Wiring for accessory light on my "new" Tourer

[..]

I have  a light bar and a pair of fog lights on the crash bars.

The previous owner/owners have created a birds nest of wiring and relays under the left side cover.

I want to replace the wiring and tidy the birds nest up.

What gauge wire do I need to use?

[hubcapsc]

There's tables on the innernet to look at:

http://www.cerrowire.com/ampacity-charts

Lights and big horns and heated-gear leads and
air-pump leads draw the most amps of any
accessories that I have.

14 gauge is enough for 15 amps. None of the
things I listed above should require more than
that, unless you try to hook two sets of heated
gear to one lead. I guess you have a separate
circuit for each accessory.

Stay away from that 750 gauge wire 

16 gauge should be OK too, but I think there's no
downside to 14 except that it costs more...

-Mike

[..]

There's tables on the innernet to look at:

http://www.cerrowire.com/ampacity-charts

Lights and big horns and heated-gear leads and
air-pump leads draw the most amps of any
accessories that I have.

14 gauge is enough for 15 amps. None of the
things I listed above should require more than
that, unless you try to hook two sets of heated
gear to one lead. I guess you have a separate
circuit for each accessory.

Stay away from that 750 gauge wire 

16 gauge should be OK too, but I think there's no
downside to 14 except that it costs more...

-Mike

Thanks Mike,

I'll go with 14 gauge.

I'm going to run each accessory in a different color wire to make it easy to trace a fault in the future.

[hubcapsc]

I'm going to run each accessory in a different color wire...

As I remember, that's where "costs more" bit me in the rear end...

After about five years my un-loomed heated gear wire rubbed
through and shorted out  - I redid everything with looms... can't
see the color when the wire is in a loom... 

I don't know if this was smart or not, but I used unshrunk shinkwrap for my looms,
the only other stuff I could find was that awful "vacuum cleaner hose" stuff - the dog's
bollocks...

-Mike

[BonS]

What gauge wire do I need to use?

(I could suggest using the gauge that comes with the SmartSwitch!)

[sandy]

For under $20 you can get a labelmaker. I printout labels and wrap wires at terminals.

[..]

For under $20 you can get a labelmaker. I printout labels and wrap wires at terminals.

Yep I'll be doing that as well.

I have 2 sets of driving lights

Heated handlebar grips

Battery volt indicator

Extra rear lights

Kisan brake modulator

HID headlight

Dual accessory horns

That's all I remember right now.

[Mtn Valk]

What gauge wire do I need to use?

(I could suggest using the gauge that comes with the SmartSwitch!)

I haven't heard anyone chime in regarding BonS new SmartSwitch. I believe this is something that could be very useful. Is there anyone that has tried this product and has a review to share? I'm interested!

[..]

What gauge wire do I need to use?

(I could suggest using the gauge that comes with the SmartSwitch!)

What's a Smart Switch?

[BonS]

What gauge wire do I need to use?

(I could suggest using the gauge that comes with the SmartSwitch!)

What's a Smart Switch?

I've had a "soft opening" for it as I want to keep up with orders. There are three versions: one for single headlights on Standard and Tourer, one for Interstates and one for fog and running lights. It's only been a week so no reviews yet. The SmartSwitch is a manufactured wiring harness that routes full voltage to your head and running lights while bypassing the high currents around your handlebar switches. It's plug-and-play and your handlebar switches work the same as they always do. Additional info is here http://thedigisync.com/. I'll be glad to answer any additional questions.

Oh, and it makes a huge difference on the Valkyries headlight brightness. Our headlights don't run anywhere near the wattage stated on the bulb due to the factory OEM harness wiring length, gauge, connectors, ignition switch and handlebar switches. I've seen anywhere from 25-40% increases. The quartz-halogen bulbs last longer too.

[..]

What gauge wire do I need to use?

(I could suggest using the gauge that comes with the SmartSwitch!)

What's a Smart Switch?

I've had a "soft opening" for it as I want to keep up with orders. There are three versions: one for single headlights on Standard and Tourer, one for Interstates and one for fog and running lights. It's only been a week so no reviews yet. The SmartSwitch is a manufactured wiring harness that routes full voltage to your head and running lights while bypassing the high currents around your handlebar switches. It's plug-and-play and your handlebar switches work the same as they always do. Additional info is here http://thedigisync.com/. I'll be glad to answer any additional questions.

Oh, and it makes a huge difference on the Valkyries headlight brightness. Our headlights don't run anywhere near the wattage stated on the bulb due to the factory OEM harness wiring length, gauge, connectors, ignition switch and handlebar switches. I've seen anywhere from 25-40% increases. The quartz-halogen bulbs last longer too.

I have an HID headlight. Does the switch work with that?

[Gryphon Rider]

Here are a couple of good web pages for determining wire size:

http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/WireSizeCalc.html

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

[..]

Here are a couple of good web pages for determining wire size:

http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/WireSizeCalc.html

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

You assume that I have some basic knowledge of electricity. Eeeeek!

[BonS]

I have an HID headlight. Does the switch work with that?

Yes it does. My headlight models come with H4 style plugs. The running/fog light come with universal connections. I haven't tested an HID for brightness differences as I have for quartz-halogen and LED but you'll definitely take the load off of your handlebar switches. I'll have to get my hands on an HID bulb to check it out.

[big poppa pump]

I have an HID headlight. Does the switch work with that?

HID kits usually comes with it's own set of relays since the ballast needs to be powered directly from the battery. The smart switch is not needed in this case.

However I did use this when I had a HID kit installed on my Valk. Even though a Xenon bulb consumes less power than a comparable Halogen bulb, the power draw from a typical 55W HID ballast at startup is quite a lot resulting in faster battery drain. HID bulbs usually take a few seconds to come to full power. Turning the bulb on/off when cranking kinda reduces the life of the HID bulb. With this relay, you can manually set how long it will take for your headlight to come on. I had mine set to 15 seconds.

http://www.wolstentech.com/products/timedelayrelay/tdr-s.php

[Paladin528]

my understanding is that the Interstate headlights are already routed through a relay to relieve the start button of the load of 2 headlinghts.  Would the smart switch not be redundant in this case?

[BonS]

my understanding is that the Interstate headlights are already routed through a relay to relieve the start button of the load of 2 headlights.  Would the smart switch not be redundant in this case?

The IS does have a relay that relieves the handlebar switches from the load. But that's all that's accomplished.  The OEM headlight voltage is still way below par because it routes through the ignition switch, connectors, and a long way through the OEM wiring harness which is under gauge. I picked up 36% high beam brightness (wattage) and 30.5% low beam brightness (wattage) on my Interstate.

[BonS]

I have an HID headlight. Does the switch work with that?

HID kits usually comes with it's own set of relays since the ballast needs to be powered directly from the battery. The smart switch is not needed in this case.

However I did use this when I had a HID kit installed on my Valk. Even though a Xenon bulb consumes less power than a comparable Halogen bulb, the power draw from a typical 55W HID ballast at startup is quite a lot resulting in faster battery drain. HID bulbs usually take a few seconds to come to full power. Turning the bulb on/off when cranking kinda reduces the life of the HID bulb. With this relay, you can manually set how long it will take for your headlight to come on. I had mine set to 15 seconds.

http://www.wolstentech.com/products/timedelayrelay/tdr-s.php

The time delay relay makes sense for HID's and if HID's come with relays and suitable wiring that feeds directly off of the battery then there is no need for the Smart Switch.

[Tailgate Tommy]

I purchased, and just received in the mail, one each of the single, double, and fog light wiring harnesses. My winter project is to add them to both my IS and standard. I can say that they look awesome and very well made!