Need help wiring fuse block

[Huzband]

I'm going to be adding a fuse block to power the farkles I'm putting on the RT.

Will using one relay between the battery & fuse block suffice, or should I forget that relay, & add one after the block for the specific farkle that requires one.

I know the GPS doesn't need a relay, but I will have two pair of auxillary lights.

 

As always, thanks for the advise.

[Mike]

I've added fuse blocks twice and have opted for a relay that controls the entire fuse block both times. Other than a GPS, I can't think of too many accessories that I'd want to keep running for any significant time after turning off my motorcycle. Motorcycle batteries tend not to have a lot of built-in reserve, so my humble opinion is that you should set it up in such a way as to power everything off simultaneously.

[Angel]

Big + 1

here!

 

The whole point of the relay switch is to shut power off to the fuse block when you shut down the bike. Thereby protecting your battery from draining because some farkle was left on.

[stager]

+2 for a switched relay before the block. I also use relays after the block for aux. lighting

[lawnchairboy]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101181&page=6

 

jim von badens excellent post

 

chris

[Global_Rider]

Will using one relay between the battery & fuse block suffice, or should I forget that relay, & add one after the block for the specific farkle that requires one.

 

All depends what you want to do. I wired my fuse block so that it is "hot" all the time. I wanted my GPS to stay "on" while I was parked with the ignition off.

 

If you add a relay for a specific item, it can be a lot smaller. If you add a relay for the fuse block, then it has to be able to handle the continuous current rating of the fuse block.

 

I have driving lights and even though my fuse block is "hot" all the time, they will only come on if the ignition is "on"; the AutoSwitch power is wired to a switched fuse.

 

For a professional installation (without cutting or splicing into factory BMW wiring), you might get some ideas here...

 

R1150 GS Blue Sea 5025 Fuse Block Install

 

R1150 GS Driving Light Relay & AutoSwitch Install

[Ken H.]

Certainly putting a single relay ahead of your fuse block so every auxiliary thing shuts off at once makes sense.

 

But there may be more to it for high current things such as lights. Often they need their own relay also depending upon how you want to switch them on or off while riding. Linked to the bike's high beam, separate panel switch, auto-switch, etc.

 

So in the end, like most of us you'll probably end up with a hybrid approach.

[KMG_365]

Noticed you have a

'02 R1150RT

. . . in which case you should have a purple with black tracer wire going to where the radio would be (assuming you've already ditched that useless brick and thrown it as far as you could). We used those to power a fuse block directly--but only MILIamp items as it is not nearly big enough to power lights. If you want to wire lights, you can have the pur/blk wire trigger a relay so that the items are only hot when the forks are unlocked. Later RT's do not have this wire, but for us it works sweet as locking the forks shuts everything off, but just shutting down for traffic, construction, etc. doesn't kill the music, nav or bike-to-bike comm!

 

Good luck.

[Huzband]

Lots of very helpfull info, guys.

Thanks alot.