Centech AP-2 Install Pictures

Just wanted to post these up.

 

Howdy NCB, You know I looked at the pictures a few times and still came up with a question mark. What is it. eddie

 

Nice Job, now you have all the connections up front and on separate fused circuits too. Very clean install. If I add any more powered items I'm going to go the same route.

Eddie - its an extra fuse panel so you can hook up toys and not have to run a bunch of wires to the battery.

Action

 

It is a fusebox that has the capability to connect 6 accesories that are powered when the key is on and two accesory connections that have power all of the time. It can handle up to 30a. It also has a diode in the positive relay wire which blocks high voltage spikes to the bikes electronics system when the key is shut off and the relay opens.

It makes it much easier to connect all of my current and future accessories because the power is now at the front of the bike and you don't have to connect all of the wires to the battery. Very clean set up.

 

Nice workmanship. Now if only you had Dzus fasteners on the panels it would sure make it easier to get to your fusebox.

 

sounds like a tradeoff between:
a) running wires from behind the engine/under the seat to the front for each gizmo &

b) having to remove the port-side fairing to pull fuses.

Anyone with some experience care to comment on why one might be better than the other?

(on the images... I particularly like the crushed velvet photo background from Ron's retro-70's room :wink

 

The crushed velvet is actually a polishing chamois, LOL! Upon further review, I to, dig the red velvet looking background. It looks like I planned it that way, when actually I grabbed the closest clean rag so the shot wasn't taken on the asphalt floor of my garage :biggrin: It would have been hard to see.

When was the last time your machine blew a fuse? If you are constantly having to access the fuses you have problems a lot more serious than removing the fairing lower..........:wink:

 

OK, Noz, here goes…

Just to preface the following diatribe, I have a lot of experience in both AC and DC electrical design, fabrication, installation and repair, on a whole lotta stuff for a whole lotta years. As these things go, there are many cats and a variety of skinning knives. So from my perspective, with regard to motor vehicles, industrial equipment and the like, the bottom line is this:

Almost every electrical failure I have ever seen has been a dirty connection, or caused by a dirty connection, with the exception of a failed component or a broken/shorted wire. Taking that as a working inference, the less connection points there are to get dirty, the more reliable the system will be. If you know that you are going to connect more than one aftermarket accessory to the electrical system, one dedicated set of wires to a specialized sub-panel/distribution point would be a better solution, with one exception: There should always be a main fuse protecting the dedicated set of wires, located as close as possible to the battery terminal. Should that fuse fail, all of the circuits attached to the sub-panel stop functioning. I can’t imagine what sort of aftermarket motorcycle accessory would be regarded as critical, but all critical items should directly attach to the battery (such as a bilge pump in a boat).

All of you that have read any of my posts know that I tend to elaborate. I’ll be happy to add to this post with various and sundry commentary supporting my opinion, if anybody is interested. But I’ll spare you the agony up front…

Looks good, NorcalBoy!

 

Holy man! that is PRO. What an awesome idea, especially for a modding junkie like yourself. :wink:

 

The main fuse is in a WeatherPack waterproof fuse holder located 8" from the end of the positive battery lead. The main fuse for the AP-2 panel is located under the seat. There is also a diode installed on the ignition switched lead preventing reverse EMF flow back to the bike's electrical system. This diode protects the sensitive electrical system of the bike. When a relay is shut off, reverse EMF current flow is created in the switching coil circuit of the relay. This reverse flow is low amperage but high in voltage. A 1000v 1A diode ensures that the system receives no reverse EMF spike when the ignition is turned off. This is the optimum in extra system protection.

I have the correct allen wrench for the fairing lower and extra fuses stored under the seat - as a precaution. I am fully confident that blown fuses will not be an issue.

Quite a bit of thought went into the overall design of this system. I spent a lot of time calculating the respective electrical loads for each item I plan to install. This system is capable of handling way more load than it will ever be subjected to. I was very careful to make sure that the load wouldn't come close to the max available output of the VFR electrical system. It has a large safety factor calculated into the design.

I have to thank Jim Davis at Eastern Beaver for all of his assistance with the design and final assembly of this system. This system took almost three weeks of emails and communication before it was ever manufactured. Jim did an awesome job on the actual construction of the harness. I think you would be hard pressed to find a system with higher quality components and construction standards. All of the credit goes to Jim Davis at Eastern Beaver - I just installed it.

 

er, O.K. I purchased a Rule 800 bilge pump online - a perfect match for my VFR800 RWB, but don't know why I need it. Does this keep the electronics dry?

(o.k., that was the nozzle humor for the day, now seriously...)

Thanks for your efforts to explain.

I'm guessing I wouldn't need to replace a fuse in the panel, but am tending to want the fuses under the seat or under the front fairing - if I can find a spot - that I could access w/o having to pull the seat to get a tool to get to the panel ... likely this would happen only at night in the rain with high winds. But haven't settled on anything yet... just thinking. I have way less experience with wiring bikes and what can/will go wrong. so I'm just asking. Way more exerience with the boats and bilge pumps / buckets / bleach-bottle-bailers.

 

You know, Noz, that bilge pump could come in handy while you are standing in the rain, trying to replace a fuse in the dark, as you will probably be right next to a creek that will flood...

Murphy will insist on it.

And as a side note, I would greatly prefer magnetic circuit breakers over fuses, but the frikkin' things are big and expensive, even when they're miniaturized. So I guess what I am saying is that ultimately, electrical design is always a compromise. Sometimes the most important thing, after safety and reliability, is that the person who has to use it is comfortable with it.

Hey, if nobody else reads this thread, you can submit a picture of the bilge pump for Whatzit #3...

 

Hey Noz, it's all good! I know it's really hard to see how much thought and effort goes into a design, just from looking at the pictures. Thanks for all of your input and I do appreciate your humor too, as always! :biggrin:

This is really the first time I've done anything like this for a bike myself. I actually have an electronic design, assembly and testing certificate from the Southern Arizona Institute of Advananced Technology. :nerd: This may sound overly impressive, I have to be honest, this is the first time I have actually applied my studies in the five years since I completed the course, LOL! I took a two year program for something to do three nights a week, and because the State of Arizona helped pay for it!

I have a really good basic background, but I am no professional. Because of this I hunted down the best professional I could find that routinely deals with this type of thing and then just bombarded him with questions and theoretical ideas. I am glad he put up with my pestering! I hope that it has helped you at least a little to get ideas for your own future projects.

 

Norcal... I only know Structured High Intensity Testing methods. hence all the questions. Thanks :clap2:

The longer I think about it, the less work I actually must accomplish.

 

That is a great location as far as I can tell, and frankly I would have never thought of it. Frees you up beneath the seat where most people put them. I can't remember the last time I had to replace a blown fuse on a car or bike, been a long time. Ever since I was broke and buying junkers, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Plus it is for accessories, so it shouldn't be anything critical to your safety if something does go. I was looking at the Centech block too, and even the one from electrical connection, but lately have been looking at this http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=PRF-70207 not made or marketed for motorcycles, but I really like the fact that in one block I can have always hot, and switched power. For some accessories I was them to be always hot, and some I don't. Haven't seen that with any of the others, and was considering doing two of something like the Centech. Which of course adds complexity and makes it more of a pain in the booty. Anyone more elctrically inclined than me, got a better solution?
That diode thing you mention has me thinking though, you lost me about the EMF reverse flow honestly, but it sounds important ;-) Is that part of the Centech unit, or did you add it?
And where and what is Jim Davis at Eastern Beaver??? A friend? a motorcycle electrical shop?

 

The AP-2 is switched and unswitched in the same block, just like you mentioned. You can connect up to 6 accessories switched and 2 unswitched. Thats why I waited for the AP-2 instead of using the AP-1.

Jim is the owner of Eastern Beaver. Here is a link:

http://easternbeaver.com/Main/main.html

The diode is an availble option when ordering the relay kit.

I would be doing a little bit of research concerning the electrical draw of two completely loaded AP-2's...............

 

Thanks I googled it and saw, had never heard of him before and was initially hesitant to google eastern beaver at work. :smile: for fear of what matches I would get erronously

Saw the Ap-2 was switched that is new from when I looked at the fuse blocks last year, cool. I like that for its size, much better than what I was looking at, although not waterproof, that is a little scary for something on a motorycycle.

What measurements did you go with? if you don't mind, to save me having to measure.
And what did you go off of for the switched power?

 

Spike, with regard to the protection diode, and forgive me if I am being a bit too basic for the sake of clarity;

All mechanical relays are operated by an electromagnet that operates a set of contact points. The electromagnet (relay coil) stores energy, and when the relay is de-energized (turned off), the magnetic field in the coil collapses and creates a voltage spike (just like an ignition coil). If a diode is placed across the relay coil to absorb the energy, it prevents a voltage spike from traveling back through the electrical system and damaging any of the electronic components (hence the term "reverse EMF", EMF being Electro Motive Force). The only downside to adding the diode is that it will slightly delay the relay turn-off time, which is not a big deal in this case. :blah:

So the short answer is that the diode gives the leftover coil energy somewhere to dissipate, so Murphy doesn't get to pick it for you. Hope that helps!

 

The switched power comes from the rear taillight (last picture). Didn't write the measurements down and I can't remember exactly what they were, sorry.

 

Sorry, you did show that, that is what happens when I am popping in and out of the forum at work.

When did you order it, and are you willing to say your real name? And did you find that once you got it, any of your measurements were off and you couldn't wire something the way you thought.