Re: Acc plug (NOT)
tomatocity said:
I have run an air pump from the 12V Outlet and it did the job. I would normally use an SAE connection for the air pump but... I screwed up and did not convert the air pump connection. Also for my heated gear I use the SAE connector. Also use the SAE connector for the Battery Tender. I use the 12V Outlet to charge my iPhone, camping lantern, laptop,... Hope this helps.
You didn't play roulette and happen to get away with it, you overloaded the wire and the question is how much you lost in terms of reliability. As an analogy this is just like over-torquing a bolt or bending a metal part which will create a weakened part that still functions.
The Tenere socket comes with a 3A fuse, while small compressors draw 5 amps so at the very least, so you did heat the wire and the only question is how much. Most people are ignorant of the fact that fuses are installed to protect wiring, NOT whatever is on the end of the wire. Most people also are not aware that fuses and breakers also are designed to a curve of time over current and a mild overload may take minutes to melt a fuse.
You may have melted the interior of the wire insulation near a connector and wire damage is cumulative you won't know until it does fail. For the most part, this wire runs by itself in cooling free air rather than in a hot bundle, so you also may get away with a 5 amp load for a short period. And like the lightly loaded bolt, if you keep the load to maximum 3A from now on, potential damage already created will probably never lead to failure. Fortunately, these sockets are seldom critical to operation and most of the Tenere fleet is too new to have any corrosion. Corrosion creates resistance, which creates heat and damage really fast.
As to our new hot-headed member, GoFast, your original premise for this thread is wrong and Yamaha put that size socket in that location for a reason. They knew their customers want to run GPS and cellphone size power requirements, so the location and type of connector are appropriate.
Cig lighters are designed for 5-10 amps, and even at 10 they are pushed to their limit. They are auto-based and most auto wiring is designed to about 8-10 amps in continuous load. Yes, there are some aftermarket 15A sockets that look like a cig socket and they will hold a cig plug at higher current. However, those are made with more copper and like cig lighters, the fit is not tight enough to be reliable for a vehicle designed to operate on rough surfaces.
As a reference, heated gloves are typically about 7 amps max and vests are a couple more, and these are the original heated gear. If you want to plug a modern 15-17 amp heated jacket into a standard cig socket you will overload the socket and the wiring enough that IF you keep running max power, the overload will likely lead to eventual failure. Knowing this is why the reputable heated clothing makers (W&S, Gerbings, Powerlet) ship their products with a harness that has heavier wiring and non-cigarrette style plug.
Powerlet/BMW style connectors look like small cig sockets, but use thicker copper and wiring, so are rated at 16 amps (ref Powerlet site). Having seen some IR images and talked to people at a test lab, I know they have margin built into that. SAE-style connectors are now all over the map in capability. They were originally 10 amps, then the 15A ones came out, but the flea market cheapies heat at more than about 3 amps. A clue is that the cheap ones usually have the thick rubbery insulation.
(On a related note, the really cheap fuses commonly sold at flea markets are all over the map on capability too, and some use a plastic that is flammable!!!)
