How hard are these things to wire up? While I’m so-so mechanically….electrical work is black magic to me…
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Power distribution blocks
- Thread starter NuggyBuggy
- Start date
Easy. One wire to battery, one wire to a good ground point, most have one more wire to a switched wire to turn on relay (any wire that turns on with key would work). Mike's has the same wiring theory but split in three pieces and the relay wiring requires you to read a simple schematic or google it as they aren't labeled as B+, GRD, trigger/switched.
Sounds like something to get help with for a bottle of gin or whiskey.
A good bottle of whiskey will cost you more than the Thunderbox.
You decide which route you go with.
They are really not hard once you think of a relay as an electromagnetic switch. The switch is turned on by very little current and to make contact for the higher current. The usual ones have 4 pins a pair for negative and positive of the trigger (headlight wire tapped into) and pair for the real work horn, aux lights, fuse block.
My skill in electricity comes down to a wire from positive and one from negative connected to a light blub. If it lights I on the right track, if not, I need to see where the break is. So wiring diagrams are a foreign language to me and take me hours to understand. The reason I tell you, is if I can figure a relay out, anyone can. There is lots of experienced help on here too.
My skill in electricity comes down to a wire from positive and one from negative connected to a light blub. If it lights I on the right track, if not, I need to see where the break is. So wiring diagrams are a foreign language to me and take me hours to understand. The reason I tell you, is if I can figure a relay out, anyone can. There is lots of experienced help on here too.
Be careful tapping headlight wires. Many new bikes may pwm that signal to dim the lights and if you tap the low beam, some bikes shut it off when highs are engaged. I would choose a different and simpler wire to steal power from.
My bike is old and not too sophisticated (like it's rider) and don't have this problem, but good point for others to heed with newer bikes and tech.
My bike has an accessory outlet near the main fuse box and I used that wire to trigger the relay which triggers the Eastern Beaver Centech2 fuse block. BUT I also have a Skene IQ-275 (more info here) aux light controller and had to posi-tap into the high beam. It took me hours to get the nerve to puncture that wire. I never want to touch the original wire harness in anyway (candy ass I know).
Mad Mike
Well-known member
It's a simple job - guzzlin wiskey will do.A good bottle of whiskey will cost you more than the Thunderbox.
You decide which route you go with.
On a serious note, it's very easy - here's the difference between wiring each of them:
Thunderbox has an extra white wire that is the equiv of post 86 on the relay.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
The low is a nice wire for most bikes because it's a high-capacity circuit that cuts out when cranking and has high enough capacity the trigger current is negligible.
Maybe a better trigger is the tail light - gets around the LB/HB issue.
I think automotive light PWM frequencies are around to 20khz -- I don't think the relay would react as fast automotive relays are <4ms release time. Using a tail light trigger would also eliminate that issue.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
The frequency isn't the issue. PWM can reduce the effective voltage (that's the whole point). The relay won't work with a 3V signal (even if it has 5,000 spikes a second to 12V, they are all too short to pull the relay in).
Why not both?
I have used Heal Tech Thunderbox on two of my bikes,its very easy to wire up.Also used their quickshifter on the FJ 09 great products for wiring noob like me.
I'm not a whiskey guy so I can use some training there.
I don't know how much bike training I will retain after the first class.
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I guess I’m lost again…what’s the benefit of these blocks?
Simple. Pretty packaging. Marketing. Easy to put each circuit on either switched with key or constant on.
PacoT
Well-known member
Thanks for all the knowdelge shared here.
I've been thinking on doing something similar on my bike. I already have the distribution block, the relay and fuses. I keep delaying it because I'm also a complete noob at wiring, thus I'm scared of tapping a cable and something suddenly goes kaput.
I've been thinking on doing something similar on my bike. I already have the distribution block, the relay and fuses. I keep delaying it because I'm also a complete noob at wiring, thus I'm scared of tapping a cable and something suddenly goes kaput.
When picking a line to tap to trigger the relay, pick a line that is relatively high current capable, not required for bike to run, switched and should be free of brains. Something like a line to a lighter socket would be a good choice (as long as you don't overload the socket by plugging something in that draws too much as then you'd lose all circuits on your distribution block too). Tail light might be a good choice for most bikes. Low beam headlight can be a good choice if it is always on while the bike is on and the bike doesn't do funny business with dimming it. Marker/running lights may be ok but they could flash with blinkers so you need to check. Don't steal power going to the computer. That's just asking for problems (it should work as the relay doesn't draw much but it's not worth the risk).
BINGO.
If you suffer from analnessidis (aka OCD) you will find a way to make an argument that they are must. (Ask me how I know)
But similar or same things can be accomplished for much cheaper but not as clean of a solution with a DIY project.
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