Mellow I seem to have all my Alerts set on in Preferences, so don't understand how a member would become aware of comments to Articles unless they looked in that section. Can you please help me? Also is it possible to search in Articles alone?
Paul
Article [13] ST1300 - Switched Power Tap
- Thread starter Mellow
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Mellow I seem to have all my Alerts set on in Preferences, so don't understand how a member would become aware of comments to Articles unless they looked in that section. Can you please help me? Also is it possible to search in Articles alone?
Paul
OP
OP
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
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- '21 RT / '24 GSA
There's a quick search at the top. Otherwise, you'd just have to browse through them... they have tags for specific categories as well.
ST Gui
240Robert
That is indeed it. When you first post about that kit I scoured the Innertubes looking for something similar over here and nada. Zip. Now seeing your recent mention I just looked at ebay and found a few options similar if not identical to your pics. Thanks for posting. MUCH appreciated.
jfheath
John Heath
I've just added a footnote to post#1 of that linked article - regarding the way I wired in the hitachi connectors. I wish now that I had done it differently
I was very impressed with your article, John, and your usual attention to detail. Don't believe I read how long the whole project took you - hours, days, weeks?
For the benefit of others I would mention the topic of margins when selecting wires/cables.
We cannot just rely on the current draw from a particular accessory, but also need to allow for voltage drop, whether encased in conduit and the environment where the cable is situated e.g. in engine bay.
Voltage drop VD - suppose the power used was 50W, then current draw would be 50W/12V= 4.2A. So one might be fooled into thinking a 0.5 sq mm cable (11 A) might be sufficient. Wire length can have significant effect on VD. If a voltage drop of < 2% is required, this cable is not sufficient as VD = 4.2 x Length x Resistance per metre. If length from positive terminal and back to negative terminal is 5m,
VD = 4.2 x 5 x 0.037 = 0.77V or 6.4% of 12V, taking the Resistance/m as 0.037 ohms/m.
So cable would be OK for current draw but not for the length of the cable as >2%.
Temperature Environment - although cable length should definitely be allowed for, also be aware of where the cable is to be situated. Also, in the UK, the cables tend to be categorised according to cross-sectional area, the specification will stipulate the temperature environment for its suitability - usually 20 degrees C. So if the temperature environment is 95C, that is significantly different.
Hope that's useful
Paul
jfheath
John Heath
Sorry Paul - somehow I missed this post in October.
Now that stuff about voltage drop I only vaguely knew about. I have never bothered to research it (except when I was using NiChrome wire to make myself some heated gear) - nor had I bothered to find out the formulae for the calculations. I just knew that there was an issue, and if I had some accessories that together drew something like 9A, then I'd use 16A thinwall cable rather than the slightly thinner 11A cable. And I tend not to use the Hitachi style connectors for heated stuff (which draws about 4.5A). I don't know what the capacity is of the replica ones that are generally available.
So thanks for your contribution - very helpful.
How long did it take ? Goodness knows. I do all of the thinking a long time in advance. Draw the circuit, ponder it before buying anything. Then when it arrives, I set to. I rarely do stuff like this in one day - I do it when I know I won't be riding the bike for a while. In fact I am redoing this wiring at the moment. I don't expect to have the bike out until the end of January, when I will have to take it for its MOT. So I do an hour or two at a time.
The wiring in the rear cowl was getting a bit messy, and the wire to female connectors were getting twisted. One lead broke off as I was investigating. I decided to have the male half of the connector fixed to the harness. It has the blade terminals and is longer. Half of it can be taped to the harness so that it is held firmly in place and provides a secure fixing for the part attached to the accessories. It goes against the grain to have the power supplied by the male half - but if it helps keep the wiring in place, so much the better. Honda have done this in one or two places as well, I notice.
John
Now that stuff about voltage drop I only vaguely knew about. I have never bothered to research it (except when I was using NiChrome wire to make myself some heated gear) - nor had I bothered to find out the formulae for the calculations. I just knew that there was an issue, and if I had some accessories that together drew something like 9A, then I'd use 16A thinwall cable rather than the slightly thinner 11A cable. And I tend not to use the Hitachi style connectors for heated stuff (which draws about 4.5A). I don't know what the capacity is of the replica ones that are generally available.
So thanks for your contribution - very helpful.
How long did it take ? Goodness knows. I do all of the thinking a long time in advance. Draw the circuit, ponder it before buying anything. Then when it arrives, I set to. I rarely do stuff like this in one day - I do it when I know I won't be riding the bike for a while. In fact I am redoing this wiring at the moment. I don't expect to have the bike out until the end of January, when I will have to take it for its MOT. So I do an hour or two at a time.
The wiring in the rear cowl was getting a bit messy, and the wire to female connectors were getting twisted. One lead broke off as I was investigating. I decided to have the male half of the connector fixed to the harness. It has the blade terminals and is longer. Half of it can be taped to the harness so that it is held firmly in place and provides a secure fixing for the part attached to the accessories. It goes against the grain to have the power supplied by the male half - but if it helps keep the wiring in place, so much the better. Honda have done this in one or two places as well, I notice.
John