What to do after Powerlet iCAN install?

[nateschisler]

Hi all,

 

Recently purchased an '09 RTP.  It was "de-commissioned" by the servicing dealer, so I have a rear accessory port that is routed through the CANbus and a front accessory port that goes nowhere.  Planning to make both of these direct-to-battery with the Powerlet iCAN harness.  My question is this - what do I do with the old CANbus harness once I replace it with the powerlet harness.  Obviously don't want it just dangling around in there - is there a slick way to turn that into a charging port so I have CANbus controlled switched charging up front?

[dirtrider]

On 11/29/2020 at 12:59 PM, nateschisler said:

Hi all,

 

Recently purchased an '09 RTP.  It was "de-commissioned" by the servicing dealer, so I have a rear accessory port that is routed through the CANbus and a front accessory port that goes nowhere.  Planning to make both of these direct-to-battery with the Powerlet iCAN harness.  My question is this - what do I do with the old CANbus harness once I replace it with the powerlet harness.  Obviously don't want it just dangling around in there - is there a slick way to turn that into a charging port so I have CANbus controlled switched charging up front?

Morning   nateschisler

 

First off, neither of your accessory ports ever went through or were controlled by  the  CanBus. The CanBus is just a communication protocol between the modules  (it doesn't actually power anything).

 

When you buy something that says CAN, or CanBus,   unless it plugs directly into the CAN (Controller Area Network) then that CAN name just signifies that it will work on a CanBus era motorcycle not that is CAN controlled. Now on later BMW motorcycles there are a few things that actually connect to & interface with the CAN through the CanBus. 

 

Now to your question--- You really don't what to try to charge the battery back through the original ZFE (chassis computer)  unless you really have to as that requires a special battery charger that keeps the charging circuit open even after key-off. (just adds complexity & expense to your battery charging needs) 

 

Best way to charge your battery is back through your newly added battery-direct  power port.

 

You can use the old removed power port wires to power add on accessories, or even trigger a power-relay that is used to power other things.  Just keep in mind the old removed power port wires are hooked directly to the ZFE so can only provide 10 amps max (across both front & rear). Plus, depending on the conditions, they don't go off directly with key-off (they can stay powered for a while even after key-off).

 

Unless you have a specific usage for a factory ZFE controlled  power port circuit then best to just tape them back & ignore them. 

 

On my personal 1200 I leave the rear power port as it came on the motorcycle as that leaves it ZFE controlled so it goes off with the key after a few minutes. Still usable for passenger heated gear or whatever (at up to 10 amps). 

 

Then convert the front power port to a fused 12v battery direct.   That way I get rear power port shut down after key-off  but full usage of the front one for anything up to 15 amps. 

 

The reason I do it that way is because I live out in the country with well water, so I have a water softener. On power ports that have full time 12v eventually the country water will allow the inside of the power port to  form a green oxidation that causes a parasitic draw through that damp green oxidation.   (power ports are not totally water tight).

 

I still usually have to  (or should anyhow) clean the inside of the front power port (full time power) about once a year to prevent a parasitic drain on the battery. 

[nateschisler]

Thanks for setting me straight...both in knowledge and nomenclature.  Going forward I'll try and kick the "CanBus" habit and speak properly haha.  My plan is to make both front and rear ports fused directly to the battery.  The rear still has the current ZFE-controlled harness (the front was removed when the bike was un-policified).  My thought was to take the rear ZFE-controlled harness and use that to power an ignition controlled outlet in the cockpit area - for charging phone, GPS, or whatever other doo-dads I come up with.  So my question is - when I remove that wiring in the rear harness, should I expect to see a fitting of some sort, and is there are counterpart to that fitting that can give me a hot lead to send up front?  Or should I be expecting to just cut the wires off and do some splicing?

[dirtrider]

1 minute ago, nateschisler said:

Thanks for setting me straight...both in knowledge and nomenclature.  Going forward I'll try and kick the "CanBus" habit and speak properly haha.  My plan is to make both front and rear ports fused directly to the battery.  The rear still has the current ZFE-controlled harness (the front was removed when the bike was un-policified).  My thought was to take the rear ZFE-controlled harness and use that to power an ignition controlled outlet in the cockpit area - for charging phone, GPS, or whatever other doo-dads I come up with.  So my question is - when I remove that wiring in the rear harness, should I expect to see a fitting of some sort, and is there are counterpart to that fitting that can give me a hot lead to send up front?  Or should I be expecting to just cut the wires off and do some splicing?

Morning   nateschisler

 

That should work good for phone charging or other powered things but sometimes not so good for a GPS (depends on the GPS).

 

Some GPS  (especially older Garmin units) have a problem with delayed power shutdown.  If they are "off" they can come back on (on their own internal battery power) when the ZFE circuit eventually shuts down (just something to be aware of & look for).

 

If you look up in the steering neck area there should be a special 3 wire GPS plug from the factory. It also has a speed (VSS) output on the center wire (used sometimes for radar input on LEO bikes). That plug is also powered same as the powered ports directly form the ZFE module.    

[nateschisler]

Instant response...must be why they call your "The Oracle"...final question on this topic, is there a source (other than the dealer) to get the male/female versions of all these various plugs?  I'd prefer to do that versus cutting off plugs and splicing wires.

[dirtrider]

24 minutes ago, nateschisler said:

Instant response...must be why they call your "The Oracle"...final question on this topic, is there a source (other than the dealer) to get the male/female versions of all these various plugs?  I'd prefer to do that versus cutting off plugs and splicing wires.

Morning   nateschisler

 

Sort of, as you will find that BMW motorcycle  dealer-sold connectors & terminals (or service pigtails)  are terribly expensive. Some are about impossible to find as they just aren't serviced. 

 

I have had some luck in going to a BMW car dealer as some of the connectors are the same between cars & motorcycles. 

 

To make this work you need to visit the BMW car dealer when the parts department is slow as they won't be able to look things up for you. You need to find that old time parts guy that can find what you need from experience. 

 

You can also find some wire harness parts  & even complete wire harnesses on E-Bay if you look around. Unfortunately connectors for the  accessory side of the factory harness are difficult to impossible to find as some don't have stand-alone mating connectors. 

 

You just about need to treat each & every connector as a -- See  what's available from BMW dealer & how much, then make a decision of IF the connector is worth the money or if you need to find a work-around.  

 

You can find some of the connectors in the on-line BMW parts fiches from places like Max BMW or A&S BMW. Not easy to find so  you might ask here as some of us are pretty good at finding the odd-ball stuff that is well hidden.