A few dumb electrical questions

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Alright. So a few quick questions. I'm trying to wrap some ideas around my head but can't figure out some of the finer electrical points....

1) I have a powerlet female plug with two wires, this exact socket here . . . https://www.ascycles.com/images/products/Powerlet/PKT-067.jpg. When looking at that plug, which spot does the negative wire go, and which spot does the positive wire go?

2) I'm thinking of taking my J&M Integratr and semi-permanently installing it in the trunk of my bike. So when I look at the 12V cigarette plug adaptor that would plug into it, how I can tell which wire is + and which is -? And is something like that safe to plug tap into brake lights? It has a 2amp fuse so I wouldn't think it'd draw so much power, and I don't want it on unless the bike is on. Is something like that feasible?

Alexi

 
Like Fred W said, centre pin positive.

I've seen a few "bad" wiring installations on bikes.

It would best to have a totally separate accessory circuit on the bike.

At least a fused supply directly from the battery with a switch on one of your dash panels.

If you’re going to run “coms” on the bike, it will stop any funny ground loops/noise, if the neutral is connected directly to the battery.

 
2) I'm thinking of taking my J&M Integratr and semi-permanently installing it in the trunk of my bike. So when I look at the 12V cigarette plug adaptor that would plug into it, how I can tell which wire is + and which is -? And is something like that safe to plug tap into brake lights? It has a 2amp fuse so I wouldn't think it'd draw so much power, and I don't want it on unless the bike is on. Is something like that feasible?
I didn't read the second question too closely when I replied last night (was on my smart phone watching the game).

No, I would not attempt to power your J&M intercom system from the vehicle lighting system (tail or running lights, not brake lights as mentioned by Highlander above) unless you only want to have it work when you hit the brakes ;) .

For one thing, if something goes wrong with your J&M it will blow the fuse for your lights. Not good for obvious safety reasons. You'll also be adding (up to) 2 Amps of current to a circuit that was designed to carry only the current of the lights. And thirdly is the great likelihood of having a noisy power line which will feed into your audio equipment.

Instead, it should be wired directly from the battery (fused as close to the battery as practical) with appropriately sized positive and negative wires. If you want the power to be key switched, install a 12V relay in line. You can use the tail light wire (or just about any switched 12V signal) to control the relay as the current demand for the relay will be very small and not noise sensitive. Ideally the wire pair should be run in a shielded jacket (shield connected to frame ground) if it will be passing through the engine compartment under the tank. That way the power to your J&M will be nice and clean, no noise.

A lot of folks will install a switched power block (like a Fuzeblock) in their tail sections, which would be ideal for what you want to do. Do a search on those and you'll find all sorts of positive testimony about them and how easy they make life.

 
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About the Powerlet socket: it depends on what you are planning to use it for. I wanted to plug in my heated vest and a BatteryTender, so I didn't need a switched connection. I installed the socket on top of the right fairing panel, just behind the battery. That way a pair of short leads, fused, can be run right off the battery terminals. (This bypasses any of the dodgy ground terminals some folks have trouble with) If you are considering this location, look carefully under the fairing panel before drilling - things are pretty tight in there.

Just used my electric vest and OEM heated grips yesterday. 35F!

pete

 
Alright. So a few quick questions. I'm trying to wrap some ideas around my head but can't figure out some of the finer electrical points....

1) I have a powerlet female plug with two wires, this exact socket here . . . https://www.ascycles.com/images/products/Powerlet/PKT-067.jpg. When looking at that plug, which spot does the negative wire go, and which spot does the positive wire go?

2) I'm thinking of taking my J&M Integratr and semi-permanently installing it in the trunk of my bike. So when I look at the 12V cigarette plug adaptor that would plug into it, how I can tell which wire is + and which is -? And is something like that safe to plug tap into brake lights? It has a 2amp fuse so I wouldn't think it'd draw so much power, and I don't want it on unless the bike is on. Is something like that feasible?

Alexi
Fred's given you good advice. You're going to have to use a light or meter on the harness connection to tell which side goes where in the socket, unless you can follow the wires or they are marked.

The easy way to remember how to hook up almost any DC plug is simple. The first thing to make contact is always ground and the last (deepest into the plug) is always power/positive.

 
Fred's given you good advice. You're going to have to use a light or meter on the harness connection to tell which side goes where in the socket, unless you can follow the wires or they are marked.

The easy way to remember how to hook up almost any DC plug is simple. The first thing to make contact is always ground and the last (deepest into the plug) is always power/positive.
Thanks for the responses. I'm glad I asked before tapping into the brake lines. It didn't even cross my mind about possible blowing the brakelight fuse. That would DEFINITELY be bad!
And that makes complete sense about first contact is ground. It DOES make it easy to figure out which is which now.

Thanks for the tips. It'll be a little bit before I do my drilling and installing, but this was some good information. Thanks guys!

Alexi

 
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