for someone who knows more about electricty than I...

OK, I freely admit that I suck with electricity, don't know why, reasonably smart guy, just never got it. But hoping someone can explain the following. On my last few bikes, I have installed a Powerlet outlet on the side, for an electric vest (well the BMW came with a BMW port, but same thing). I have always hooked them straight into the bike's battery. I also used that same port to plug in a battery tender when not riding, so much easier than taking off the seat and using the alligator clips or adding on the dedicated Battery Tender hook up with the flat plug. Now on my '04 VFR, I again have hooked up a Powerlet outlet, but this time I routed it thru a aux fuse box (Eastern Beaver) because I installed several accessories and didn't want them all on the battery post. The plug works fine for my vest, but when I plug in the Battery Tender, the red light blinks red indicating it is not hooked up right. I am guessing this has something to do with routing it thru the fuse box, but not sure what. Something, I am guessing, is there to keep the electricity flowing in only one direction? Just wondering if, even though it seems to be working, and I don't think it does, if it means I did not install the fuse box correctly somehow.

Now debating whether to unhook the Powerlet outlet from the fuse block, although I have already trimmed the wires and hook it directly to the battery post. Or to just run the normal battery tender hook up from the battery.

 

The fuse block should have no effect, unless the fuse blew when you connected the Tender. I would question the negitive side of things and/or polarity. The vest probably does not care which is the + lead, since it is just a resistive load.

 

What model did you install and does it have a relay?

 

The two above posts should provide your answer. If there is a relay, I believe that will stop you from being able to use the tender. If there isn't one then power should be flowing straight from the fuse box to the battery on both positive and negative. If your battter tender leads are going to the wrong side it will not charge and give you the blinking light.

 

Same as above. Check the polarity of the fuse box. Chances are the connector is reversed.

 

When you hook anything up directly to the battery, then there will be conductivity both ways. If you hook something up on the side of the fuse panel, opposite the battery, in other words, the power must run through the fuse panel to reach the appliance, then normally the ignition must be turned on before any power would reach any appliance. This would be true for the power from a battery tender to return to the battery. Does your vest work when it is just plugged in and the ignition off or must the ignition be on before the vest works. If I were at home, I would draw you a simple diagram to explain and scan it in but I am away from home for the month. Hope you are able to figure it out. If not, I can help more in March....Olympics keeping me away from home right now.

 

Nope, no blown fuse otherwise the vest wouldn't work.

 

The model of the aux fuse box, right? The Centak, this was before they came out with their own. It does have a relay, so some of the spots are always on, and some of the spots are only on with the bike. I made sure to install this powwerlet outlet on one of the always on spots, specifically because I wanted to use it for charging. I also checked that function of it by turning the key to the on position, to see fi the light on the battery tender would stop blinking. It did not. Although I did not start the bike, since I figured that wouldn't be healthy with the battery charger attached. The relay is hooked into my rear tail light, so as I understand it, it should have power when the switch is in the on postion, and not need to be running. Plus, and again, i suck at eclectrical work, the fact that the light is blinking on the tender tells me the plug is getting something in the way of current, right? If I plugged it in and there was no electrical current at all, I would expect no lights at all. Right?

 

But wouldn't that mean that anything else I had connected to the fuse box wouldn't work either? Like my alarm? Tire pressure monitoring system? both are also hooked up to the aux fuse box, both work fine.

or do you mean that I may have hooked the PowerLet outlet into the fuse box wrong/reversed?

 

I haven't tried the vest in the garage, with the bike off, I will have to do that.

 

On your relay there will be a diagram and the blades of the relay are numbered. The blades will be numbred 85,86,87,87a and30. What do you have wired to each of the blades?

 

So why not just hook the battery tender DIRECTLY to battery terminals, eh ??

 

Could it be that you're simply not allowing the Battery Tender sufficient time to recharge the battery? You might try plugging it in and then forget about it for a couple of days because the flashing red light will continue to flash until the recharge reaches a certain point, and then the red light should go off while a green light comes on. Just a thought.

 

That's what I thought when I read this. It's just trying to charge the battery, and you won't let it.:biggrin:

Nobody puts diodes in fuse blocks. Wouldn't make any sense. Current should flow either way in your setup.