Disconnecting the Battery concerns

[tomatocity]

What should I expect when I disconnect the battery to install a pig tail for charging the battery and another for heated gear? Did not use a relay on my KLR. Do I need a relay for the heated gear with the Super Tenere? Any other concerns?

Searched the forum and did not find a defined answer for the battery disconnect concerns.

 

[S_Palmer]

Disconnect the neg. First and reconnect it last. If you have crash bars do not cause a short between the bars and the pos terminal with the screwdriver.

 

[jajpko]

What should I expect when I disconnect the battery to install a pig tail for charging the battery and another for heated gear? Did not use a relay on my KLR. Do I need a relay for the heated gear with the Super Tenere? Any other concerns?

Searched the forum and did not find a defined answer for the battery disconnect concerns.

Just make sure you have each one fused properly. I would suggest a fuse block like FZ1, but not really needed for just heated gear.

 

[markjenn]

I think you're asking about any concerns about the bike "forgetting" anything at battery disconnect. You'll probably have to reset the clock, and you may lose your trip odo, but that's about it.

You need relays when you are pulling high current from a circuit designed for low current. If you're hooking directly to the battery, the only circuit is your own, so if you use heavy-enough wires, you don't need a relay. That being said, doing something like below gets you switched circuits (circuits that are hot only when the key is on) and allows multiple devices to be run off a single battery connection. If you run multiple circuits directly to the battery, you start running into issues of too many ring connectors at the battery.

http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Products/Fuseboxes/3_Circuit/3_circuit.html

Note: Eastern Beaver now has a 3CS kit that gets switched power directly from the aux light connector so it is completely plug-and-play

http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Bike_Specific/Super_Tenere/super_tenere.html

As others have said, any direct connection to the battery must be fused, ideally with a short run from the pos terminal to the fuse. You want as little wire as possible unfused as any short to ground prior to the fuse is a fire hazard.

- Mark

 

[Tremor38]

You need relays when you are pulling high current from a circuit designed for low current.

- Mark

Yeah, ok Mark. Did you really mean to say that? How about when you are using a circuit designed for low current to control (as in switch) high current.

 

[Scottie Boy]

I installed a Battery Tender pig tail just the other day. As mentioned earlier, disconnect the negative first and reconnect it last per the owner's manual. I turned the kill switch to off so that I could turn the key on without the fuel pump running because I had to reset the clock. Afterwards, she fired right up and ran normally. Its an extremely simple job.

 

[Twitch]

Note: Eastern Beaver now has a 3CS kit that gets switched power directly from the aux light connector so it is completely plug-and-play

Gotta say…that Eastern Beaver three-circuit solution with the connector to the auxiliary lighting plug looks like a pretty slick design, simple and effective. It comes with the relay and you can get it with all three circuits switched or two of the three switched. This little harness probably covers most people’s needs. I’m surprised we haven’t seen it used more often around here, but I guess everyone (including myself) is going in the direction of fuse blocks.

 

[sportrider]

To remove my ecu, I just disconnected the red wire. Can I just connect it back when I'm ready or should I reverse the order and connect the ground last?

 

[Scottie Boy]

To remove my ecu, I just disconnected the red wire. Can I just connect it back when I'm ready or should I reverse the order and connect the ground last?

The owner's manual clearly states that when re-connecting the battery to connect the positive first and the negative last. Is it a major mistake to do it backwards? I doubt it but when in doubt I always follow the manual.

 

[markjenn]

The owner's manual clearly states that when re-connecting the battery to connect the positive first and the negative last. Is it a major mistake to do it backwards? I doubt it but when in doubt I always follow the manual.

It's just a safety thing to reduce the risk of shorts - the bike's systems don't care which order you do things. By disconnecting the ground first, you remove the battery from the circuit with a terminal that cannot short to ground. If you disconnect the positive first any short you make between that terminal and ground (like might occur if your screwdriver accidentally touches the chassis) will cause a short and a huge spark.

If you' want to remove the battery from the picture while working on the electrical systems on the bikes, you can just remove the ground wire from the battery and leave the positive hooked up if you like. This is the typical way you do it, car or bike.

- Mark

 

[markjenn]

Yeah, ok Mark. Did you really mean to say that? How about when you are using a circuit designed for low current to control (as in switch) high current.

Yeah, I like this better.

- Mark

 

[markjenn]

Gotta say…that Eastern Beaver three-circuit solution with the connector to the auxiliary lighting plug looks like a pretty slick design, simple and effective. It comes with the relay and you can get it with all three circuits switched or two of the three switched. This little harness probably covers most people’s needs. I’m surprised we haven’t seen it used more often around here, but I guess everyone (including myself) is going in the direction of fuse blocks.

Yes, fuse blocks are cool too, but if you only need three or less circuits, the 3CS is an easy way to go.

It all fits neatly next to the battery under the right side cover. Just forward of the battery there is some unused space that happens to have a plastic post that isn't used for anything. With a self-tapping scrrew, you can use this post to mount the relay and then stuff the 3CS fuse block (blue stripped thing in the picture) under it. The three connectors for the circuits are relatively easy to wire and Eastern Beaver gives you the connectors. I am using one for a Powerlet socket (barely visible in the far left edge of the picture), another (the unswitched one) for a SAE charging connector, and the third for a radar detector.

- Mark

 

[Motowalt]

I just received my Eastern Beaver 3CS specifically for the ST...
Will probably use the unswitched connector for Optimate battery charger and emergency air pump; 2 switched connectors for electric vest and GPS.
In the future if I decide to install driving lamps I'll switch the GPS over to the cigarette plug on the dash and have the lights running off the 3CS.

 

[Twitch]

Yeah, this photo shows how clean the install is on the 3CS.

I admittedly splurged a little getting a six circuit FZ-1 Fuzeblock at near twice the price, where all I have planned for it at the moment are auxiliary lights, my GPS (frees up the dash adapter for something else) and a line for my slime air compressor. But I wanted to try it out and maybe I’ll have some uses for the other three circuits down the road. Absent that, I think the 3CS does the job. Now if I can just stay off the bike long enough to do the install of the FZ-1.

 

[dcstrom]

Yeah, this photo shows how clean the install is on the 3CS.

I finished mine today. Not quite as clean as yours, it's sharing the space with a Stebel air horn compressor and its associated wiring and relay. I see you've laid some wires and the 3CS fuse across the front of the battery. I didn't try that cos I thought there probably wasn't enough space. Might try it - will declutter the area around the top and bottom of the battery.

I only have the heated grips running off the 3CS currently. I'm uing the stock outlet for the GPS, heated gear is direct from the battery. However that's going to change - I have the 3CS with one unswitched outlet, so will run an SAE lead from there for a battery tender/air compressor/heated gear. That will leave me one switched outlet on the 3CS free for something, dunno what yet.

Really easy to set up, especially with the auxiliary light plug controlling the switching. May have to change it around a bit if/when I get aux. lighting.

Trevor

 

[tomatocity]

Very good information and innovation. I was thinking of the many items that might be connected from these circuits / outputs. Feel free to list others and correct me if I am wrong.

- Aux Lighting - switched (possibly 4 circuits)
- Heated Gear - switched (possibly 2 circuits)
- Powerlet * - switched or unswitched (possibly ? circuits)
- Battery Charger / Air Pump - unswitched (1 circuit)
- GPS - switched (1 circuit)
- Heated Grips - switched (1 circuit)
- Heated Seat - switched (1 circuit)
- Phone / Music / Tank Bag - switched (1 circuit)
- Radar Detector - switched (1 circuit)

* what do you use your Powerlet connector for?