Cigarette lighter doesn't play well with others (tire repair scenario)

[PlaynInPeoria]

I had a flat and hooked a pump up to it.  It worked for a bit and stopped, I used another source for air but when I got rolling again, I noticed my GPS and radar detector had no power.  Obviously, I blew a fuse.  At the next stop, I swapped the fuse and was fine.

The moral of the story is, the pump pulled more than the 5 amp accessory circuit could tolerate which caused the fuse to blow.  In hindsight, I should have used the direct to battery jumper cables in the kit instead of the cigarette lighter in the dash. Now I know and so do you.

Side note, I used a Slime pump and a 'beef jerky' plug kit I got at a truck stop and have had forever.  It comes with 2 tools, about 5 beef jerky plugs and glue.   It's very easy and I did not use the glue and it held air for the remainder of the nearly 400 mile ride home.

Steps to do this:

1) Remove the offending object.  Ideally, it's a small thing like a nail that leaves a nice round hole.  Good luck with that.

2) Use the included reamer tool (aka Tool #1) to ream the hole. It was initially impossible to get in the hole, so I used a handy tool I found nearby called a rock.  I had to ream it until it would go in and out (easy, boys!) with a moderate level of effort.  It's better to not ream enough than to ream too much.  You can always ream more if the plug won't go in. Science has yet to perfect unreaming technology.  Also, cutting a board longer than it is would be very handy, ask me how I know.

3) Get a beef jerky plug out and using needle nose pliers (you brought those, right?), smash the end of the plug, taking it from rounded to flat. 

4) Now it's time to thread the needle.  Feed that initial bit you smashed flat through Tool #2, then pull it through from the other side with your needle nose pliers until you have equal amounts of jerky on either side.

5) Using this, shove it in the tire (might be hard, ream it more as needed).  I didn't use glue, it worked fine.

6) Yank Tool #2 out rapidly, the plug should stay in the hole.  Good luck with that also.

7) Cut off the excess with dikes or your knife (you really should carry more tools, you know that, right?)

Apply air pressure as needed.

After #7, I was done with plug mounting.  I was at a dealer, so they let me air it up and spray Windex on it, which showed no leaks.  I waited 5 minutes and checked the pressure again, still fine.  I thanked them, loaded up and rode 2 miles AWAY from the interstate and 2 miles back, TPMS reading was constant, I then hit the slab and headed out.  I stared at the TPMS a lot and eventually forgot about it and used the throttle heavily as needed (OK fine, as desired), so apparently the plugs are durable.  I don't recommend this.

Tool on the left is the reamer aka Tool #1, tool on the right is Tool #2, plug application tool.  This is not the brand I had but the components are identical.

https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1479055505&sr=1-4&keywords=tire+repair+kit

This is the pump I got (hook it to the battery, not the cigarette lighter!).  My kit didn't come with the green bottle of goo on the right, I used jerky plugs with no glue, it held fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Slime-50001-Power-Sport-Smart/dp/B000M8SY0I/ref=pd_sim_263_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CX49M2Y91WTAYR249GGR

And say a daily prayer it never comes to this.  Call me crazy but I would puncture a tire in the garage you are preparing to replace anyway so when have an actual failure, it won't be the first time you have ever done it like it was when I did it.  Do the rear, do it on the centerstand, no sense making it unnecessarily hard.  Simulate a 'side of the road' scenario as much as possible.

Hope this helps.

[maxtog]

Obviously, I blew a fuse.  At the next stop, I swapped the fuse and was fine. The moral of the story is, the pump pulled more than the 5 amp accessory circuit could tolerate which caused the fuse to blow.  In hindsight, I should have used the direct to battery jumper cables in the kit instead of the cigarette lighter in the dash. Now I know and so do you.

Actually, this has been discussed many times in the past.  The 5A accessory jack on the C14 was really designed for low-draw things like a USB/phone charger and such.  It is a shame, though, that it wasn't designed for perhaps 10A.  The connectors certainly are rated for much higher than that, but the wiring they used is tiny tiny tiny!!  Oh well.

[PlaynInPeoria]

You misspelled Guhl in your signature.  I have now corrected you once.  I have a long way to go to catch up, I'll work on that.

I suspected it had been discussed before, but people may not randomly search for this. A fantastic thread such as what I laid out before you will make them aware.  No need to thank me, your obvious infatuation with me is sufficient.

</Sarcasm>

[maxtog]

You misspelled Guhl in your signature.

Fixed!  Thanks... that has been wrong for a looooooong time.

I have now corrected you once.  I have a long way to go to catch up, I'll work on that.

 

[Conrad]

The superior Gen 1 C-14s have a 10 amp circuit instead of the 5 amp. The 10 amp is still cutting it close for some pumps.

If you have a battery tender connection to your battery this can be used for your pump. My pump and the tender have the same connector so the only thing that had to be changed was the inline fuse for the tender connection. I changed it from a 5 to a 15 amp fuse and it works perfectly.

[gPink]

Nice write up. I always use the glue. Both for ease of insertion (easy boys) and bonding.

[PlaynInPeoria]

My battery tender/heated gear connector has an oddball water resistance connector that breaks free easily when I walk away and forget to disconnect it.  I could make a small jumper to take it from that Deutsch connector to the SAE but I'm pretty lazy. It only takes one allen to get to the battery and that's not much extra work if you're already broke down.  10 amps would be nice though.

[maxtog]

The superior Gen 1 C-14s have a 10 amp circuit instead of the 5 amp.

Interesting.  I didn't know that.  After much effort, I did find that change when comparing the two factory service manuals (had to search through the wiring diagrams).  (Although it clearly says 5A in the gen2 OWNER'S manual, I don't have a gen1 owner's manual so that is why I had to dig through the service ones).  That doesn't seem like something they would have changed (changing the wiring or plug) so if it is supposed to be different, I suspect they might have had some issues with running it at 10A on the older bikes and had to reduce the fuse to the next step down to prevent problems?

The 10 amp is still cutting it close for some pumps.

The inrush current for motors can be rather high, especially if they didn't add any type of soft-start circuitry to it.

If you have a battery tender connection to your battery this can be used for your pump. My pump and the tender have the same connector so the only thing that had to be changed was the inline fuse for the tender connection. I changed it from a 5 to a 15 amp fuse and it works perfectly.

I don't have a pump, but do have a Tender and added the beefy connection straight to the battery, like you did.  The cabling and connectors are very substantial... far more than 5A.  I am not sure if I replaced that inline fuse with something larger, but I haven't ever tried to use it for anything other than the Tender right now.  I imagine 10A would be 100% safe.

[kzz1king]

Looks like the same pump I have. I have done a couple mc tires and a car tire as well with it. I hook mine to the battery tender lead. Sometimes I get the plugs right the first time, sometimes the 3rd Beats walking at any rate. Thanks for the write up.
Wayne

[MAN OF BLUES]

The actual wire gauge running up to the aux lighter adapter is the same on both generations, they just dropped the fuse rating down to prevent people from using the receptacle for constant use at 10 amps... you can stick a 10a fuse in there for emergency short term usage, like a pump, but test it before you need it, as it may still pop, pumps vary on current draw.

I have a simple lighter socket unit, with fast on 1/4" blade connectors, that I plug into my onboard aux fuseblock under the seat... that block is directly wired to my batt, and has a 35a rating, and inline fuse, the circuit on the block I plug into has a 15a fuse, it works fine... I have 6 usable circuits, and can fuse them according to need.

As for the tire plug thing....and take this for what its worth.... you wasted time, and effort, and place yourself at risk, when you made the choice of  NOT applying the glue.....
These plugs will last forever if glued in,  you are gamblingwhen you don't glue them, they were not designed for that type of application...

ALWAYS use the glue.... its what vulcanizes the rubber on the plug, to the tire....

Why is it, that EVERYONE pulls out the nail, then goes rooting around trying to get their plug ready for insertion, or finding tools, while the tire goes completely flat?
 

Also, when you find it difficult to get the rasp tool to poke into the hole, you simply coat the rasp with glue, generously, and shove it in there, push in and pul back twice, and let it sit there, with the glue on it, while you slobber glue on the rubber plug in its tool (pre inst the plug in the tool, and have it sitting next to you prior), then pull out the rasp, and jamb in the plug..... I do all this stuff while airing the tire up, to get it as full as possible prior to pulling out the nail, or doing the rasp thing...

So I'll suggest you rearrange the "numerical sequence of events" you noted, to be more like:

1) pull out kit and pump, prepare plug in insertion tool, hook up pump and start filling
2) slather glue on rasp, pull out offending nail/screw/invading poker thing....
3) insert glue covered rasp, pump in and out, and leav it in place
4) goober up the rubber plug with glue
5) pull out rasp, shove in glue covered plug, pull out tool.
6) continue filling tire and pick up and restore all your tools., and pump,
7) wait 10 minutes, and cut off remaining plug material,

They put that glue in the kit for a reason....  oh, I always carry an unpoened tube and spare plugs, along also, and when I open a tube of glue, I buy a new tube as soon as I can, and leave it unopened in my kit...

Good luck, hope that plug holds... id recommend re doing it correctly with glue, shouldn't be hard to push that plug thru anyways now.
I wouldn't ride it .

[maxtog]

The actual wire gauge running up to the aux lighter adapter is the same on both generations, they just dropped the fuse rating down to prevent people from using the receptacle for constant use at 10 amps...

That is what I figured.  Probably too many warranty claims and they took notice and "fixed" it.

[MAN OF BLUES]

That is what I figured.  Probably too many warranty claims and they took notice and "fixed" it.

Possibly, also the propensity for shorts and such, as the socket holder nuts tend to loosen over time, and the sockets bounce around...

Another thing is, in later models, the additional electrical draw from grip heaters and brake / traction control doo dads have to pull current from the main harnesses, that feed the individual fuse blocks, so reducing the load on those feeded wires in that harness by knocking 5a off that particular circuit, frees up some capacity from the main harness...
Logical, frugal, the Kawasaki way of thinking....heheheheh

[jimmymac]

I've never used glue with a plug, and never had a problem.

And I just stuck a 10 amp fuse in that slot. I've ran my pump without issues. I also made an adapter to go from my Gerbings outlet to a cig outlet. Just in case.

[maxtog]

And I just stuck a 10 amp fuse in that slot.

You live dangerously
Oh wait, we are riding motorcycles...

[PlaynInPeoria]

I did a survey of 5 of my friends, all 50+ riders with 30+ years of riding experience.  None has ever used glue.  I don't know that there is a downside to it, but for whatever reason, they never did. When I broke down, I called my retired buddy and he walked me through it (I had never done it) and he said, "No glue required".  It's still holding air.

I do like MoB reordering of my steps, it makes more sense to mount the pump ASAP and keep the tire pressure up.

Question for MoB.  Why do you put glue on the rasp?  The goal is to remove material and round the hole, the glue would lubricate it, reducing the rasping effect.  I can see gluing the plug with the 2nd tool.

[MAN OF BLUES]

The glue on the rasp thing was a trick I learned from a fellow that worked in a tire shop many years ago.
Often times you will have a very small puncture, a small nail, and rasping and reaming that hole out just makes it bigger, ... why increase the hole size???
Its also sometimes difficult to even insert the rasp, and doing so, sometimes when you get overzealous rasping away, you risk damaging chords in the carcass... the glue acts as a lubricant, and makes the rasp easy to insert, it also starts mixing with the tiny rubber bits being rasped during the process, creating a nice gummy ruber/glue mix, and when the rasp is pulled out, there is a nice glob of this already trying to seal the hole from the inside...

I seldom use the whole rope, doubled in half either, as it is simply overkill for a small nail hole....
I insert the rope into the tool, and leave one end long, and have about 3/4" to 1" sticking out the other side, when I insert the rope... goobered with glue, I push it till I feel the short end "pop" thru, and add about a 1/2" more shove, before retracting the tool, leaving a single rope, not double rope, in place...

Now, if the hole is large, like "loose when rasping" large, I do use the full doubled plug, but for 90% of small punctures the single strand always seals... when glued.
I did a demo at the 2007 national rally, using my plugs, and a can of glue, to let people practice this procedure before they need to do it on the road...
Iirc we installed almost 30 rope plugs in an almost bald rear tire, I drilled a 1/8" hole in the tire, left the drill in place, and let the person go thru the steps I outlined,  every plug held perfectly, I still have that tire, and it still holds air...

I don't gamble with bike tires.

[PlaynInPeoria]

30 plugs in a tire, that's gotta be a record.

So with the single strand method, you start with a double strand but one end is short and eventually goes all the way through, where you then have a single strand, because the hole is small and doesn't require a double (yes, I just said what you said, I think, anyway).

But man, that's gotta be hard to shove a double strand through a small hole?  I had to use a softball sized rock to get my rasp through the first time, then I rasped a bit and tried to shove the double plug in, but it wasn't big enough. I rasped a bit more and may have used the rock again to get both strands in  And yes, I had 1.5 inches left on both sides, which was wasted when it got cut off.

Maybe it goes in easier for you because you use glue, which lubricates.  That beef jerky stuff is TACKY, it took a fair bit of wrangling to get it free of the sheets of plastic it was in between. I was worried it would have dried up, but it was still super tacky to the touch and held well.

[kzz1king]

What I have trouble with is the plug pulling out when I remove the tool. With the single string method I am not sure I could get it to stayin the tire. May have to work on my technique.
Wayne

[MAN OF BLUES]

some insertion tools have the split at the tip, others have the opening on one side, the split tip type releases the rope when pulled straight out, the type with the notch on the side, requires rotating the tool 1/4 turn twist prior to/ during the tool withdrawal.. both work.. the plug will not pull out if you jerk the tool.  if you use glue, everything glides nicely, and seals.

My tools have the "tee" handle, and i can slam the plugger in with my hand, it's tight, but it goes in.
without glue, it won't slide in, and it's a dual purpose thing for the reasoning of the glue..