Practical Custom Wiring

L.A.B. said:

No fuse for the Podtronic unit?

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Where would you place it? Between the alternator and the Podtronic or after the Podtronic?

Ok, I think I'm getting even closer.

I'll start at the alternator.

The wires I got to bridge the alternator wires to the Podtronic are White/Green and Green/Yellow.


We now move up to the battery compartment. Behind the fuse panel is the Podtronic. From the Podtonic there are two yellow which will connect to the two alternator wires above. There is a black ground and a red power wire which I currently have going to the ignition switch. I think this is the wire that LAB said should be fused. From the ignition switch a white wire comes back to the fuse panel. You can see it at the bottom of the picture.

Coming out from the fuse panel starting on the left top (as facing the fuse panel) is Flasher (to the X terminal on the Flasher), Blue/Yellow to the Headlight Switch, and the bottom Red is Ignition (to the Boyer).

On the right side I have a white power wire I sent to the front of the bike to supply power to the handlebar switches. Next is the power for the Horn Relay. And last is the Rear Brake Power.


The Ignition Switch has the Red coming from the Podtronic and the White powers the Fuse Panel.


Following that Rear Brake Power wire to the Rear Brake Switch. The power goes to one side and the other is the Brown wire from the Front Brake Switch and it's joined to the Green wire which goes to the Rear Light.


Wires going to the Rear Light are from top to bottom: Black is a Ground wire. I really don't think I'll need this. Green/Red is L/H Turn and Green/White is R/H Turn. The wire that looks blue is actually Green and is the Rear Brake Light from the Rear BRake Switch.


Going forward we have the Horn Relay. The loose Purple 87 goes to the Horn. The Black 85 is the Ground. White is the Power 30 and Purple/Black 86 goes to the handlebar switch.


I already showed the Boyer and Coil wiring. I might come back and edit it when it's not 11pm at night...


The Headlight Switch has the Blue/Yellow coming from the Fuse Panel. The White 30 from the Headlight Switch powers the Relay. I don't have the Ground 85 yet but I think it'll run right to the head. There is a Blue 87 which will go the High Beam, Blue/Red 87a for the Low Beam and Blue/White 86 from the handlebar to activate the High Beam.


And the Brown Wire for the Front Brake Switch. It'll be joined by a White Power wire.


I picked up some wire cover. It's braided. I don't know how heat resistant it will be. At least it'll add some abrasion resistance. I hope.

That's it on the wiring for now. Components I still need are the Headlight, Headlight Switch and Battery. I think. Oh and somehow either fixing the handlebar switches or getting better ones. I'll redo my wiring diagram to show all these updates.

The wire covering you have should be fine. I use that same product and have had zero issues. Add a section of shrink wrap to each end to keep the woven fabric tight after you have all of the wiring in place.

I suggest this if you must run multiple fuses, works excellent on the newer BMWs with the CANbus system.

http://www.fuzeblocks.com/

builder said:

The wire covering you have should be fine. I use that same product and have had zero issues. Add a section of shrink wrap to each end to keep the woven fabric tight after you have all of the wiring in place.

I suggest this if you must run multiple fuses, works excellent on the newer BMWs with the CANbus system.

http://www.fuzeblocks.com/

Click to expand...

$80

That looks REALLY nice. Could have used that info a couple weeks ago. :mrgreen:

Continuing to clean up the wires. I think the horn relay will sit on the blank spot on the panel. Things are starting to solidify...


Found a location for the flasher. Since it's electronic I think it will be ok here.

Screw terminals - bad news.

Rich_j said:

Screw terminals - bad news.

Click to expand...

Really? Why?

You're getting there.

Wiring isn't so bad once you actually dig in.

Coco said:

You're getting there.

Wiring isn't so bad once you actually dig in.

Click to expand...

Now that I know all the parts and where they go I can keep tidying up. I know that I'll be able to use the switches do I'll cut off all the old Lucas bullets and put real bullets on the wires. Then I start making all the connections. I need a headlight and headlight switch. And I don't plan on putting turnsignals on right away. So final, final wiring may not get done for a while. But zip ties are easily replaced. I really want to get a battery so I can confirm the circuits work. Continuity is one things, having something actually light up is another...

Rich_j said:

Screw terminals - bad news.

Click to expand...

Stongly disagree...same type of terminal on the BTL4E LED tail light and they never come loose.

That "fuze" block is pretty much the standard sought after block used by anyone having to add circuits to a BMW with the CANbus system...if you can bounce around the world on a 1200GS or rely on it during an LD/IB rally, I'm confident in the connection.

I'm extremely picky when it comes to electrical connections...nothing but Delphi/Weatherpack unless space is an issue (rear tail light), I'll use a Japanese type bullet connector (which is about 1000x better than the Lucas bullet).

builder said:

Rich_j said:

Screw terminals - bad news.

Click to expand...

Stongly disagree...same type of terminal on the BTL4E LED tail light and they never come loose.

That "fuze" block is pretty much the standard sought after block used by anyone having to add circuits to a BMW with the CANbus system...if you can bounce around the world on a 1200GS or rely on it during an LD/IB rally, I'm confident in the connection.

I'm extremely picky when it comes to electrical connections...nothing but Delphi/Weatherpack unless space is an issue (rear tail light), I'll use a Japanese type bullet connector (which is about 1000x better than the Lucas bullet).

Click to expand...

If BMW made it would it have screw terminals? Answer is no.

Really looking good and complex Swoohdave.
You're adding lasting brain connections with extra joy juice receptors.

The Fuzzbox site is a great find for me, thanx rich I think.

hobot

Couple more pics of the fuse panel. Starting to clean up even more. Horn relay is now mounted to the panel. Need to finalize the panel mounting.

Rich_j said:

If BMW made it would it have screw terminals? Answer is no.

Click to expand...

BMW has what impact on the screw terminal...your point is? You still haven't stated why your opinion is that a screw terminal is "bad news".

I have referenced back to the use of the "fuze block" on a BMW as they utilize a CANbus system...go look for a fuse on a new BMW. So as it pertains to the screw type terminal, I have yet to hear of this type of connection ever failing even under the roughest conditions. If you're riding 1000-2000 miles a day under an LD/IB clock, the last thing you need to be thinking about is if an electrical connection is going to hold up. Yes, I did say 2000 miles a day.

I know for a fact that there are 100's of the BTL4E LED tail lights in use on the Norton Commando, and I have yet to hear of one failure due to the screw type connection.

Please let us know why a screw type terminal is "bad news".

builder said:

Rich_j said:

If BMW made it would it have screw terminals? Answer is no.

Click to expand...

BMW has what impact on the screw terminal...your point is? You still haven't stated why your opinion is that a screw terminal is "bad news".

I have referenced back to the use of the "fuze block" on a BMW as they utilize a CANbus system...go look for a fuse on a new BMW. So as it pertains to the screw type terminal, I have yet to hear of this type of connection ever failing even under the roughest conditions. If you're riding 1000-2000 miles a day under an LD/IB clock, the last thing you need to be thinking about is if an electrical connection is going to hold up. Yes, I did say 2000 miles a day.

I know for a fact that there are 100's of the BTL4E LED tail lights in use on the Norton Commando, and I have yet to hear of one failure due to the screw type connection.

Please let us know why a screw type terminal is "bad news".

Click to expand...

While I don't have a problem with the concept of a screw terminal, I can see where it might cause a problem. With a screw terminal the wire is pinched like a typical crimped connection but the insulation is not supported. This could theoretically place all of the strain and vibration on the wire only. What you may want to do is make sure the wire is properly supported.

swooshdave said:

While I don't have a problem with the concept of a screw terminal, I can see where it might cause a problem. With a screw terminal the wire is pinched like a typical crimped connection but the insulation is not supported. This could theoretically place all of the strain and vibration on the wire only. What you may want to do is make sure the wire is properly supported.

Click to expand...

Fair statement...I think in most instances the insulation on the wire goes into the hole also...it really can't move around. But what you are saying really rings true with the Lucas bullet, which is why the Japanese type crimp on bullets are so much better, or even the Japanese crimp type spade and lugs.

I have a few bikes out there that are wired exclusively with kits from this vendor, but have limited the number of block connectors in favor of the weatherpack type on recent builds.

http://www.vintageconnections.com/

Here's where I get my weatherpacks from -

http://www.hipoparts.com/

builder said:

Here's where I get my weatherpacks from -

http://www.hipoparts.com/

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I really want to try these the next time. They have a starter kit for $40 which might almost do the whole bike. The one part I haven't seen from Weatherpack is a 1 into many connection.

Look at the two sockethead bolts. One is hidden in the common ground area.



I think I operate on pure dumb luck sometimes. I was looking at how to mount the fuse panel better and started playing around and noticed that the two holes for the Podtronic would line up with a couple holes on the fuse panel. I had to enlarge one slightly but them they just bolted up.

Then with my bracket everything lined up and is nice and secure.

I hope you guys are still reading this. I've got something almost as exciting as watching the LED light up. :mrgreen:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjJAZgir4CY[/video]

Don't make fun of my horn! I had some foam stuffed in it and I didn't want to let it make much sound or I'd wake up the kid.

Good news is the headlight circuit works, the bad is that the hi beam with the relay doesn't seem to work. Not sure why yet.

Oh and I hope you enjoy the kill switch section!!!

Good news. I got the Hi Beam working. The left switchgear is a little weird. It took me a while to figure out how it was configured.

But now the lever switches on the high beam and the top button is a "headlight flash". And the bottom button sounds like I'm chocking a sheep (no offense to the NZ members... :mrgreen: )

I'll post a final wiring diagram this week.