Hardwiring a Gerbing Liner jacket

[RoSPA_man]

Hi

I intend to hardwire my Gerbing liner jacket to the bike. My plan is to hijack, i.e. disconnect the front accessory plug from the Canbus and to instead supply it with (fused) power direct from the battery - via the Controller.

 

I'll then put a BMW plug on the jacket for a simple plug-in. I may add in either the existing inline Gerbing connector or similar, so as to have an easy "break point" just in case I jump off the bike without unplugging the BMW plug.

 

2 questions:

 

1) If I join the new direct wiring to the existing few inches of wiring that hang out of the back of the accessory socket, will those wires be able to handle the 6amp or so that the jacket draws? Or is it easy to rewire that socket with heavier wire?

 

 

2) If I set the Controller to full, will that socket deliver normal full power for other accessories. I understand that controllers work by cycling power in 1 second cycles, i.e. the 50% setting is on for .5 second, off for .5 second. Therefore the full setting should have no cycling and provide normal full power if required for say wheel inflator or other accessory.

 

[dirtrider]

Afternoon Hugh

 

 

I intend to hardwire my Gerbing liner jacket to the bike. My plan is to hijack, i.e. disconnect the front accessory plug from the Canbus and to instead supply it with (fused) power direct from the battery - via the Controller.--- Your accessory socket isn't hooked to the Bike's CanBus but it is computer controlled. What you want to do should work though.

 

 

2 questions:

 

1) If I join the new direct wiring to the existing few inches of wiring that hang out of the back of the accessory socket, will those wires be able to handle the 6amp or so that the jacket draws? Or is it easy to rewire that socket with heavier wire?--- Yes, the OEM accessory socket & wires are rated for 10 amps so you should be good on both socket & wires

 

2) If I set the Controller to full, will that socket deliver normal full power for other accessories. I understand that controllers work by cycling power in 1 second cycles, i.e. the 50% setting is on for .5 second, off for .5 second. Therefore the full setting should have no cycling and provide normal full power if required for say wheel inflator or other accessory.---Now that is a good question--in theory it should work that way & my guess is it will work for moderate power drawing accessories. As long as you fuse it correctly then your shouldn't burn up the Gerbings controller. What I'm not sure on is IF you could back drive it & charge battery through the controller.

 

Your OEM (small pin) accessory socket & wiring are rated at 10 amps (the power pins are very small) so that is the (suggested) limit but some riders have exceeded that without issues.

 

The only problem I can see with your intended set-up is you are then limited to a single heated gear control through that outlet so in the future IF you want to add heated gloves or heated pants you won't have the option of using a duel controller to modulate the heating differently on the heated jacket & gloves or pants (I run heated gear & never run my jacket/vest at the same setting as my gloves or feet).

[JR356]

Look at Powerlet Products,they make a product called the iCan which is basically what you are describing.

It allows existing BMW outlets(or add on Powerlet outlets)to be powered direct from battery,bypassing the ZFE(what people incorrectly call canbus)

 

There are a couple different iCan harnesses,depending on length needed and the type of outlet termination,make sure you get the correct one(well described on the site)

 

You can of course DIY,but the Powerlet is a well made already perfected solution.

 

They have several other options,such as handlebar mounted outlets which would work too.

 

JR356