Wiring in power for a Street Pilot

[dancogan]

I'm adding a Street Pilot to my R1200CLC, and would rather not run a cord from the power sockets under the seat up to the handlebars. I'd rather hard wire the power cord to a hot wire someplace near the front of the bike. I'm not a mechanic, and have never even changed the oil, but I can certainly unscrew some bolts or whatever. I'd really rather not have to take off the tank to go direct to the battery. Can anyone tell me where I might find a wire to tap into that isn't too hard to find, to hook up the power cord? Thanks for your help! :dunno

[bmwmick]

Dan,
Since the current draw is low, lots of folks tap power off the parning light.

HTH,
Mick

[dancogan]

Dan,
Since the current draw is low, lots of folks tap power off the parning light.

HTH,
Mick

Mick, Thanks for the start. Now, to show my total ignorance - where do I find the wire to the parking light? Do I take off the back of the fairing? Or is it exposed someplace going from the front of the frame to the fairing? Sorry to be so elemental in all this. Or maybe I go into the fairing from the front? Thanks for your patience.

[bmwmick]

Dan,
I don't have a CLC manual but usually you can access the parking light wiring by pulling the bulb out of the headlamp assembly and just solder a wire to the +12V wire and then lace it back to where you want the power. Use cable ties to run the wire along the other wires in the harness.

Sorry, can't help much more than than.

Mick :dunno

[bullit7801]

Hey Dan,

I use the parking lite wire to power my radar detector, but I often want the GPS powered when the key is off. Like checking routes at the campground. I would suggest some other source of power that is always on. While the parking lite wire is usually easy to get to, it is off when the key is off and I don't want to burn the parking lite just to power the GPS. Can't help you on your model as I don't know your wire system. I did run the GPS wire all the way back to the battery and am happy with the result. :D

Just something to think about.

tb

[bmwmick]

Dan,
tb brings up a good point. On my K1100 and my R1100 I wired the GPS power into my accessory position. You might be able to find the radio power lead and tap off there too.

Mick

[dancogan]

Mick and Tom,
Thanks to both of you. I'll get out my circuit tester and see if I can find a live wire. The radio wiring is a good idea, since it can stay on even with the key removed. Hope to have time this weekend to work on it, since we're scheduled for about 5 more days of rain! Getting PMS!

[bmwmick]

Dan,
You very welcome!
If you have a meter, using a hat pin to pierce the insulation is a pretty harmless way to probe wires.

Mick

[dlearl476]

How long will a bike's battery run a GPS? Overnight? Over a weekend? And still have enough juice to start a bike on a cold, wet morning?
IMHO, it's a lot smarter to set your GPS to run on internal batteries when it loses external power if you want to keep it running for any reason when you're off the bike. On my SS1000 a single pair of AAs lasted the whole 24 hours. I wanted it always on to track my average, stopped, and moving times.

[dancogan]

How long will a bike's battery run a GPS? Overnight? Over a weekend? And still have enough juice to start a bike on a cold, wet morning?


Actually the Street Pilot does not take internal batteries; it can only run from an external power source. However, I have toyed with the thought of wiring up a 12V battery pack of rechargeable NiCads, to keep in a tank bag. I haven't checked the current draw yet, so I'm not sure what would happen if the unit was left on overnight. But I know I don't want to push that CL very far, and never uphill, if it needs a jump! Thanks for your input.

[dlearl476]

Dan, the fellow that I refered you (?) to over on the XM thread, Ziggy, who runs XM411 also has a retail outlet (http://www.myradiostore.com/) He'd be a good guy to discuss your needs with.*
I have to believe that a SP would require a HUGE drawn, hence no internal batteries. (30 minutes on 10 AAs? :cry ) Perhaps an Aux battery that powered only the GPS with a circuit to iso it from output to the bike but not the charging system. Sounds pretty complicated when a simple hot w/ign circuit would do just fine.
Lastly, I worry about my GPSMAP76s, which will run 6 hours on two AAs. I wouldn't even THINK of wiring a SP to a hot lead. IMHO, if your battery was compromised in the least, it could drain it at a lunch break to the point it wouldn't start your bike.

*FWIW, he also has a bunch of cool XM accessories like permanent hard-wire kits (IMHO the "con" to the XM is it's 6v power requirement) external antenna (second con: 20' antenna length. No biggy in a car, but inconvenient on a bike) If I had it all to do over again, I'd get an "XM-to-Go", the whole kit-and-kaboodle in a Ipod size form factor.

[dancogan]

I thought I'd report on the (successful) conclusion of my project. I ran the power lead from the SP, along the wiring coming from the right grip, down under the front fairing. I then pushed a very flexible coat hanger from the left side panel access, through to the front. It came out near the horn. I taped the power lead to the coat hanger and pulled it back through. Then it was a simple matter to bring the wiring out the back of the access, and bring it down to the power outlets. They are live full time, even with the key off. I used a couple of tap-in connectors to wire in to one of those outlets.

Thanks for all the help and ideas. :wave