Accessorizing Your Electrical System

1. A Seminar for MI Squadron of MSTA Accessorizing Your Electrical System Paul Duffy Bob Kiessel

2. Outline • Key Terms • Typical Electrical Loads • Sources of Electrical Power • Two items requiring attention: • System Capacity • Wiring it Together

3. Who Are We? • Paul Duffy has 30 years experience with Ford Motor in Electrical Engineering and Manufacturing. He presently heads Electronic/Electrical Engineering for a fuel cell manufacturer. • Bob Kiessel has 30 years experience with Ford Motor. He retired as Chief Electrical Engineer and presently is COO of a small software company.

4. Key Terms • Electrical Potential (EMF or Voltage) • Volts • Measure of the force causing electricity to flow in a conductor • Electrical Current • Amps • Measure of the amount of electricity flowing in a conductor • Electrical Power • Power (Watts) = Voltage (volts) x Current (amps) • Energy per time - the rate that energy is used • 745 watts = 1 hp

5. The WaterAnalogy • A Battery provides current (amps) at a specified “pressure” (volts). • The accessory load determines how much current is drawn from the battery based on its resistance. • I (amps) = V (volts) / R (ohms) • Amount of water= Pressure/resistance of pipe • A wire carries the current like a pipe in a water system. • If too thin or too long, you get a pressure drop (voltage drop) and… • The accessory may not be able to operate properly. • With electricity, you also can burn up the thin pipe!

6. Typical MC Electrical Loads • Lighting • Headlights • Taillights • Marker lights • Instrument Cluster & Turn Indicator lights • Turn/Brake Signals • Electric Cooling Fan • Engine Control/Ignition System • EFI (on some bikes) • In order to determine whether your charging system has enough capacity for your accessory, it’s important to know the duty cycle of a load.

7. Typical Electrical Loads

8. Sources of Electrical Power • Battery • Limited capacity – typically sized for starting • Alternator • Converts mechanical energy into electrical energy • Limited Output – based on size of alternator and rpm of engine • Sized based on average load in worst case conditions (with more or less margin). • Information in owner’s manual – FZ1 • Battery – 12 Ah (amp-hours) • Alternator – 365w @ 14 volts > 26 amps peak

9. Battery is charging in this region! Battery is discharging in this region!

10. Finding the Crossover Point

11. Heated Gear

12. Change in Crossover Point

13. What Can You Do When Power Is Limited? • Conserve—energy diet! Manage loads wisely. • Shut off one headlamp • Use PWM controllers for heated gear • Use LED’s for some lighting loads • Raise idle speed a few hundred rpm or rev at stoplights • Shift down a gear if at low speed • Please note: increasing battery size only delays the inevitable; alternator upgrade is very expensive and may affect regulator

14. Wiring Accessories • I will present how to approach a wiring project—installation of an accessory. • I’ll provide some guidelines on “Best Practices” -- reasons behind these are from a lifetime of scars.

15. For power distribution, we’ll suggest that you use: • A “star” architecture for power and grounds (a common point of origin for all power leads and all ground leads). This minimizes the risk of system interactions. • Always use a return ground wire —i.e., don’t rely on chassis or frame ground. • Separate signal & power grounds when you have sensors in a system. Don’t ever tap into a sensor ground.

16. Wiring AccessoriesA wiring system has a capacity just like a charging system. To size it: • First figure out the accessory load in amps [or if you have power: I (amps) = P (watts) / V (volts)] • Next choose the wire gage to handle the total current expected in the wire. • Fuse the wire to prevent the smoke from leaking out—a fuse is used to protect the wiring from fire. • Smaller fuse is OK (eg, 20 amp for 14g) • Ensure return ground wire gage is sized for sum of all return currents

17. Power Always On • This is the simplest way of adding an accessory. • Attach a fused wire to the battery and use the accessory’s switch to turn power on and off. But: • You can run down your battery if you forget to turn it off. The Ignition key does not shut it off. • A variant is to add a switch external to the accessory, but you still have to remember to turn it off.

18. Using The Ignition Switch • You can ensure that an accessory is shut off by wiring the accessory downstream of the ignition switch. Then turning off key shuts off the power. • Unfortunately, you can exceed the current rating of the ignition switch – an expensive repair. • To prevent this failure, use a relay to handle the current.

19. Using a Switched Relay • Above is shown a wiring diagram of how to attach a relay to power your accessories. • A relay has an electromagnetic coil and a switch inside. When the electromagnet is energized, the switch closes. • Ignition-keyed power is used to energize the coil (uses 0.1 amp), and the relay contacts switch the high current (typically up to 10 - 30 amp capacity) directly from the battery.

20. And for Multiple Accessories • Combine Relay with Star circuits. • Use fused heavy gage wire (sum of all currents) to Star near battery • Use light gage to accessory—each device must be fused separately because gage changes • With heavy gage wire to accessories, added fuses are not required. • Ground/return wire gages are same as power wires.

21. Connector types • When connections in the wiring are required (most times), one must choose a proper connector based on: • Current Loads • Environmental factors (water, heat, salt, vibration) • Ease of use • Frequency of use (some connectors fatigue quickly) • The connector is usually the weakest point in the system.

22. Connector types • Some sample connectors will be available at the meeting. • You can buy connectors at Radio Shack, hardware and auto parts stores. • Another source is to buy a “donor” motorcycle harness from a parted out bike and “cut and splice” connectors. Also the harness is a good source of appropriately colored wires so you can figure out what’s what after a year.

23. Cautions • Solder any wiring connections to terminals or pins (or even in-line splices). Crimp terminals are not reliable—the wires pull out. Solder after crimping. • Never twist and tape. Extremely unreliable. • Always tie strap wiring & connectors to limit movement. The vibration experienced in normal use will destroy the terminals of connectors and fatigue copper wire over time if left to flop around. • Never use solid copper wire—always stranded. Solid fatigues very quickly.

24. Cautions • Never cut into lighting circuits!! Too many ways to cause failure & you don’t want these at night. • Wiring is very susceptible to corrosion, so always seal connections exposed to elements. • Electrical tape is not a good seal – Liquid Tape is. • For splices, sealant works well if used under heat shrink. • Wiring will wick moisture and transport it to other areas, corroding the wire internally. • Always try to keep splices and connectors in drier areas of the bike. Grease can be used as a moisture barrier on connectors (but grease washes off and attracts conductive dirt). • Always fuse close to the battery. • Look for abrasion sources and protect the wiring with convolute (ribbed, hard plastic casing you can buy at Radio Shack.)

25. Sneak Circuits • So you’ve wired in your new LED turn signals and now the turn indicator is always lit---you’ve created a sneak circuit. • A sneak circuit is an unintended interaction of various circuits. • When this happens, get an expert involved!

26. THE END • Questions? • Future clinics • Training in splicing and soldering? • Any projects?