Voltage Fix - 955 Tigers .......better known as the SASQUATCH MOD

[Stretch]

Neither.  Switching to the Maxi fuse and holder will not increase RR output, nor will it enable a rider to draw any more current from his electrical system.

The only thing it will do is allow the required current to pass from the RR to the battery without overheating the fuse holder.

The old ATC fuse holder in my Sasquatch Fix overheated and melted because its small connectors created too much electrical resistance... the fuse holder couldn't endure having the normal 30 amps flowing through it for hours at a time.

So I swapped to a fuse holder that's rated for 100 amps at 36 Volts DC, which will never, ever overheat at 30 amps @ 14 Volts DC.  I'm still using a 30-amp fuse, but in a new 'overbuilt' fashion.  

I merely replaced a marginal part with too-small of connectors (for 30 amps), with a larger more substantial part with connectors that can handle that kind of current flow without heating up.

[matttys]

I've got it now.  Thanks for the clarification.

[Nimrod11]

Stretch and all,

Thanks for all the tips. I though a 30A fuse may be a problem. I'm glad I asked before.

Where do you find that Maxi fuse? I don't live in the US and am not too sure about things on the internet. I found many like this: http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/Pr ... click=2744. Not sure this is the right one, though.

Any links or tips?

By the way Stretch, I also took you advice from some time ago and put a volt meter on my bike. Unfortunately, the little waterproof one took a long time to arrive so I strapped on my old Radio Shack meter. Looked very strange, but did the trick. I was going below 12V while in town with aux lights on. I hope this fix will do the trick. Thanks for the advice!

John

[Stretch]

Where do you find that Maxi fuse? I don't live in the US and am not too sure about things on the internet. I found many like this: http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/Pr ... click=2744. Not sure this is the right one, though.

Nope, that's not it.  That's an ATO fuseholder, which I believe is dimensionally the same as an ATC.

What I used is the Maxi size.  Here's a link:  http://www.tti-plus.com/ProductDetails. ... nextag.com

If you can't find one locally, PM me and I'll buy one for you here and mail it to you.

Having a mounted voltmeter can be an eye-opener.  As you've found, the pair of 55-watt lights may be too much for the charging system in stop-and-go traffic.

[mrazekan]

I found mine at Napa.  10 ga. wires in and out.

[oxnsox]

Similar fuses and holders may be available at a marine store..  (looks similar to a BLUE SEAS product, but again that is a USA brand)

[Nimrod11]

I am sooooooooo happy!!!  :D  :D  :D  :D

Just did the fix last night and it is fantastic. I think I got almost 2V increase with this. This is where my problem was. Thank you all so much for this tip. I would have been a frustrated Tiger owner otherwise.

I also wanted to leave my little contribution for others to go ahead and do this fix. It is so easy to do. The first time I read it, I thought I would have to take the bike down to my mechanic to do it but it is very simple indeed.

I made the two wires, according to the instructions, using a Maxi Fuse (I discovered that here in Brazil they call it a "Big Foot") of 40A. You can actually do them quite short as you can bring the plug near the battery. Actually, if it weren't for the two plugs on the positive, you could just use the wire that comes with the fuse holder.

Here are the wires I made:


You will note further down that they could be much shorter.

The bike wire you have to disconnect is on the left side, near the accessory power outlet. You will notice it comes from the Regulator/Rectifier that is just to the left of the battery, hidden away. The bike's harness goes over to the right side of the bike. This wire you don't want anymore. This is the connector:


Once disconnected, isolate the bike harness part and pull the connector you want up near the battery. Then just connect the harness you made to the connector and to the battery. here is my final setup:


Note that the original connector sits right beside the battery terminal. This gives you an idea of how short you man make your wires.

I also installed my little voltmeter. This of course took much longer as you have to take all the front of the bike off:


The reading is 13V but this is after the aux lights switch. At the battery terminals, it was 13.5V, up from about 11.7V before the fix at idle.  :lol:

And, since I am posting, here are the lights I put on:



Very cheap lights, bought at Walmart, but very effective when driving and very easy to install. I just used the same screw that holds the side panel of the bike on, just near the flickers.

Go ahead, do this fix. It is great! With all this power, I'll now install a 42"TV and a microwave for the popcorn...

Thanks to all of the Forum for this great tip!

Regards,
John

[matttys]

Good setup.  You are going to love the extra power.

[The Kurgan]

After 23 years of riding, I have become a fairly competent wrench for most basic maintenance tasks... as for electrical... well I'm a complete noob!  :lol: However, this thread has tweeked my interest and I have been absorbing and reading and understanding as much as I can.

I decided to test my Tiger to see how many volts it spews at idle with and without a pair of 55w driving lights turned on.

At idle (both headlights on): fluctuates between 13.6 and 13.9 volts dc (I think it creeped up to as high as 40)

At idle (both headlights on) plus 2x 55w driving lights: fluctuates between 12.2 and 12.6 volts dc

Is this o.k., or should I be worried?

I should note that I rarely use my driving lights at idle, saving them mainly for night time riding on poorly lit roads.

[Nimrod11]

Krugan,

Your voltage seems fine but I also wouldn't be affraid of the fix. The idea of my post was to try to show just how easy it is. It seems, however, that you probably don't need it.

I was down to about 11.5V when driving round town and stopped at traffic lights with my aux lights on. In this situation, if I stopped the engine, I wouldn't have enough juice to start-up again  

On the road I was fine. I would then go out for a day trip and, when returning home, would have to turn off my lights some 10 minutes before I got home so the battery would recharge - quite ridiculous.

I bought my 2004 Tiger last January. It was a good deal but I do believe the previous owner left it out in the rain a lot. The electrical harness probably got a little degraded with this and was loosing more power that usual.

Regards,
John

[mrazekan]

At idle (both headlights on): fluctuates between 13.6 and 13.9 volts dc (I think it creeped up to as high as 40)

At idle (both headlights on) plus 2x 55w driving lights: fluctuates between 12.2 and 12.6 volts dc

Is this o.k., or should I be worried?

13.6 - 13.9 at idle without the fix?  That's pretty good.  As for the 12.2 and 12.6 readings, as long as it goes above ~13.1V above 3k RPM, you should have no problems.  

If the voltage is below ~13.1V, at any time, then the battery is starting to discharge by outputting power to the system.  This is regardless of engine speed.  In addition to starting the bike, the battery is there to TEMPORARILY take up the slack when the charging system is not meeting the load demand.  This is normal at low engine speeds.

I need some lights!

[haulin' daze]

Finally did the fix yesterday. Just a quick question for those smarter than me (nearly everyone  :roll: ):

I used  two 10 ga wires from the RR into one 8 ga wire to a 50 amp Maxi fuse and holder.

1. Does the difference in wire thickness mean anything good/bad/indifferent?

2.All they had at the marine store was the 50 amp Maxi. Is that overkill or no problem?

Having said that, My cheap-o light up voltmeter went up a full green light after the fix. It's roughly the difference between somewhere around 12v and around 13+v consistantly. Very happy. Now maybe I can get some lights on the crash bars and not worry about it!  :D

This thread and site rock! I've learned so much from everyone here (picture ass-kissing sounds now!  ).

[Nimrod11]

Hey haulin' daze! Congrats on the fix.

Both wires should be fine for your need. The 10 gauge wire is rated at 55A. Considering it is short and well ventilated, no problem. More important than the wire is the connection you make between them. That can always be a hot point and end up breaking the connection and ruining the day.

As for the fuse, I put a 50A fuse also. I bought a few 40 and 50 but put in the 50 in the end. I figure if it is going to blow, it will blow anyway. In fact, the original bike harness has no fuse to the battery, so you are better off anyway.

Happy rides!
John
 

[Stretch]

the original bike harness has no fuse to the battery

Actually it does, fuse number 2 in the fuse box, 30-amps.

[stopwatch]

I initially did the Sasquatch fix w/ two 12ga wires going to one 12ga wire w/ inline atc 30amp. Picked up over a volt. Worked well (apparently) for approx 7 months til a couple of weeks ago when my fuse and/ or fuse holder seemed to have melted. I've now redone the fix using two 12ga wires to one 10ga in line maxi but I'm still running a 30 amp fuse. Is there any pros or cons to going to 40 or 50 amp? I assumed the blame for the melt was using two 12ga wires going to one 12ga... ?