Best Practices for Connecting Bare Wires to the Battery

[websterize]

Forgive a neophyte's electrical question: I ordered a Garmin GPS and will power it by connecting to the battery terminals under the seat. This is as simple as hooking the bare wires onto their respective terminals and screwing them down, right? Is it better to connect the ground first or second. Please advise.

[Trout]

Best practice says to disconnect the negative cable while doing anything electrical. If the negative is disconnected, then when you are attaching a wire to the positive side, and when your combo wrench touches something on the frame, then you won't arc weld the combo wrench to the frame! Those of us experienced in the mechanics of autos and bikes have a few combo wrenches in the box with deep weld marks from trying to save a step

Put the negative battery wires on last.

[Dauntless]

What do you mean by bare wires? If they are indeed bare, you need to crimp ring terminals to the wires and put a fuse on the positive wire as close to the battery as practical.

[mogu83]

You did use the term neophyte.
Yes disconnect the negative side before you start (-). You will have to put ends on the wire before you connect it to anything, buy a crimp type terminal kit ( it has most of what you will need). You'll need an in-line fuse on the wire connected to the positive wire (+). Pay careful attention to where you run the wires, they should be secured to something (usually the frame) and run so that they will not rub through the insulation and allow the smoke to get out of the wire ( a really really bad thing).

If you search you'll find all kinds of information about using the existing BMW GPS wire that is already on your bike, but if your not comfortable doing that your idea of going to the battery will work, but the wire will be hot (have electricity on it) all the time which isn't a really good idea although it will work.
Be careful where you run the wires. Good luck - take your time and check every thing twice and you'll have no problem.

[ka5ysy]

Best practice is to always use soldered connections. NEVER EVER use those automotive crimp-on things unless you solder them onto the wire. Go to Radio Shack or any good electronics parts store and get the appropriate crimp lugs and then solder them on the wire for perfect connection.

Also: Use a fused feed to the accessory you are installing, of appropriate size.

[websterize]

10-4 on crimping bare wires.

So I ordered a Zumo 660 and was ready to connect to the secret GPS CAN-BUS, in the neat way demonstrated . . . here.

But Garmin has changed the power cord on the 660, as shown at the bottom of this posting . . . here.

They've integrated four cables (audio in, audio out, usb and power) into one. I only need the power, as in the 550 cord, but don't want to cut off the other three. So it seems to mean the cleanest, simplest thing to do is run the three-foot 660 power cord under the fuel tank and connect it directly to the battery.

The 660 will be on the bike only when I'm on it.

[waynemathews]

10-4 on crimping bare wires.

So I ordered a Zumo 660 and was ready to connect to the secret GPS CAN-BUS, in the neat way demonstrated . . . here.

But Garmin has changed the power cord on the 660, as shown at the bottom of this posting . . . here.

They've integrated four cables (audio in, audio out, usb and power) into one. I only need the power, as in the 550 cord, but don't want to cut off the other three. So it seems to mean the cleanest, simplest thing to do is run the three-foot 660 power cord under the fuel tank and connect it directly to the battery.

The 660 will be on the bike only when I'm on it.

The cable for the 660 is long enough that you can use the CAN-BUS connector and still route the extra connectors under the tank to under the seat where they can be accessed if desired. Mine are tucked into a plastic bag that lives in the right side cover. If switched power is not an issue, the installation direct to the battery is slightly less effort. If you use the CAN-BUS connector the fuse in the cable is not needed as shown in your first example.

[websterize]

The cable for the 660 is long enough that you can use the CAN-BUS connector and still route the extra connectors under the tank to under the seat where they can be accessed if desired. Mine are tucked into a plastic bag that lives in the right side cover. If switched power is not an issue, the installation direct to the battery is slightly less effort. If you use the CAN-BUS connector the fuse in the cable is not needed as shown in your first example.

I'll try connecting with the CAN-BUS connector. This will be a fun project. Thanks.

[NeilS]

I can't agree with the comment about soldering the "solderless" connectors instead of crimping them on.

A properly crimped connection is a gas-tight, vibration-resistant termination that should be more than adequate for anything we're doing. The key is "properly crimped." Those cheap crimpers at Wal-Mart or the auto parts store won't do the job--you need a crimper with a ratcheting mechanism that assures the crimp was made with enough force. It's also important that the terminal be of the right size for the wire being used.

The problem with soldering is that the solder wicks up between the strands of the wire and makes the connection brittle. With vibration or repeated motion, the wire will break off just outside the connector barrel. If you MUST solder a connection, use heat-shrink tubing over the connection (extending at least an inch from the barrel) and secure the wire to something so there's no relative motion between the connector and the wire. But I'd still prefer a well-made crimp.

[snag]

+1 on the no solder thought. I grew up the son of an AME (aircraft mechanic) and was taught that soldering and vibration do not happily co-exist. I replaced a bunch of burnt out wiring (most of the main wiring harness) on my Kawi 250 probably 20 years ago and crimped everything. No problems in those 20 years and I have seen many frayed soldered connections over the years where individual wire strands have broken at the solder joint. If you look at the existing wiring on the bike, I doubt that you will find any solder.

+1 on good tools as well. Not only the right tool, but a quality right tool.

Doug

[deilenberger]

+1 on the no solder thought. I grew up the son of an AME (aircraft mechanic) and was taught that soldering and vibration do not happily co-exist. I replaced a bunch of burnt out wiring (most of the main wiring harness) on my Kawi 250 probably 20 years ago and crimped everything. No problems in those 20 years and I have seen many frayed soldered connections over the years where individual wire strands have broken at the solder joint. If you look at the existing wiring on the bike, I doubt that you will find any solder.

+1 on good tools as well. Not only the right tool, but a quality right tool.

Doug

I used to be a solder fan (grew up soldering things.. got my first iron at the ripe age of 7..) but I've pretty much switched to crimps for most things. One of the bargains - Harbor Freight has an excellent ratcheting crimp tool that does the three most common sizes with a double-hex crimp. Nice tool, was about $10 or less IIRC. I use it all the time.

[ka5ysy]

One thing to remember about soldered connections is that they must be properly done; cold joints, and using improper solder flux, get a lot of people in trouble. In high vibration areas, the proper protocol is to use a lot of zip-tie's to eliminate or mitigate vibration in the joints. Even crimp terminals are subject to vibration fatigue, and are probably more prone to those failures. I have both aircraft experience and marine experience, and I can say that most of the electrical work any of my crews ever did were solder joints and heat-shrink tubing. The boats that I have fooled with all suffered corrosion of crimp-joints, and the worst-case electrical problem caused by bad crimp joints caused a boat to sink under my feet while searching for a downed aircraft, because of a main electrical system failure causing loss of bilge pumps.

I would submit that crimp-terminals are used today mostly due to the fact that soldering is both labor-intensive (costly) , and subject to cold joints when someone is not watching what they are doing, causing electrical glitches.

I guess, since I am sort-of an "old fart" , and HAM radio geek, I am set in my ways and will always solder and heat-shrink tube my electrical connections. Oh... I also dab junction block screws with loc-tite !

[mogu83]

Remember the original post? We're talking about a self admitted neophyte.
Nothing wrong with that - we all have to start somewhere. I also solder everything but lately I'm having doubts about that being the best way to go on a motorcycle. Their are some really first rate connection devices out there (I like the posi-lock stuff) that do a first rate job of connecting wires. I also have recently realized that their can be a problem with soldering where the solder migrates up the wire and under vibration the area where the solder is in the wire could break.
I think websterize will have no problem mastering a crimping tool (as opposed to soldering), and the tool will look good in the tool collection he is about to start.

[deilenberger]

I think websterize will have no problem mastering a crimping tool (as opposed to soldering), and the tool will look good in the tool collection he is about to start.

+1 and I'll direct him right to the correct tool to use: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=97420

Great tool. One of this quality used in industry would be > $150..

[websterize]

You guys are the bee's knees. Thanks.

[ka5ysy]

I think websterize will have no problem mastering a crimping tool (as opposed to soldering), and the tool will look good in the tool collection he is about to start.

+1 and I'll direct him right to the correct tool to use: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=97420

Great tool. One of this quality used in industry would be > $150..

I have to exercise great self-control in Harbor Freight. It is kinda like a "head shop" for guys. Waaaay to addictive in there. The first time the doors opened at our local store, you could see the men going into the door and get a glazed expression on their faces. Me too !

My first words to my wife that day were "this place is gonna be expensive!"

The other bad thing is that it is across the street from her beauty shop stop, and when she is doing whatever they do over there, I head for Harbor Freight.

[famousperson]

Forgive a neophyte's electrical question: I ordered a Garmin GPS and will power it by connecting to the battery terminals under the seat.

This is what I did. It made for a neat and simple installation but there is a caution. I have, on occasion, forgotten to flip up the little cover that goes over the pins when the Zuma isn't on the bike. The pins have gotten wet. The area between the powered pins has begun to get corrosion salts on it (it's turned green), although I haven't seen corrosion on the pins themselves--yet.

One of these days, I am going to get brave and do a search on here for the instructions on how to install a relay, and I will hook everthing up through it and a Centec to avoid this problem with the Zuma mount and the Gerbing outlet I have that is also hooked up directly to the battery.

Since seeing the corrosion, It gives me chills thinking about riding through the rain with live, open circuits dangling off the bike.

[crazyhorse]

i'm a big fan of solder as well. if used properly, pre-soldering both sides, you should not have to use so much solder that it becomes so brittle as to break from vibration. i've had too many crimped connections simply slip out. however sometimes i have used a crimped connector with a little solder inside.

the new snap-type connectors that bite into the wire are what i tend to use now on my bikes. i put a little silicone over them to help with water/corrosion resistance.

wes

[whitelightning]

Sometimes silicone (RTV) can cause more problems than it solves. The acetic acid used in some of them can cause corrosion, especially on dissimilar metals connections. There are sealers available that don't use this method of curing.

[ShinySideUp]

Sometimes silicone (RTV) can cause more problems than it solves. The acetic acid used in some of them can cause corrosion, especially on dissimilar metals connections. There are sealers available that don't use this method of curing.

See:

http://tinyurl.com/lo2al8

About half way down the page, look for:

ELECTRONICS GRADE CLEAR SILICON Sealant/Adhesive

"non-corrosive, neutral cure electronic grade silicone sealant"

I guess it's good, because it meets the requirements of Mil-A-46146A-Type 1