Just how much electrical equipment can you use at once?

[midlife]

I have a Transalp 700.

I currently have :

Honda O.E. Heated grips.

12v Ciggie lighter socket mounted on h/bars and hard wired with fuse to battery (used for charging phone/ipod etc) when riding

I wish to add:

Either some SW-Motech Hawk Fog lights or Givi trekker spot lights. The givi lights come supplied with relay, however advert says must be connected to battery.

A further 12v ciggie lighter socket under seat to take my radio "dummy battery" . Can disconnect when not in use.

Hard wired battery charger lead (optimiser/maximiser style)


Can anyone tell me if I am going to be overcooking things. Also, if the fog/spots are direct to battery, is their a way of making sure they switch of when the ignition is off? and can I run use them permanently on the move as additional lighting to enhance me being seen as well as being able to see?

Sorry if I have not explained myself very well.

Thank you in advance
Rob

[GSPD750]

I believe your total output on your XL700 is 396 watts. The following guide may help.

Calculating Excess Electrical Capacity - Learning Center - Powerlet Products

A battery charge monitor is always a good gadget to have giving you a heads up display at all times
telling you if your overtaxing your charging system and that it might be time to turn an accessory off.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/150481634975?...84.m1423.l2649

[Rubberchicken]

Mind you that 396W is max power at a certain rpm and will be a lot less at lower revs.

Headlight 55W, 2 additional spots 2x55W, heated grips, dunno, something like 40W on full? Ignition and various related stuff for a transalp with its 4 sparks will be quite a bit too I guess. Power sockets and gps/phone stuff is trivial compared to that... I'll have a scientific wild-assed guess and say that's about 300W total so should be ok at cruising speed. Though you might want to turn off the spots if you're doing lots of slow stuff.

[Windmill John]

Though you might want to turn off the spots if you're doing lots of slow stuff.

Maybe the spots should be wired in to high beam, so hopefully not used at low speed anyway.

But, Rubberchicken, I assume you carry a generator with you for your flood light

[xrv750]

Mind you that 396W is max power at a certain rpm and will be a lot less at lower revs.

Headlight 55W, 2 additional spots 2x55W, heated grips, dunno, something like 40W on full? Ignition and various related stuff for a transalp with its 4 sparks will be quite a bit too I guess. Power sockets and gps/phone stuff is trivial compared to that... I'll have a scientific wild-assed guess and say that's about 300W total so should be ok at cruising speed. Though you might want to turn off the spots if you're doing lots of slow stuff.

According to the Honda manual the OEM heated grips are rated at ca. 18W.
See the following link. It's in German only but one will get the relevant data out of it anyway:
http://wiki.cbf-1000.de/wiki/images/...iffheizung.pdf

What's the fan drawing? Ok, the fan acitvates in cities rather then in the countryside and you won't need the additional ligths in the city. But anyway it's another consumer on the list.

I'd also say that the total load is around a guessed 300W and that therefore no damage is to be expected.
However there is not much energy left then to load the battery! Furthermore I would make sure everything can be switched of otherwise trying to start the engine on a cold morning could hold some nasty surprises.

Cheers
Markus

[Lutin]

Total load of about 300 W would be about right but, as said, this will be at a certain engine speed, which for the Transalp is 5000 rpm.

Wiring the extra lights to the battery is fine - as long as you do it through a fuse and a relay. You can pick up a switched live from the side light bulb - and it wires into the loom with a handy two pin connector. The reason for the relay is that the lights can not be switched on when the ignition is off, in order to prevent you from flattening the battery.

As for the spots, you could change the bulbs for lower rated items. I changed the bulbs in my Ring Ice Blue driving lamps from 55 W to 35 W. Had to order them online mind.

Here's a simple wiring diagram showing the use of a relay -

[midlife]

Many thanks for the replies.
So to summarise........ I should be Ok if I am careful not to use everything at once, ensure things are switched off when not in use/engine not running and possibly reduce bulb wattage? If this is not the case, any suggestions on a setup that will allow me have intercomm,spotlightheated grips etc?
Thanks
Rob