Fuse question

[Bigtwin]

Lack of paperwork and brain power at this hour mean I'd be grateful for help.

I have micro DEs and PIAA 002s (35w) running so that they can be on together (PIAAs on main beam, Micros indep switched as running lights). I am running them on the same feed to the battery, with a relay for the mains obviously.

Blew the fuse today in normal use.

Question is - what size fuse can I safely go up to in-line to the battery?

Cheers all.

 

[Grumpy Lee]

Add all your wattage together, divide by your voltage and that will give you the amperage you'll be drawing (e.g. 100watts / 12 volts = 8.33amps)

 

[Global Rider]

Question is - what size fuse can I safely go up to in-line to the battery?

Cheers all.

That depends on the relay and wire gauge feeding your lights. You can't just insert a 30A fuse into the relay if the relay and the supply wire is designed to handle 15A.

 

[Bigtwin]

Add all your wattage together, divide by your voltage and that will give you the amperage you'll be drawing (e.g. 100watts / 12 volts = 8.33amps)

Ta. That makes 15A by my reckoning. Is that too much draw to put down one tube - ought I to split the feeds?

 

[Deleted account 220427002]

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showpost.php?p=577502&postcount=3

you also have to allow for current draw on start-up

 

[Frank Warner]

ought I to split the feeds?

Umm if the fuse blows - all the lights go out? Bad. (Don't ask, it is awfully black when all the lights go out at night at 50 mph)

Suggest you have two fuses - one for the DEs the other for the PIAAs. You'll also need to run separate wires and relays ... but you should always have one set of lights working ...

 

[Bigtwin]

Umm if the fuse blows - all the lights go out? Bad. (Don't ask, it is awfully black when all the lights go out at night at 50 mph)

Suggest you have two fuses - one for the DEs the other for the PIAAs. You'll also need to run separate wires and relays ... but you should always have one set of lights working ...

Nope - none of this alters the standard lights - I have wired nothing into them to avoid that problem, so it's not a blackout situation. And none of them are on at start-up.

To explain further, what I have done is wire one in-line fused feed from the battery, which then splits down stream from the fuse, to power each of the lights' set-ups as they came out the box - own relays etc. So, there sould be no worries with the wire capacity, so long as the bit between the battery and the split is up to it - and I used some pretty heavy stuff? The fuse holder (blade type) does not have any max rating on it or similar.

 

[Steve]

Personally I'd go for dual feeds from the battery, with a 10A fuse in each. That's the way I've set mine up, with the switched wire from the relays going to the dipped and main beams respectively.

 

[Bigtwin]

Personally I'd go for dual feeds from the battery, with a 10A fuse in each. That's the way I've set mine up, with the switched wire from the relays going to the dipped and main beams respectively.

Yup ta - seems like the logical option. Pants! Tank off, shrink wrap off, phaff phaff phaff.

Or: Playing with bikes again!