A few stupid wiring questions-

[M.T.]

Thanks so much for the help here-

I've tested the Sasquatch fix for a few days now and I'm really pleased!  It took me a couple of trips to the hardware store and a few stupid mistakes, but it was worth it.
 
I think we should go back and specify that the connectors that go to the R/R plug need to be fully insulated!  I attached 4 standard metal female connectors (with the metal exposed) and somehow did not anticipate that the positive and negative would touch inside the connector plug.  Let me assure you they do! Lucky fuses are cheap...  

With that little misstep out of the way, the bike is now working great and returning approx. 14.5 - 14.75 volts at cruise.  This is at least a 1.0 volt improvement, and lets me run all of my powered gear without fear of the battery dying.

Dash mounted voltmeter on the way, and probably the relayed fuse box too...

[gbcphoto]

Given all of the accessories you are looking to add.  I would HIGHLY recommend a voltmeter.  I just ordered a kit from ebay which saved me $20 over the datel but I now have to build my own sealed enclosure for it.  Unless you are really handy and have stuff just lying around, get the datel.

Agreed.  You should put in a Datel.  See where I mounted mine below.  Looks factory and isn't glowing in my line of sight at night.

HI Matttys,
Couldn't help but notice what a great looking Girly you have. (mines the same).
Great spot for the Datel I was just about to give up on installing mine there as I thought it would be to tight. Guess I'll take the instrument cluster off and have at it. Thanks for the pic. Where and how did you decide to hook up the meter? Direct to the battery? Switched, un-switched? Any tips for cutting into a perfectly good instrument panel?

Thanks Matty. Nice job.

Cheers
GBC

[matttys]

Thank you for the compliments. I used a Dremel/Roto Zip to make a rough cut for the Datel then used a flat file to get the hole just big enough to jam the meter into. I didn't want to make it too big as the meter has very small flats on the front that I did not want to have push though. The meter comes with the metal bracket clamp that slides over the back of the meter, that's how I secured it to the plastic.

I hooked my meter into the switched fuse block. If you don't want to chop wires and do all that junk you could easily wire it straight to the battery. I would probably put a fuse in line just to make sure you don't over load the meter. Some small amp fuse should be fine, maybe even 5 amp or so.

Let me know if you need any other help - good luck!

[oxnsox]

I would probably put a fuse in line just to make sure you don't over load the meter. Some small amp fuse should be fine, maybe even 5 amp or so.

Good people.  The meter is only measuring Voltage... therefore it's not using much power.  A 5amp fuse is overkill here.
Firstly a word on fuses. The primary role of a fuse is to protect the wiring (its associated with) from carryin too much current.  For this reason we always, repeat always, put the fuse closest to the source of the power.... the battery.  Secondly,  the fuse size should be determined by the size of the wiring, so what ever you are running off any circuit, it's the size of the wire that sets the maximum value of the fuse. Fuses should be rated only to about 50% of the cables current rating.
Why?  Firstly fuse ratings are not absolute...  a 10A fuse won't blow when a 10a spike goes thru it. There will have to be 10a for a longer period before it blows. (OK it maybe a few seconds or longer depending upon lotsa things but by then the damage may be done).
The fuse protects the wiring because as current increases thru a wire (of any given size) the wire heats up, this causes a voltage drop in the wire and the way to overcome a voltage drop is to supply more current...  more current means more heat... etc, etc
There should have been some sort of data sheet with you meter, if it says use a 500mA fuse then do that. The manufacturer has set this value because it means that the gear willl be able to get enough power to operate correctly.   If for some reason an internal problem in the gear occurs (failure caused by vibrations for example), you would want the inline fuse to blow rather than the add on display to burn out and perhaps case other external damage because it was fused incorrectly.

[matttys]

A 5amp fuse is overkill here.

Oh sure, just go and catch my bs    That's just what was preinstalled on my Centech fuse panel and I left it in when I wired up the Datel  :D