K11 Owners Group

[Milton]

As you might guess I am the electrician. Electricity has always baffled me, about all that I know is if I grab hold of the hot end it give me a jolt.

I commute on my bike quite regularly in relatively heavy traffic. Lately when I get into town (mucho stop and go) the temperature of the bike has been getting pretty hot so I decided to wire in a secondary fan switch.

I tapped into a relay in the electrical box at the end of the gas tank. Blew about 5 fuses trying to figure out which wires would jumper the fan. Finaly found 2: 1 is from the #7 fuse and the other is a violet/? colored wire right next to the #7 fuse wire. Jumpering these 2 wires would activate the fan so I spliced into the 2 of them and inserted a switch. Took it out for a test ride around town for a half hour with the fan running all the time without any seeming ill effects. My question is is this alright? Seems that the way I am doing it is bypassing the relay and going directly from the hot #7 fuse to the fan moter directly. I saw some posts about relays and ballast but are they really necessary?

Thanks,

Milton S.
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Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick!

1992 K100RS 48K. Dead for now.
1998 Triumph Tiger 43K->56K. Doin it in the dirt.
1978 Honda CB400T 32.5K. For my boys.

[chopper_harris]

This is an FAQ, last covered around five weeks ago

http://www.k11og.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4759&highlight=

It looks as though you have found the Violet/Yellow fan feed wire by a process of elimination, but your power source is uncertain.

Jumpering wires around the fusebox is never a good idea. It inevitably leads to weakened connections.
These 'fit and forget' bodges often come back to bite you in two winters time.

Do the job properly - the odds of you getting a relayed feed to work appear low, so take an in-line fused supply from the battery.
Cable-tie one red wire along the existing loom for neatness and clarity.

The switch you are currently using is rated at 10A or better, isn't it

Mount this switch in a discrete location, and take the output wire to the fan motor connector.
Carefully cut the outer sheath back about 1", and use a scotchlok connector to join up with the Violet/Yellow wire.

Wrap carefully in red electricians tape (indicates a modification to a 12v feed) and enjoy.
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C1 200 (2001)
R100 RS (1990)
NSU Quickly N (1964)
Honda 400/4 F1 (1977)
MotoGuzzi 1000C (1978)
Suzuki TL 1000 R (1999)
Kawasaki KLV1000 (2005)
K12R Sport (2007) - Wifeys