[knowbuddy]

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Has anyone heard of using a buss box to reduce electrical load on a '83 intetstate? This is something i would be interested in trying. Mother Honda was not very kind by providing only one accessory terminal! Rated at just 5 amps. I have a full compliment of lights on my '83 interstate. The problem is that i cannot operate my lower running lights (add on by previous owner and never connected) without blowing fuses. i am left with head and tail light only, after that...:baffled: i want to take power from mostly the battery and not the fuse buss under the tank housing (false tank) by installing a seperate fuse buss under the left side cover. And put the running lights under the fairing on thier own circuit. and the bumper lights on thier own as well. Hopefully? just let the stator maintain the battery, head light and tail/brake light... taking power from the battery to opreate the other lights... (direct from battery to new fuse buss) I have heard that relays should be used for this kind of set up. But have no clue as to what type of relay or relays i should use.??... One thing i did was to install a sunpro voltage gauge on my wing. just above the right glove box. that is running off the accesory fuse buss. Just not enough amps to run all this bike has off just one weak terminal.! this i know... can any one help with this?...... i think i'm on the right track with the add on fuse buss. and i will be using 14ga. wire for the change over.. Plus i will have 4 spare terminals with this new fuse buss. found this at napa auto parts. is only one in. in height and i think no more tha 3 in. in width. should fit nicely under the side cover. Attaching to the battery holding bar... using cable ties..so it can fold down out of the way. Should i everneed a new battery?..... just need some advice about this change over... any help with this is greatly appreciated...:headbanger:

 

[Bschofield]

imported post

i resolved this very easily. i used that one terminal to drive an automotive relay with another direct line from the battery to a new buss just for accessories.. so relay kicks in with a fused direct line from the battery. you will still need to watch your total overall load so that you get some battery charging. but this solved the accessory issue for me. i have plans for cell phone power, accessory lights, gps, and whatever strikes my fancy. i'm a gadget geek, so i'm sure i will be maxing it out.. may have to go with the alternator conversion in the end.

Hope that helps.

Barry

 

[Cerfer07]

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One word L.E.D.s...ok not really a word but LEDs really will help your volatage draw. I put LEDs on all my red lights and now I can run everything with almost no voltage draw. The only time I see voltage draw is when I use my turn signals or my running lights. I maintain 14.2 to 14.4v most of the time.

 

[exavid]

imported post

It doesn't matter how you route the power to your various electrical loads. The load is the same. Replacing light bulbs with LEDs will reduce the load but using relays to control various loads will actually increase the load on the system even though the voltage to the load might be higher. The fact is every relay consumes a bit of electrical power which is an increase on the bikes system. There is a downside to the load reduction on the stator too, reducing the total electrical load increases the heat developed by the regulator. That's because the regulator is dumping the excess power developed by the stator to ground to keep the voltage from rising above the desired 14V. The output of the stator is controlled by only one thing, the rpm of the engine. The faster the engine turns the more power developed by the stator. The regulator can't reduce the output of the stator, all it can do is dump the excess which heats up the regulator's resistance that consumes the extra power. In essence YOU CANNOT REDUCE THE LOAD ON THE STATOR, it's always at full output for the rpm at the moment.

 

[Bschofield]

imported post

you are correct as far as the extra load a relay brings, but for me, having the comfort of a new power line to my accessories, and a bit more control. it was worth the cost in load. and as i was realizing that the stator was dumping power, my strategy was to save just enough power to charge the battery with my typical driving style, and use the rest. and. i am definitely using it. new auto style stereo.. etc etc.
Barry

 

[Gofastandfalldown]

imported post

knowbuddy wrote:

just let the stator maintain the battery, head light and tail/brake light... taking power from the battery to opreate the other lights... (direct from battery to new fuse buss)

This is the part I don't quite understand...