Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[bribe36]

I've already added three Hawg Wired amps (150 x 1,  75 x 2) to power the speakers in the fairing. Also replaced the factory stereo with an Alpine. I'd still like to add another amp (JL Audio 200/2 or 400/4) to power some 6x9 speakers and maybe a sub in the saddle bags. Should I be concerned about the added draw on the electrical system, is there any electrical upgrade i need to consider or is there a limit to what can be added?

[Twolanerider]

You've got a three phase 50 amp charging system on the bike.  The "three phase" part isn't specifically part of your question except that you'll have good supply at idle/low RPM to run those accessories where on an older bike you would not.

50 amps output is just that; 50 amps.  Dealer will (or at least should) have specs for the bike in stock trim.  You can add up the draw from the accessories you've added.  Add those together for a good idea of where you're at.  Any decent shop should be able to measure the actual draw on the system for you also.

[Chains]

I have a 500 watt system on the Road Rod and the battery only goes down when the bike sits for more than 3 days not on the charger.  I was told it was due to the radio drawing power for the Nav unit all the time.  You should be good with the charging system you have.

[Twolanerider]

I have a 500 watt system on the Road Rod and the battery only goes down when the bike sits for more than 3 days not on the charger.  I was told it was due to the radio drawing power for the Nav unit all the time.  You should be good with the charging system you have.

You've got something else going on.  If the battery goes down in only three days there's a problem. 

[bribe36]

Any idea how I would calculate the draw? I checked the Hawg Wired web site (I have their system) to find out what each amp draws but there's nothing there?

Chains, What are you running for a system?

Thanks,
Brian

[grc]

Any idea how I would calculate the draw? I checked the Hawg Wired web site (I have their system) to find out what each amp draws but there's nothing there?

Chains, What are you running for a system?

Thanks,
Brian

Each amplifier should have a rating plate on it somewhere that lists input and output current and voltage.  You would think the literature would also have that info; did you get any paperwork with the amps? 

The best way to determine where you currently (pun intended) stand is to do as Twolane mentioned, have a proper current draw test performed.  And just because you have a potential 50 amps available doesn't mean you should add stuff right up to the 50 amp maximum. 


Jerry

[Chains]

You've got something else going on.  If the battery goes down in only three days there's a problem. 

Don,

that is what I thought, here is the direct quote from Rany at Cyclevision, the company that built the bike:

Since the bike has navagation, the bike is always drawing power for the internal gyro....it is always on so the bike has to be plugged in the a battery tender when left for 3 days without starting.

[cvobiker]

Bribe,
Using ohms law along with information you supplied, and assuming you went with the 400 amp, I come up with a total of 56 amp draw just for the amplifiers. You also have to also consider other electoral loads, i.e. headlights, radios, accessories, etc. Considering the total loads, you would far exceed the alternators load limit... Take your time and figure out your load on the alternator or you'll have bigger things to worry about. To caculate total current draw, you'll have to know total watts and operating voltage (I used 12.5) for each device/accesorie.

Current = watts divided by volts.....add everything together and you'll know your limits... You can also add more batteries to ease the load on your alternator, but then you'll have to deal with the space issues     Good luck,  

[Twolanerider]

Don,

that is what I thought, here is the direct quote from Rany at Cyclevision, the company that built the bike:

Since the bike has navagation, the bike is always drawing power for the internal gyro....it is always on so the bike has to be plugged in the a battery tender when left for 3 days without starting.

Certainly seems odd to me.  And, if not unlikely, at least unnecessary.  First off the only gyros on the bikes are the wheels.  It's not our special sense of balance that keeps us upright while moving down the road it's the gyroscopes in front of and behind us.  Automotive GPS/Nav systems don't use gyros they trianagulate from SAT fixes.  

Don't know what all the shop might have installed.  Or what they might have wired hot to A+ that could be switched.  But an automotive SAT/NAV system that doesn't allow the vehicle to set for three days without running the battery down doesn't pass the sniff test.  There's something else going on.

[Chains]

Don,

You are probably right, my truck battery does not go dead and it has a built in Nav system. 

[Twolanerider]

Don,

You are probably right, my truck battery does not go dead and it has a built in Nav system. 

If everything works ok it may be nothing more than the shop having something wired to an A+ unswitched source that could/should be switched.  So it powers down fully when the bike is turned off. 

Saying that can make it sound far easier than it might actually be to track down though.  With as much work as has gone in to that bike there's a lot there that might have to be tracked through to really isolate all the various circuits they've created or tapped.

It'd still worry me though.  Less so for a local hopper than if I were planning to travel with the bike.  After all, if a new and really good battery only lasts two or three days you can only expect less when the battert is three or four years old.  That's a recipe for getting stuck some morning outside of a hotel or even some evening after a long meal.  I'm admittedly anal about things like that.  But it'd bug the hell out of me.

[grc]

Certainly seems odd to me.  And, if not unlikely, at least unnecessary.  First off the only gyros on the bikes are the wheels.  It's not our special sense of balance that keeps us upright while moving down the road it's the gyroscopes in front of and behind us.  Automotive GPS/Nav systems don't use gyros they trianagulate from SAT fixes.  

Don't know what all the shop might have installed.  Or what they might have wired hot to A+ that could be switched.  But an automotive SAT/NAV system that doesn't allow the vehicle to set for three days without running the battery down doesn't pass the sniff test.  There's something else going on.

Absolutely .  And while I know absolutely nothing about the bike involved or the folks who built it, I do know BS when I hear it.  I thought it was just Harley folks who came up with bogus explanations in lieu of fixing stuff, but the gyro deal is priceless and much more sophisticated than what your typical Harley shop could dream up. 

Any modern automobile, with it's huge load of electronics and gadgets, can sit for weeks without killing the battery.  If the bike can't do the same, then there is obviously a bunch of stuff powered up that shouldn't be, possibly because it was easier and cheaper to wire it that way.  I think it would be a good idea to track down all the various draws (by pulling one fuse at a time, assuming they wired it with separate circuits and fuses, and measuring current draw), and eliminate all but the required items (radio memory, alarm system, etc.).  I can't imagine needing any sort of nav system fired up all the time.  Maybe he had it confused with the sidewinder missiles and the target acquisition system.


Jerry

[Chains]

 I think it would be a good idea to track down all the various draws (by pulling one fuse at a time, assuming they wired it with separate circuits and fuses, and measuring current draw), and eliminate all but the required items (radio memory, alarm system, etc.). 

Jerry,

There in lies the problem, bike was built in 05 and only has 1300 miles on it, the sound system and all was done by Street Noyz in San Diego, Ca, and there are bundles of wires going everywhere, neatly done and wrapped however to the point is is difficult to know what goes where without the original wiring diagram, which is not available.  They even suggested I mount a spare battery in the saddle bag for those O Chit moments that can happen.  The only other thing it may be is the heated grips that don't work could be doing something weird, I can check them easily.

I guess if it lets me down I will worry about it, it seems to run great and always start if put back on the tender when done riding.   I think I may have High Jacked this thread inadvertently anyway.


Jim

[Twolanerider]

There in lies the problem, bike was built in 05 and only has 1300 miles on it, the sound system and all was done by Street Noyz in San Diego, Ca, and there are bundles of wires going everywhere, neatly done and wrapped however to the point is is difficult to know what goes where without the original wiring diagram, which is not available.  They even suggested I mount a spare battery in the saddle bag for those O Chit moments that can happen.  The only other thing it may be is the heated grips that don't work could be doing something weird, I can check them easily.

Trying to go on the path of discovery over someone else's work is all too often a major PIA no matter how neat their work is.  You just can't know what they were thinking at the time.  Sometimes you feel it's easier to start from scratch.  On this bike, however, that's likely not an option.  Or at least not an easy one.

There is something going on.  Not that knowing it really helps that much.  But grips or anything that is easy to isolate and measure would be worth checking.  Something to do on a rainy Saturday with the radio in the background.  No game on though.  Don't need the distractions for this one.

[Chains]

Absolutely correct Don, this bike has what looks like miles of wire from one end to the other.