uk/300/a59fl.jpg

and made a bracket etc so that its mouted next to my speedo

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp260/timr_75/100_3558-1.jpg ( the bit with red cable you can see)

insulating tape should be ok but do not use the actual cigarette lighter element though ... personally i would also add some heatshrink to make sure ( if you can find some large enough)

as for the ten amp fuse that should be fine as long as you not placing a large load on it ( boiling the kettle etc lol )

as for adding to the battery ... i have my heated grips and the socket as well as the charging/jump lead wiring attched straight to the terminals ...

yes your bike should be fitted with a fuse box ( look at the handbook or search the posts in the help guides and manual section of the forum for service manuals that may be listed online to download) ....going into the fuse box is ok if you can find a spare connection and that it is a relevant one to use ( not ign controlled or lighting etc ) and that if you wire into the fused side of it a seperate inline fuse will not be neccesary

best thing to do with regards to wiring along the chassis is to follow the original loom .. this may require the need of removing the seat and tank and then just connect the cable to the loom by cable ties but pay attention around the handlebars that you leave enough slack if required with the handlebars turning so that the cable does not get stretched or pinched .... and anywhere the cable passes through chassis or possible rubs against anything wrap a few turns of insulating tape arounf that place on the cable to reduce the risk of chafing

[slugworth1987]

me personaly i would either wire it with a switch so its not battery bus hot or into the tail lights/battery relay area of the wireing so its only on with the keys or when u turn it on with the switch i know its more to go wrong but splicing a a cable is easy with inline enviromental splices and its only the red wire that needs to be voltage hot as bikes are frame earths u could in theory put a ring on the black wire and earth it via a screw into the chassie or an exsisting screw, just test the screw is earthed by putting one part of a voltmeter on the neg terminal of the batt and one on the screw head when in the bike, set multimeter to (|<) (Diode) or Resistance and if it beeps or shows less than 1ohm resistance you have a good earth

[Guest]

only thing with stwitches is finding a suitable waterproof one that is easy to mount and going to the lights my opinion is thati would not have it to an important circuit for the risk of it blowing that fuse and not knowing that you have no rear light as you will still have headlight just no side/tail lamp

plus with it perm on you have the option of when stationary having a brew etc your phone or satnav is still charging without the bike being on and the drain of this is neglible and would take a good 12 hrs to drain a battery to prevent it starting

[Guest]

Tim, a million thanks to you buddy! Great description you gave there! As i said, i should have asked you and bought the one you have

I can't quite see the "red" bit (only that there is a bit "red" in the pic ), so i don't know where you have placed your socket, but your text sounds to me as if you have not placed your socket on the handlebar. Don't want to put another "?" as i feel i have no right to ask you anything else, so good was your answer!

(Sorry, couldn't answer yday, was too busy, and actually now, am nearly too tired to write a sensible sentence...)

I'll try this again when i have time (weekend maybe) and will post feedback or pics here if i have any.

@slugworth: I won't earth anything to the chassis on my bike because i read that the current would "eat in" the material. Don't know if that's true, but don't wanna run any risk Thanks anyway!

[Guest]

No worries and if you look directly above my indicator inthe pic you w ill just see a red line that is the red cabel going to th socket

andwhat slugs means is that your bikes chassis is basically an earth circuit as that is what the battery negative connects to though the engine earth etc so in theory you can connect the negative side of any electrical connection to a mounting point on the bike ( nut/bolt etc )and this will complete the circuit ... in theory it is a good idea but you can sometimes suffer from corrosion on the terminals/earthing points that result in a bad connection whilt the corrosion is not really detrimental to the bikes safety etc it means your circuit wont work .....

any way good luck and ask away

[Guest]

No worries and if you look directly above my indicator inthe pic you w ill just see a red line that is the red cabel going to th socket

 

Hm, can't see that in the pic, but no worries for you, i've been suspecting for quite a while that my eyes get worse.

 

andwhat slugs means is that your bikes chassis is basically an earth circuit as that is what the battery negative connects to though the engine earth etc so in theory you can connect the negative side of any electrical connection to a mounting point on the bike ( nut/bolt etc )and this will complete the circuit

 

Yes, i know that, but i meant that i read that one shouldn't use the V-Strom chassis to close the circuit, and thus place a current on the bike, as that would eat into the ... material. Whatever. I just won't do it. I would properly connect the negative (black) cable to the battery's negative pole. Call me stupid if you want....

I've not yet got round to the socket anyway as i'm currently terribly busy. It feels as if i am almost bursting under time pressure. Need to do a time management course.