Need Help Making an Electircal Connection

[BSTWAY]

I believe there was a post a long while ago which gave great instructions for an easy power source tap for a GPS. You simply remove the starter cover, unplug the accessory plug connector and feed the positive/negative GPS power wires into the female plug connector and then reconnect. The tight fit keeps things situated on its own. I’ve attempted to use this procedure and have gotten to the point of reconnecting but there’s to much friction to make a complete connection of the female and male portions of the connector. This is due to the thickness of the power wire insulation running up between the to portions. I’ve obviously stripped the wire to fit into the female part of the plug. Is it OK to strip an additional amount so as to create less friction between the male/female portions of the connector as long as the positive and negative wires are on opposite sides of the connector? I’m not sure how else to get these two pieces plugged together all the way.

[FloridaBeakster]

Not sure about the procedure you're describing, but I used a BMW Y-cable for adding a second accessory outlet to a GS and connected a SAE extension cable to it. You could do the same with your GPS cable, if desired (using M/F spade connectors to connect the GPS cable with the Y-cable.

I have more detail about my Y-cable installation here:

http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.p ... 3&p=123594

[towerworker]

Rob-

I know and can visualize what you're trying to do. I have done similar things in adding additions to standard vehicle electrical systems. While it's "quick and dirty", it's less than ideal and put simply--most male/female electrical connectors are designed for one pair of wires. You start adding stuff and you are creating a future opportunity for a problem.

I know this is more work but you would be better off long term to pull the tank and add an additional fused harness to your battery, or better yet install one of the aftermarket fuse panels then you can add more stuff in the future should you desire to do so. A popular one is the one linked below.

http://www.centechwire.com/catalog/panels/ap1.shtml

Good Luck!

Wayne

[johnnyjs1]

I did what you are referring to with the wires for my Zumo 450. I put the stripped ends into the female connection of the 12v outlet. It is pretty tight, but i just squeezed the connection as hard as I could, heard the click of the connection and it is good. About 3k miles so far, and all is good . Start stripping the wire a bit at a time and keep checking to see if you can snap the male/female conn together. The less bare wire, the better. If you need to(but be careful), Take a pair of pliers and squeeze the insulated wire to thin it out a bit(DO NOT SQUEEZE TOO HARD OR YOU MAY DAMAGE THE WIRE). But even if you do, hopefully you will have plenty of slack on the GPS wire. I had to coil, zip tie and tuck the extra wire behind the starter cover.

[sweatmark]

Just an opinion, but tagging onto the accessory socket wiring seems backward. My preferred options would be, in order of complexity:

1 - Get a Y-connector from Powerlet and use the existing accessory plug;
2 - Add an SAE pigtail with in-line fuse, attached to the starter's +12Vdc terminal, with ground to frame or the horn's ground terminal;
3 - tap into the clock's power, which is on same fused circuit as the accessory port;
4 - Pull the tank and add an auxiliary fuse panel for new circuits to front and/or rear.

One advantage of Nos. 2 & 4 is troubleshooting in case of short and blown fuse... you don't lose the accessory socket and clock in such a case, possibly helpful if you're on the road.

[BSTWAY]

Thanks for your valued advice guys. After thinking about it last night, I went ahead and ordered a Centech AP-1 from Cycle Gadgets. It just seemed I was potentially going to mess something up with the course I was on. Plus as Wayne put it, I’ll be able to easily add stuff in the future.

[snowprick]

Rob-

I know and can visualize what you're trying to do. I have done similar things in adding additions to standard vehicle electrical systems. While it's "quick and dirty", it's less than ideal and put simply--most male/female electrical connectors are designed for one pair of wires. You start adding stuff and you are creating a future opportunity for a problem.

I know this is more work but you would be better off long term to pull the tank and add an additional fused harness to your battery, or better yet install one of the aftermarket fuse panels then you can add more stuff in the future should you desire to do so. A popular one is the one linked below.

http://www.centechwire.com/catalog/panels/ap1.shtml

Good Luck!

Wayne

+10
Do it once, do it right. If you cut and splice we'll see you back here next year.