Hids auto electrician question

[Jiffy176]

Would it be worth putting a 20 amp in line fuse on the live draw from bike wiring to ballast as the 1150 has no fuse on the dipped beam? If I used waterproof fuse holder and heat shrunk joins any issues with this or should I just plu and play?
Cheers

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Hell yes. Every line should be fused (except the starter). I've seen too many abraded wires not to fit a fuse.

 

[Myke Rocks]

Would it be worth putting a 20 amp in line fuse on the live draw from bike wiring to ballast as the 1150 has no fuse on the dipped beam? If I used waterproof fuse holder and heat shrunk joins any issues with this or should I just plu and play?
Cheers

Since the bike is an 1150, surely it is fused already back under the seat.
This being so, a second fuse is pointless, since it just makes faultfinding more difficult.
Myke

 

[Jiffy176]

From searching the net 1150 dipped is not fused from what I can see though I stand to be corrected

 

[slimbo]

as a safe rule of thumb always use a fued link to any accessory that you are fitting. it makes sooo much sense .. dont rely on the bike coping cos it will catch fire one day!!

 

[Jiffy176]

Guys that's tremendously helpful is 20 amp overdoing it or do you think ok considering the start up draw?

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Depends on what the max draw is. Ifyou go a fuse roughy 1.5 x peak current, you shouldnt go too far wrong.

 

[Jiffy176]

Says 10amp on the ballast so if I went for 15a rated fuse as a start?

 

[(RIP) DitchWater]

Pull fuse 8 out and see if your dipped headlamp works.

 

[Jiffy176]

Fuse 8 in mine is a blank spare ditch

 

[Chrizm]

Ive fused mine at 10A on a 1100GS, Ive used same feed I put in for accessory socket to feed the ballasts and that was rated at 10A and so far no problems, not actually done a current draw check but Ive ridden it a few times without the 10A failing.

Always put in the minimum fuse you can get away with, its a lot cheaper to replace a fuse than carrying out re-wiring, not a big job either to swap a fuse at side of road either if the size is a little to low.

 

[(RIP) DitchWater]

Fuse 8 in mine is a blank spare ditch

A blank spare as in nothing present? My dipped headlamp went away and I couldn't find a fuse for it until I went beyond what the Paynes Manual said and discovered that Fuse 8 feeds that lamp. It was listed as Spare but had to work beyond that to solve my problem.

 

[Jiffy176]

Fuse 8 is just a plastic holder no metal and the fuse can be pulled out easily. There is a fuse in it but it's loose and I couldn't see any metal within. Tested and makes no difference to the headlight

 

[ian6760]

My 2p worth.

I'm not sure how you intend to wire your HID but I only used the original headlight supply to trigger a solenoid rather than power the ballast. Taking the ballast power straight from the battery via the solenoid, and fused the feed to the solenoid.

 

[Norfolk Tiger]

If you divide the watts of the component by the voltage ie 12v the figure you are left with is the amperage the component will draw.

 

[cookie]

My 2p worth.

I'm not sure how you intend to wire your HID but I only used the original headlight supply to trigger a solenoid rather than power the ballast. Taking the ballast power straight from the battery via the solenoid, and fused the feed to the solenoid.

i don't know why you'd need to do that, but i would think it would cause problems with a 1200 as the lamp fail would be triggered.

 

[ian6760]

i don't know why you'd need to do that, but i would think it would cause problems with a 1200 as the lamp fail would be triggered.

I don't think I needed to do it I just didn't like the fact that the headlamp is hard wired and not fused, so powering the ballast straight from the battery solved that. Plus the way I have wired it I can revert to a normal halogen bulb within 5 minutes on the side of the road if the HID ever failed.

I wouldn't ever have to worry about triggering the lamp fail on a 1200, because I'd never buy one. LOL

 

[Jiffy176]

I have the option to turn my lights on and off so there is no need for a relay. I wanted to make sure I was not going to do more harm than good. I got a splash proof fuse holder and cut the live that hooks up to the headlight live soldered the fused wire into this. Heat shrunk it and taped. Tested with a 10a rated fuse and worked fine. I will do the calculation above to check fuse rating however I remember it does say max 10a so when I get time to install I can see how it goes.
Cheers

 

[uncle dick]

If you divide the watts of the component by the voltage ie 12v the figure you are left with is the amperage the component will draw.

That fails to take into account the efficiency of the ballast and its startup draw which will be more. Don't run fuses too close to the limit because if they do fail you dunno whether it was the fuse rating or a fault. If something goes short circuit it'll blow a 20A as quick as a 15A so you might as well have a bit of leeway.

It's also worth knowing that the rating on many glass fuses is the load current whilst more modern (blade and ceramic) fuses give the 'blow' current. The latter is what we use on most stuff nowadays.

My advice: Headlight/driving light circuits - 20A fuse
Everything else - 10A.

If you've worked out current draw and think 20A ain't enough then most wiring will be at its limit as well so you'll need to double up. The odd exception might be an intermittent load such as a horn.

 

[Jiffy176]

Most useful thank you I'll up the fuse rating accordingly. According to the calculation running power is 4-5 amp so I guessing start up is nearer 10.