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Excess Electrical Capacity ???

2andblue

COG Executive Director
Member
Little confused - Within the Owners Manual guidance for electrical accessories notes that no more than 60W of total load should be placed onto the vehicles electrical system otherwise battery could discharge even with engine running.

Looking at heated gear for my wife and I a single Hotwired 12V jacket liner pulls up to 74W, Gerbing 77W and First Gear 90W and pants are an additional ~38W.

My simpleton math tells me my wife alone with a jacket liner and pants liner (both at the lower consuming Hotwired brand clothing) more than doubles the capacity of the C14 electrical system.

What am I missing - this makes no sense to me especially considering I see/ hear of others running electrical clothing, the extra lighting and other farkles out there.

Thank You for the input.
 
Well, i for one dont run my farkles off the bikes accessory plugs. I run all.my farkles off a switched accessory fuse block thats connected to the battery.

Im certain one of the engineers here in Cog forum land will explain the watts (lol had to do it) and whys....
 
Well, i for one dont run my farkles off the bikes accessory plugs. I run all.my farkles off a switched accessory fuse block thats connected to the battery.
That’s cool - but what is your overall draw? Does the draw exceed 60W?

Manual implied total draw of all external accessories should not exceed 60W - once over making me scratch my head as that’s not a whole lot...
 
The alternator is supposed to put out 590w with about 350 usable for external accessories.
 
My manual says the alternator can put out 14V and 41.5A @5000 RPM. Total power is 581 Watts. Don't know what the bike draws for lamps and heated grips or anything else. You could put an Amp meter on the bike to find out.
 
Rex, Harry and Konehead you got me thinking, pulled together a basic listing of electrical items. Some are swags..

Overall it does seem reasonable to expect at least 300 Watts consistently available for use and up to 350 Watts occasional depending on what is turned on e.g. Heated Grips...

ItemDraw (Wattage) X Qty = Total
Primary Headlights 55W X 2 = 110W
Central 'City Lights'5W X 2 = 10W
Tail Light25W X 1 = 25W (Total guess)
Turn Signals 21W X 2 (each side) = 42W Intermittent usage
License Plate5W X 1 = 5W
Heated Grips
30W X 2 (W based on comps) = 60W
Fuel Pump, Injectors, Sensors, Cluster, etc
100W Total SWAG
Total
352 Watts

Thanks for sharing the information.

Wayne
 
Soooooo...about 229 watts to play with. More if you don't use blinkers, heated grips.
I'm gonna make a note of this in my owners manual.
 
Other draw/ consumption that is not accounted for is recharging the battery. Above chart does not account for this.

Surprising how little extra wattage is available for a sport tourer designed for 2-up riding.. On the other hand, no cruise control either...
 
Interesting. I notice when I pull my 2018 Concours in the garage after riding and plug in the Battery Tender, it goes red for about a minute every time, before going back to the green 'float.' My 2001 FZ1 with 114,000 miles never does that - it is always green after a ride. Battery gauge on the Connie dash shows 14 volts all the time when riding, so I just figure it's the nature of the beast.
 
Interesting. I notice when I pull my 2018 Concours in the garage after riding and plug in the Battery Tender, it goes red for about a minute every time, before going back to the green 'float.' My 2001 FZ1 with 114,000 miles never does that - it is always green after a ride. Battery gauge on the Connie dash shows 14 volts all the time when riding, so I just figure it's the nature of the beast.

What model Battery Tender?
 
Battery Tender Junior.

I just read the manual.

A minute is not really long enough to charge anything.
My guess is that the microprocessor is evaluating the battery condition, and then determines that it will go into storage/float maintenance mode (low constant voltage, battery is 100% to 103% charged).

Are the batteries identical on both bikes?
Are both bikes drawing the same amount of current when parked?
Do both bikes have clocks or other farkles that can drain the battery at the same rate?
Are both batteries the same age?
Is there a low leakage path in a connector that is draining your battery faster than the other bike?

You could try swapping batteries and looking for any difference.

From the manual:
 RED LIGHT FLASHING – The red light flashing indicates that the battery charger has AC power available and that the microprocessor is functioning properly. If the red light continues to flash, then either the battery voltage is too low (less than 3 volts) or the output alligator clips or ring terminals are not connected correctly.
 RED LIGHT ON STEADY – Whenever the red light is on steady, a battery is connected properly and the charger is charging the battery. The red light will remain on until the charger completes the charging stage.
 GREEN LIGHT FLASHING –When the green light is flashing, the battery is greater than 80% charged and may be removed from the charger and used if necessary. Whenever possible, leave the battery on charge until the green light is solid.
 GREEN LIGHT ON STEADY –When the green light burns steady, the charge is complete and the battery can be returned to service if necessary. It can also stay connected to maintain the battery for an indefinite period of time
 
Wow, thanks for the detailed write up! The 2001 FZ1 is old school, when it's off, it's off. I just looked at the Battery Tender, and it is not the Junior, it's the regular Battery Tender - my bad. The 2018 Concours did it since I got it with 233 miles on it. Sometimes it does take a little longer than a minute - I was wondering if they all do that? Not really concerned about it, I just figured it was normal for that machine.
 
I have the larger Battery Tender Plus.

Depending on the battery condition and leakage current (if any), My charger will go to red, then to green after a minute or so. So, it sounds like your charger is behaving properly.

1. Always, disconnect AC first before disconnecting battery leads, and
2. Connect battery leads first before plugging into AC.

It does make a difference as you could fry the Battery Tender.
I know cause I have done it. (May not be true with newer models)
 
I have an old original battery tender. It came with white plastic connectors. It does the same as the OP. Goes red when first plugged in, then green after it has had a chance to determine that the battery is fully charged. The newer ones probably do that faster, better microprocessors.
 
The short answer is they don't want you pulling more that 60 watts to make sure you don't cook a specific circuit. Wire your own circuit off of the battery, and you've got whatever your wire is sized for.

If you upgrade to LED headlights and city lights, your total wattage usage goes way down. My LED low beams use 40 watts together, the highs use 55 watts together, and the city lights 6 watts for the pair. That's 74 watts freed up with the low beams on.
 
Interesting. I notice when I pull my 2018 Concours in the garage after riding and plug in the Battery Tender, it goes red for about a minute every time, before going back to the green 'float.' My 2001 FZ1 with 114,000 miles never does that - it is always green after a ride. Battery gauge on the Connie dash shows 14 volts all the time when riding, so I just figure it's the nature of the beast.

Mine does the same, with the Battery Tender Jr. It is normal.
 
Update - My wife and I now both have Hot Wired Jacket and Pant Liners. We have run all 4 articles of clothing all day long without a problem on the charging system, lights do not dim nor anything else adversely noticeable on the machine. Onboard battery meter reads 13.6V to 14.1V throughout the day. The Battery is down around 12V when machine is off, do believe I should replace the battery next spring (4 years old)...

First of all, beyond a first minute or two (if you were frozen) you do not need to run the equipment at max output ♨️, you'll be cooked well done QUICKLY... Max output is 126*F, Medium 113*F and Low 100*F. So I am assuming at the least a 25% reduction in wattage requirement vs the watts originally posted - so appears there is ample wattage surplus to run all plus charge battery from starting etc.

A 40*F day and at HWY speed never felt so HOT! Glad the misses pushed me to try heated gear. Never truly recognized my layering of clothing was really just getting by and actually not comfortable..
 
Rex, Harry and Konehead you got me thinking, pulled together a basic listing of electrical items. Some are swags..

Overall it does seem reasonable to expect at least 300 Watts consistently available for use and up to 350 Watts occasional depending on what is turned on e.g. Heated Grips...

ItemDraw (Wattage) X Qty = Total
Primary Headlights 55W X 2 = 110W
Central 'City Lights'5W X 2 = 10W
Tail Light25W X 1 = 25W (Total guess)
Turn Signals 21W X 2 (each side) = 42W Intermittent usage
License Plate5W X 1 = 5W
Heated Grips
30W X 2 (W based on comps) = 60W
Fuel Pump, Injectors, Sensors, Cluster, etc
100W Total SWAG
Total
352 Watts

Thanks for sharing the information.

Wayne
If needed LED's could gain you a few watts.
 
Mine does the same, with the Battery Tender Jr. It is normal.
Same here. I finally got a Jr. and hooked it up last weekend. Routing the wires was a bit of a pain since this bike is "wrapped" pretty tight. I assume this is where most folks have the pigtail hanging out? I was going to go for under the edge of the seat, but didn't feel like pulling the tank to make that happen.
 

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Same here. I finally got a Jr. and hooked it up last weekend. Routing the wires was a bit of a pain since this bike is "wrapped" pretty tight. I assume this is where most folks have the pigtail hanging out? I was going to go for under the edge of the seat, but didn't feel like pulling the tank to make that happen.
Yes that’s the standard locale for the SAE tap. I have one direct to the batt and the second to tapped in and run the wire underneath the seat to my left side. Need to take some time and properly install a fused power box then a couple outlets for the gear vs connecting loose wires together.
 
One machine I worked on recently had some nice LEDs, brighter than the sun! I may look to upgrade here for not just the watts but the improved lighting.
Have any idea whose they were?

I have HIDs in both of my bikes now, and they wash out on certain road surfaces.
 
I have a Gerbing dual variable controller which modulates depending on the settings.

I run a jacket liner (77w) and gloves (25W) on my C10 using dedicated heavier gauge wiring from an auxiliary fuseblock.

Something to keep in mind is you are never steadily pulling the max wattage of the heated clothing item(s) unless the controller is set to max, which I've never found the need for.
 
I have a Gerbing dual variable controller which modulates depending on the settings.

I run a jacket liner (77w) and gloves (25W) on my C10 using dedicated heavier gauge wiring from an auxiliary fuseblock.

Something to keep in mind is you are never steadily pulling the max wattage of the heated clothing item(s) unless the controller is set to max, which I've never found the need for.
This is a good point Stasch - not always pulling full Wattage. And confirm YIKES on Full it’s a matter of seconds and you have to back it off.

Group we’re serious literally this modern hear you don’t feel any wires throughout the clothing and it’s absolutely at desired temp (even FULL 126*F) in seconds!

Another one of those improvements you didn’t think you’d like but now you’re in love with.
 
Something to keep in mind is you are never steadily pulling the max wattage of the heated clothing item(s) unless the controller is set to max, which I've never found the need for.
My '08ABS has been ridden in ~10 degree F temps a number of times, commuting to and from work.

Yes, you'll need the controllers at max on such days.
 
My '08ABS has been ridden in ~10 degree F temps a number of times, commuting to and from work.

Yes, you'll need the controllers at max on such days.
I would still not need max on such days . . . . because I wouldn't be riding in those conditions!

My cold riding tolerance is less and less as time goes on.
 
FWIW (older thread I know). I ride with two jackets (90w) on high with grip heaters on high plus GPS, Comms package, Denali lights, power to the top box recharging phones and all other stock equipment. If all is running and the bike does not get above 3500 RPM'ish then I can see voltage drop and we turn heated things down (this is rare). At highway speeds I still monitor the voltage when running all these items, however I have never seen any overdraw.
 
Hello Dan,
After not having any issues we’ve gone full-monty and outfitted both ourselves with heated pants and jackets. Upper 20’s *F and extended highway travel we’ve had all clothing and hand grips on high, GPS on phone charging without any issues of voltage.

I do the same and keep voltage indicator on or monitored frequently times of drawing high current.

When stop/go if all clothing cranking on bake there is a drop of the voltage and we modify the heated clothing temporarily.

Still running original battery from 17’ may be a partial factor, but also understood lower RPM the power generation is limited.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
I switched all the lights to leds (higher output, lower power consumption.

As for the accessories (powerlet cable to the tank bag, Zumo wiring harness), I got a relay installed so that power only gets to them when the bike is running - thus mitigating the risk of battery drain. I never use the 12v lighter socket.

Dead batteries are a pain. One of mine on the C14 gave up the ghost at the border in Champlain NY while I was getting my Nexus interview with border agents. Now the only thing I run in the tank bag is a USB to iPhone cable.
 
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