powering accessories on a CAN-bus bike

YouTube · Post by **Paul** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:55 am

I have just bought and fitted a fuse panel and relay combination on my F800S, so I have 8 power take offs for powered accessories now, all protected by fuses and all live only when the ignition is on. This might be interesting for R1200 riders who also have the CAN-bus wiring system that can make fitting electrical toys a bit of a nightmare. Here's how it looks:

First of all, taking the plastics off the F800 "tank" to see what lurks under their:

Petrol lives under the seat on the F800, so the "fuel tank" in front of the rider is actually home to the airbox. Note the nice rectangular indentation in the top of the airbox which is ideal to site the fuse panel. Also note the rectangular indentation on the side of the airbox which is an perfect size to locate the relay. Finally, there is a flying power cable just to the lower right of the relay indentation on the picture, which presumably is there for the BMW Navigator III power take off.

So here's what the installation looks like:

I mounted the fuse panel on a piece of board cut to exactly the size of the indentation in the airbox, to stop it rattling around in flight. I used velcro and (of course) duct tape to hold the relay in place in the perfectly sized indentation on the side of the airbox. The thin orange wire coming out of the relay was tinned using solder then inserted and taped into the GPS(?) power socket, to give the reference voltage to trigger the relay when the ignition is on. The fuse panel is then wired to the battery, with the positive line routed via the ignition controlled relay.

Voila! 8 fused power take offs controlled by the ignition switch

Now I just need to plumb in my autocom and GPS (sorely tempted to purchase myself a Zumo when they are available) and start thinking about another 6 accessories to buy

The fuse panel and relay were purchased from http://www.motorradconcepts.com/

Cheers,

Paul

throttlemeister · Post by **throttlemeister** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:07 am

Very nice mod, for any bike. However, I don't see the link to the CAN bus with this. There is no issue wiring stuff directly to the battery with a CAN bus equipped bike, which is basically what you do in a nice and professional way. The problem arises when you need to tap into the wiring of excisting features, for instance when you want something triggered by the brake light.

YouTube · Post by **Paul** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:13 am

throttlemeister wrote:Very nice mod, for any bike. However, I don't see the link to the CAN bus with this. There is no issue wiring stuff directly to the battery with a CAN bus equipped bike, which is basically what you do in a nice and professional way. The problem arises when you need to tap into the wiring of excisting features, for instance when you want something triggered by the brake light.

Exactly. I think you just answered your own question. On my R1100S, I used to power my GPS off the tail light circuit and my GPS off the instrument lighting. If I tried to do that on my CANbus bike, the computer would have a fit and refuse to light up my tail lights or instruments...

Wiring it to the battery direct removes this problem, and the relay gives me a nice way of cutting the power when the ignition is off, so my battery isn't drained by my autocom.

Cheers,

Paul

throttlemeister · Post by **throttlemeister** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:32 am

Ah, ok I get you now.

I always powered my GPS directly from the battery, cause I want to be able to use it while the bike isn't running.

However, there are acessoires that for instance allow you to control or setup the device by tapping the brake. I was thinking in that direction, and that needs different kinds of smart solutions.

nab 301 · Post by **nab 301** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 11:04 am

Handy to know that this method works on can-bus electrics, although it's just as useful on std bikes for heated grips and the like . (they are switched off automatically with the ign switch)
Nigel B