Electrical Question

[formikec]

My spotlights quit working the other day, as did the brake lights if you all remember me commenting about it. Well, I replaced the 10 amp fuse for the brake lights and all was well...except the spotlights never worked again.

So, I tore the seat off and checked to see how the guy that owned it before me had wired them in. There was an inline fuse and the fuse was melted so bad that I couldn't even tell what size it was. Basically the fuse was from the hot on the battery to a relay. Relay says 40amp. The wire for the hot was only about 14 guage, so I can't imagine it had a 40amp fuse in it, and have no idea what happened.

Anyway, long and short of it, I took the switch the guy had on the gas tank off because it was rubbing the paint, and it seems ignorant when I can wire the spotlights into the ignition like the tail lights. I left the 40amp relay, but replaced the inline with 12 gauge and a 10 amp fuse. Wired the on/off switch part of the relay into the tail lights, so that the spots come on when the ignition is on.

Seems to work for now, but I'm not an electrician. Can someone tell me if I did something wrong that might cause a fire later? lol

Thanks,
Mike

[Idaho]

As long as everything is fused and well insulated you should be good. Sounds like you recognized the traps that the original owner set and are smart enough to avoid them. Good job on troubleshooting and repair.

[formikec]

Thanks. I don't understand the relay part, so I'm not sure why the relay is rated at 40amp, or even why it's there. That's the main part I was concerned about, but if I am only feeding it 10amp through the fused connection, I guess it should be okay? I need to go do a search on relay's I guess, so I will understand the purpose.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by formikec

Thanks. I don't understand the relay part, so I'm not sure why the relay is rated at 40amp, or even why it's there. That's the main part I was concerned about, but if I am only feeding it 10amp through the fused connection, I guess it should be okay? I need to go do a search on relay's I guess, so I will understand the purpose.

The relay is rated at 40 amps because it's designed to carry a maximum 40 amp load. This is a common, everyday, 12v automotive relay. Think of a relay as a remote-controlled switch that isolates two electrical circuits.

The best explanation I can think of is when we use a relay to power a Stebel horn. The Stebel horn draws much more current than the stock horn, and the stock horn circuitry is not designed to carry that much current. Since connecting the Stebel horn directly to the stock horn wiring can damage the wiring and ignition switch, we connect the stock horn wiring to the primary side of the relay. This allows the stock horn button to open and close the secondary side of the relay. The stock horn wiring can easily and safely handle this task. When the horn button is pressed, the internal switch in the relay activates the secondary circuit. The Stebel horn is then connected to the secondary side of the relay. and is powered by a 12v connection from the (+) battery terminal. So when the horn button is pressed, the internal switch contacts close, and the 12v from the battery flows to the Stebel horn. When the button is released, the contacts open and the power to the horn is cut off.

I'm not sure why a relay was used in your case. It isn't necessary, unless existing wiring is used to control the lights, in which case the added load of the driving lights could exceed the capacity of the existing wiring. If it were me, I'd connect the primary side of the relay to a wire that is hot after the bike is started, like your headlight circuit. I'd run a 12ga, fused connection from the battery to the secondary side of the relay. An external switch could be used in either the primary or secondary circuit to manually control the lights.

[formikec]

Thanks.

[macmac]

I like to be able to use lights with the key OFF, so ran a wire with a in line fuse to a switch straight from the battery, this is a smaller dianmer wire to the left thumb.

A larger wire diameter feeds of the battery as well with another in line fuse to a relay and the 55 watts each passing lamps. This way I can have these lights to set up camp and not run the engine.

[formikec]

The way I re-wired it, it is tied into the key on position. When the key is on, the lights are on. I could have wired it into the headlight, but I was afraid I wouldn't get the wire right and they would work on high or low, but not all the time. It was easiest to pull the wire that was right there going to the tail-light (someone had already spliced into it for some extra rear lights). I do like being able to keep the key in but shut the engine off when I pull in the garage...until I get the garage lights on. I don't have one of those fancy door opener thingys with automatic lights.

[markw]

Gadget's page has a link on how to wire up driving lights. I did this circuit and the driving lights come on with the headlight after touching the starter. You could easily modify it to come on without the key also.
http://www.gadgetjq.com/wiredrivinglights.htm

I believe that in lots of states the driving lights can legally only come on with the low beams, as fog lights. I think there's one state where they can only come on with the high beam. I think this is why they are typically tied into the low or high beam circuit, to activate the relay.

[macmac]

Ho Ho Ho what's the law on setting up camp after dark? I like to be quiet then. My passing lamps are aimed low, and so far no one blinks at me..

[formikec]

I like having mine wired to the ignition key. Makes it nice when I pull into the dark garage and can leave them on until I get to the light switch, but I think I already said that. I also like having three lights at all times, whether the headlight is on dim or bright. I guess they'll have to ticket me.

[Top Cat]

My spots are on high and low beam unless I turn them offf with the switch that came on them, which I never do.
No tickets and passed NY State inspection.