Eastern Beaver's Jim Davis Needs Our Help

[tesla]

Getting ready to purchase a PC-8 fuse box and trying to find the correct length. Looking at previous threads, it wasn't clear how long the main wire and relay wire should be. Jim e-mailed me and said he would like to update the FJR fitment chart. See his note below:

Barry, I need to update the fitment chart now.

 

I know I have sold 60" Kits to FJR owners. I don't know if they all extend them

or not. I don't have an FJR so it's up to owners to measure up before ordering

to be sure. I'd love to get a customer who could verify the length needed.

 

I have added the 74" length choice for those who need it. There can be quite a

variation in the way the wires are run, PC-8 mounted, etc., that length can be

quite different for different installs.

The other thing he had mentioned is that it would be ideal if there was a way to mount the fuse box closer to the battery. Anyone mount a fuse box in this location?

In addition, I wanted to give a shout out to Brodie who, among others here, has been so helpful with my questions about fuse box installation. Not sure what he does for a living but he has the heart of a teacher.

 

[blassoff]

I bought a PC-8 from Jim last year with a 48" harness. The box is mounted below the seat with the relay trigger attached to the brake light. I think I had to cut the trigger wire back about a foot, but otherwise it went in nicely.

I have heated grips, a gps, an autocom unit, and at least a couple of other items I can't think of right now.

I've always been very happy with the quality of Jim's hardware.

Good luck. Barry

 

[NW Jeff]

Too funny, I had just emailed Jim this morning. Here was my new guy questions and his answers. I'll share what I come up with when I get it installed.

Hi Jeff.
>Hi Jim, My first question is a NOOB one, so I apologize in advance. I intend to use the pc-8 with my FJR, mounting it toward the rear of the bike which is pretty new to me. As I start to order accessories I notice that most come with ring-leads for power. So, I was thinking I needed a central bus-bar to connect them all without several leads all connected to the battery at once. But then I saw your product mentioned on one of our forums pages, which definitely sounded like the way to go. My question is (and forgive my ignorance please): Do I simply cut the rings and insert the POS/NEG leads on either side of the fuse panel that contain the appropriate sized fuse?

Yes, you remove the inline fuseholder, strip the wires, insert, and tighten the

screws.

> My next question is regarding the PC8 fuse panel ordering page. When I tried adding the PC8 and 50A relay kit to the shopping cart, I didn't see the metric-pack (longer POS lead) option available on the combination page. I did see

>it available where the relay's were listed separately. Can I list the request via the Paypal site when ordering or will this email suffice? Thanks for your help! Jeff

I no longer offer the MetriPack fuseholder option. I have rarely sold Kits with

this option and frankly it's a tricky thing to get right. The MetriPack

fuseholder is also a bit bulky, especially with the 50A dual fuseholders. I

believe it's simply enough to make a short loop with the NEG lead if it's too

long.

At the moment I'm unsure the exact length to recommend for FJRs. Many have

chosen the 60" length. Recently it was suggested to offer a 74" length so I have

put that length online. Please measure up your bike using the proposed wire run,

and add a few inches. If unsure, order long and get the PC-8 Termination Kit so

you can shorten and reinstall the PC-8 terminals.

Then, if you can verify the length you think works best, please let me know.

My question to the group would be,(besides placement) would you prefer the 50A or 30A version? I figure bigger is better but would love to hear from those with experience.

Jeff

 

[Burnspot]

I bought a PC-8 from Jim last year with a 48" harness. The box is mounted below the seat with the relay trigger attached to the brake light. I think I had to cut the trigger wire back about a foot, but otherwise it went in nicely.

I have heated grips, a gps, an autocom unit, and at least a couple of other items I can't think of right now.

I've always been very happy with the quality of Jim's hardware.

Good luck. Barry

When you say "below the seat", are you talking about the rear position under the pillion (in front of taillight) or under the rider seat in the tool tray? Currently considering a PC-8 for a winter project to clean up my electrical stuff and replace the homemade fuse block I have behind my glovebox.

 

[JSLong]

I'll sell you mine. I bought it, it's still in the box. I'm not going to use it.

 

[Good2Go]

60" worked for me. PC8 is under the rider seat.

 

[tesla]

I'll sell you mine. I bought it, it's still in the box. I'm not going to use it.

I'm interested in your PC-8.

 

[tesla]

Got the PC-8 with 60 inch harness and having some sizing issues. Pictures below.

The positive wire from harness connecting to the battery terminal is shorter than the negative. It should be reversed for the orientation of our batteries. To secure it anyway would mean shortening the overall length of the harness.

Even if the the positive and negative wires to the battery were sized correctly, I'd still be 5 inches short to the PC-8 block assuming that it is positioned under the passenger seat in the tool tray (which looks to be a perfect fit).

It appears that the relay switch will have to live very near the crowded battery area. Not clear where I should mount it.

The relay wire needs to be about 30 inches longer to tap into the license plate light wire.

Tool tray looks like it was made for the PC-8.

Not sure if this pic helps. Look for red laser on relay switch.

 

[Roy Epperson]

It appears that the relay switch will have to live very near the crowded battery area. Not clear where I should mount it.

I don't have a picture of where I mounted my relay. The tool tray under the driver's seat comes off. Under it is one of the computers and between it and the rear inside fender is a nice hole. I used a large diameter sheet metal screw to attach the relay to the plastic. I put a fuse at the battery and ran power to the relay and the to the junction box I used. I also ran a ground wire the same size and the power line aft to the junction box.

I used a single throw double pole 30A auto relay. It is activated by the brake light. I attached the "switched on" connection to the junction box and the "switched off" to a pigtail which is kept under the seat where I can attach directly to the battery if I need a direct connection - e.g. battery tender.