Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: kawacop1642 on May 11, 2012, 09:37:39 AM
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The 5 amp acc. fuse keeps blowing when I plug in my 12 volt air pump. I will be making a 1 month trip to the west coast in july and will be doing alot of camping. I use the pump to inflate a air matress. I wanted to make sure everything is in working order before the trip. would it be safe to up the fuse to a 15amp, or would that create more problems? I pluged in my garmin and it works just fine. I also checked the pump in my truck's acc. outlet and no problems.
any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Mark
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If the air pump is rated at 5 amp or more for current draw then there is no way to keep the fuses from blowing and putting a higher rated fuse than 5 amp will most likely end up in melted wires or worse. Is the Acc outlet in the truck rated at more than 5 amp? If the air pump is a higher than 5 amp current draw device find another that draws less or have a hand pump handy.
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I'm thinking about adding one of those powerlet outlets to the bike. They are rated at 15 amps. Maybe that would solve my problem, but does the loose accessory wires located at the front left of the bike carry that kind of amperage?
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No, 5 Amps max. It's the same circuit as factory power port.
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You could try popping in a 7.5 amp fuse. I'm not saying you should, but many systems are built with some excess capacity. Personally, I would be willing to try a 7.5A, and would consider a 10A fuse in a fuse socket rated for 5A, but would not be brave enough to go any higher.
Having said that, on my C14, I added 2 Powerlets wired hot to the battery and am happy with that. Another cheaper alternative would be to hot-wire an SAE/Battery Tender outlet to the battery and use that to run the compressor.
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Install a powerlet and run it directly to the battery through a fuseblock of some kind.
The far superior 08's/09's have a 10 amp rating for this circuit. ;) 8)
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The pump is using more than 5 amps of current and popping the fuses. I would not increase the size of the factory fuse as you may overheat the bike's wiring (that is why the fuse is the size that it is).
The best way to connect devices that draw a lot of current is to use an aftermarket accessory plug. I like the ones supplied by Gerbing because of the connector (coaxial DC power connector) but you could also use something from a battery charger for example. Just put the correct mating plug on your air pump, install the accessory harness on the bike and it will work fine. A lot of motorcycle dealers will install something like this if you do not want to do it yourself.
Brian
The 5 amp acc. fuse keeps blowing when I plug in my 12 volt air pump. I will be making a 1 month trip to the west coast in july and will be doing alot of camping. I use the pump to inflate a air matress. I wanted to make sure everything is in working order before the trip. would it be safe to up the fuse to a 15amp, or would that create more problems? I pluged in my garmin and it works just fine. I also checked the pump in my truck's acc. outlet and no problems.
any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Mark
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You could try popping in a 7.5 amp fuse. I'm not saying you should, but many systems are built with some excess capacity. Personally, I would be willing to try a 7.5A, and would consider a 10A fuse in a fuse socket rated for 5A, but would not be brave enough to go any higher.
Having said that, on my C14, I added 2 Powerlets wired hot to the battery and am happy with that. Another cheaper alternative would be to hot-wire an SAE/Battery Tender outlet to the battery and use that to run the compressor.
I do have the battery tender wired to the battery. Maybe I can figure out how to hook the pump to the battery tender plug. Great idea!
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Looks like the pump is rated at 8 amps.
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The battery tender cable is almost certainly an SAE connector- one side is a male bullet and the other is a female bullet, both being molded into the same piece of rubber. The nice thing about SAE connectors is that they are all the same and there are not male and female connectors as there are with Gerbings connectors.
If the fuse on the battery tender is 10 amps or more, you could just get and install an SAE connector on your air pump to plug it in to the tender port.
Brian
I do have the battery tender wired to the battery. Maybe I can figure out how to hook the pump to the battery tender plug. Great idea!
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Problem solved!!
I cut a length of old SAE trailer wire I had laying around and soldered it to the plug end of the pump. Quick and easy fix.
It's now a dual plug application. hmmmmm....wonder if I can get a patent on that?
Thanks guys for all the suggestions.
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Make sure the polarity is correct. From the battery the shielded female is hot. This means the unshielded pin from the accessary is hot.
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So would his pump suck instead of blowing? ;)
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So would his pump suck instead of blowing? ;)
Did he buy it at a parts store or a toy store?[
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Make sure the polarity is correct. From the battery the shielded female is hot. This means the unshielded pin from the accessary is hot.
Also keep in mind that with this "Y" configuration (instead of making an adapter) when using the SAE connector, the unprotected tip of the lighter plug is hot. If it accidentally touches anything metal on the bike- boom!
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The far superior 08's/09's have a 10 amp rating for this circuit. ;) 8)
:goodpost: :thumbs:
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Also keep in mind that with this "Y" configuration (instead of making an adapter) when using the SAE connector, the unprotected tip of the lighter plug is hot. If it accidentally touches anything metal on the bike- boom!
The SAE connector on my battery tender has a rubber dummy cap that seals the plug when not in use. I'd suggest getting one of those and leaving it installed until you need to use the pump.
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The SAE connector on my battery tender has a rubber dummy cap that seals the plug when not in use. I'd suggest getting one of those and leaving it installed until you need to use the pump.
All of your suggestions have been taken into consideration and acted upon. I now have a dual plug (and safe) air pump.
I put a rubber boot on the lighter plug end, and a cap on the SAE end.
I'll be one happy camper come July...... 8)
Thanks for all the help