Water and the stock power outlet

[elizilla]

I am headed east this weekend on my Super10, into the teeth of hurricane/tropical storm Irene. Can I run my GPS off the stock power outlet, in the rain? The GPS itself is a Garmin Nuvi 500, which is supposed to be waterproof. But I am concerned about the power outlet; with it angled up like that can it catch and hold enough water to short out, if I keep the cover lifted to run the GPS? And if I blow a fuse on the power outlet, what else will it take out?

 

[stevepsd]

The power outlet has a fairly large drain hole in the bottom to allow any water that gets in to drain out, so you should be fine.

Be careful in the wet!

-steve

 

[roy]

You should be fine. I power my valentine 1 radar detector off it and had no problem in a southern cloud burst recently on a 1500 mile trip.

Be safe!

 

[sail2xxs]

I had my Nuvi 550 pplugged into the stock outlet in torrential rains for over 200 miles on the way home from Texas. No problem at all. I did notice that whoever designed the stock plug was smart enough to have a drain hole at the bottom of it. Worked fine.

Chris

 

[Tremor38]

Yeah, I've had no problem riding in the rain with a power outlet oriented exactly as it is on the Tenere.
What surprised me about the S10's outlet is the 'beefiness' of the wiring, or LACK thereof. The power outlet fuse is only 3A, so I'm assuming the wiring is a bit skimpy. No big deal as I'll be wiring my heated gear separately, but 3A?! C'mon Yamaha!

 

[sail2xxs]

Just an update on the water and stock power outlet question - I spent about 400 miles in freezing rain, sleet, ice fog, and rain last week, with lots of salt on the road. The bike got exceptionally grungy, and a good bit of the salt spray made it into the power outlet, which I was using for the GPS. There was some sign of very light surface rust on the GPS plug, but not on the outlet itself. To hedge bets against possible future issues, I gave the outlet and gps plug a good squirt of Boeshield T-9. The stuff is awesome as a lubricant and corrosion inhibitor.

Chris

 

[toompine]

3 amp - I happened to forget that last week on a ride in Death Valley. I had previously wired up a Powerlet plug on the left panel with big wire and a 10 amp fuse. We stopped to ride a gravel trail and double track road, aired the tires down to 25 lbs and had a great ride (need to do a ride report). After we came out of the canyon on far side we stopped to air up the tires. We all pulled out our little compressors and being slightly lazy thought, no need to pull out the adapter to run this through the Powerlet plug, I will just plug into the stock accessory plug. Switch on, count to 1, fuse blown. ??? Useless for anything other than GPS or radar. At that point I was really happy I had wired in the separate plug because for an off road capable bike there is no place to plug in a compressor. I would have been forced to remove the side panel and alligator clip to the battery. So for those who what to plug in compressors, plan ahead and add another plug or rewire the existing and put in a bigger fuse.

Little side note: this was the first off road riding with the Tenere and it performed 3000 times better than expected. I have a lot of off-road riding and trials competition but not big bike expereince like this, but this thing flat worked. Gravel roads, rocky trails, light sand; did it all with confidence. great bike. ::022::

 

[3putt]

Little side note: this was the first off road riding with the Tenere and it performed 3000 times better than expected. I have a lot of off-road riding and trials competition but not big bike expereince like this, but this thing flat worked. Gravel roads, rocky trails, light sand; did it all with confidence. great bike. ::022::

Yep, and I bet you are on the OEM tires also. The electronics (UBS ABS TC) is amazing.

 

[markjenn]

I had previously wired up a Powerlet plug on the left panel with big wire and a 10 amp fuse.... At that point I was really happy I had wired in the separate plug because for an off road capable bike there is no place to plug in a compressor.

If the wiring supports it, I'd go 15A or maybe even higher for a socket that is going to be used to run a compressor. I've popped several 10A fuses with compressors - they pull a lot of current at stalled startup. Or just haul out the alligator clips - we're fortunate with the S10 to have relatively easy battery access. On tour, I carry a alligator to SAE adapter as a backup.

- Mark

 

[Rainbow Chaser]

I use Gerbing's heated gear but this will work even if you don't. Buy Gerbing's battery harness and one of these (6in SAE Connection to DC Coax Plug Adapter). You can use it for your heated gear or battery tender or compressor, and you don't have to remove any covers. I do store the adapter under the seat so if I need to use my compressor on the road I do have to remove the seat.

 

[erenet]

Mine was always coming out with the vibration, and the GPS would turned off if I didn't push the plug in on time.

Not fun when I'm on a highway, I think my exit is coming up, I look at the GPS and it's off.

I almost went through a stop sign trying to turn it on wile riding, and that was enough for me to get a Fuzeblock FZ1 and hardwire my GPS.

 

[markjenn]

Mine was always coming out with the vibration, and the GPS would turned off if I didn't push the plug in on time.

Exactly why cig lighter plugs suck for motorcycles and why the Powerlet/BMW design exists.

- Mark

 

[sail2xxs]

For air compressor use, I wired up one of these, and zip tie mounted it on the passenger right side (15 amp fuse):

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/43/53/160/1146/-/24613/Eklipes-Cell-Phone-and-GPS-12-Volt-Power-Socket/EKLIPES

I also have a Gerbing plug with 15 aqmp fuse on the left fairing. The cigarette lighter style plug is good for gps, or, with a converter for running nothing more than heated gloves. The stock socket on my 800 GS was the same way. I do prefer the powelet/bmw/gerbing socket style though.

Chris