question regarding m50 charging system

[womper]

i'm considering adding more lights, but i'm not sure the charging system can handle it...

i looked through the manual and it's pretty useless...

anyone have any experience with this?

[Majestik]

Maybe Battery Tender will work for you?

Look it up, pretty nifty system

Lots of people add light bar with lots of high beam lights and no issues other than the power load on the auxiliary plug (in the headlight housing), but once they add a relay and power it separately with the recommended Amp fuse for the applications, everyone seem to have a good response from it.

The only problem i see is that if you like to keep the bike off but the lights on, that will cause a faster drain on your battery...

[womper]

i have a set of PIAA lights and my garmin on at all times...
i think i'm planing on getting another set of PIAA for the dark roads... i do a lot of night riding... i'm not the knight rider though

don't think the battery tender is what i'm looking for...
essentially i need to know what load i can put on the bike before it craps out...

i shoulda paid more attention in my EET courses...

[Majestik]

Originally Posted by womper

i shoulda paid more attention in my EET courses...

did you try the service manual from corpo's link?
It might help you figure it out.

I guess it also depends on your battery total sustained amperage.

As long as you fuse each application (light set, or any power consuming device) separately with the appropriate fuse and do not exceed the total amperage at any given time (for the battery's total amperage output), you should be fine...

Any correction will be appreciated... and save womper from blowing up

[womper]

scanned through it... couldn't find anything useful

i know the battery is 12v 36KC (10Ah)/10h

55w-headlight
55wx2-piaa
?w garmin
5w-signals (front stay on as marker lights)
etc...

not sure of the conversion... ie: how much current can i continously draw...

the battery of 10Ah (which i suspect is 10Ah over 10 hours and not 20 like most batteries)
don't know what the alternator can crank out though...



neat site to check how long something would drain the battery...
Battery Bank-Equipment Run Time Calculator
oddly enough anything higher than 161 gives 0... ie: battery no longer charges?

headlight for example would take about an hour...

essentially i'm looking to put out about 300watts of lighting... so i need to know if i need another charging system on the bike... (upgraded alternator/battery)
i'll keep digging

essentially if i can figure out the max output of the alternator, i should be ok... max output of alternator should be greater by about 35% of all combined power sucking. ballpark anyhow

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Majestik

I guess it also depends on your battery total sustained amperage.

Not really.

The battery is the determining factor for short periods.....~1-2 minutes....but the real determinig factor is the max. sustained alternator output.

You need enough to run everything you KNOW about plus a little for what you don't know about (or can't measure) PLUS a little more to bring a low battery back up to full charge.

Based on all the comments I've seen (and an admittedly weak memory), I'd be getting nervous with anything added over 10 amps (120 watts, about 2 additional headlights).......and even then, I'd want it on a switch, to be used only when needed.

[Ray Nielsen]

The alternator spec. is 375 Watts at 5000 RPM. I'm currently running a Gerbing jacket lineer (70 W.), handlebar heaters (30W.) all with no problems. I also have a Kuryakyn LED voltmeter which shows I'm fully charging the battery at about 2500 RPM with the above items connected and on full power. I suspect there's still a little headroom left in the system. My advice is to monitor the system voltage with a voltmeter and make sure that it's reaching full voltage with accessories in use. I'd suggest 14.4-14.8 volts would be ideal at cruising speeds.

Hope that helps a bit.

Ray Nielsen, in Minneapolis and going for a ride today!

[womper]

ray... i owe you one!

where the heck did you get the alternator specs? (i was looking all over for it!)

right now i have the PIAA lights (2x55w) and the Garmin Zumo on all time time when riding...

i'll probably have to change out the alternator at some point i guess... i want some more lights, and get an electric vest and gloves...

... like i have a clue on how i could change out the alternator... hah!


i think it's time i get one of theses battery gauge

heh... without a tach it's kinda hard to find 5000rpm
now i'm gonna have to get one installed...

slippery slope indeed...

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by womper

... like i have a clue on how i could change out the alternator... hah!

heh... without a tach it's kinda hard to find 5000rpm

On most bikes, getting more electrical output borders on impossible.

There is nothing magic about 5000 rpm. It's just a convenient place for a "standard" measurement.

A voltmeter would be a good idea.

My guess is that you need a switch on the lights so you can turn them OFF if needed......like when running other accessories.

[womper]

picking up my switch housing today... woot.
it's never ending buying stuff for the bike...

[nativenyerintexas]

I'd like to add a cigarette lighter/accessory plug to charge my cell phone or power my Garmin eTrex GPS and then I';d like to add my Rumble ROads but I don't think there's any place to mount them. I might have to add a light bar without the lights.

[womper]

ya... i'll be adding an accessory socket.. picked up a truckbed one for about $12
bought an inline fuse... just gotta wire it up

for the rumble roads, can't you mount them on the bars?

[geeker]

Originally Posted by nativenyerintexas

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[nativenyerintexas]

Originally Posted by womper

ya... i'll be adding an accessory socket.. picked up a truckbed one for about $12
bought an inline fuse... just gotta wire it up

for the rumble roads, can't you mount them on the bars?

I don't think there's enough room to mount them on the handle bars. The mounts are about 1.5" to 2" wide. The only place I can see to put them is on the area where it's anged up to the handle bar ends and that would put the speakers too close to the speedometer, if not actually touching them. If I installed them with the mounts pointing outwards then I won't be able to put on a windshiled, which i want to do come September or October.

[nativenyerintexas]

Originally Posted by geeker

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The requested URL /hserver/random=946856/pageid=537866753/area=PB_AL_LO/aamsz=BANNER was not found on this server.

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[womper]

Originally Posted by nativenyerintexas

I don't think there's enough room to mount them on the handle bars. The mounts are about 1.5" to 2" wide. The only place I can see to put them is on the area where it's anged up to the handle bar ends and that would put the speakers too close to the speedometer, if not actually touching them. If I installed them with the mounts pointing outwards then I won't be able to put on a windshiled, which i want to do come September or October.

for the lighter socket i mounted inside where the toolkit goes.
i put an inline fuse (15 amps) so it's good to go... pop in what has to be recharged in there and i can just ride
here's a pic.


ah, i see about the mounts. is it possible to get a different mount that can swivel or something cheap that you can bend?
not sure what the mounts look like...

[The Pope]

Check out this site for some options: Powerlet :: The 2007 Powerlet Product Catalog

[womper]

i looked into the powerlet stuff... a dealer around here said that's all they carry and many swear by it...

i figured that since i'm only going to use it for recharging my IPOD and cell phone, i didn't want to bother with a UK type of connector (that's what the dealer said) and i'd have to splice off all the connector ends to mate with every device.
way too much trouble...


at least with my $12 outlet and my $1 fuse i can use a cigarette lighter that i can buy at any car shop...
try and find a cigarette lighter for the powerlet...

at any rate, those who like it, like it and it's a really good product from what i've read...

just not for me.

[nativenyerintexas]

Originally Posted by womper

for the lighter socket i mounted inside where the toolkit goes.
i put an inline fuse (15 amps) so it's good to go... pop in what has to be recharged in there and i can just ride
here's a pic.


ah, i see about the mounts. is it possible to get a different mount that can swivel or something cheap that you can bend?
not sure what the mounts look like...

That's a good spot for it. I was thinking about where I was going to mount it. I think I'm going to go for just a regular cigarette lighter though since my Zippo has a tendency of needing fuel just when I want to have a smoke.

Here's a picture that shows what the mounts look like.



The speaker's wiring goes through a hollow bolt that slips through the hole on the mount. The put out about 45 watts each. I can always buy the angle brackets though and see where they'd fit before I buy them.



http://www.mhinstruments.com/products/accessories.htm