What is it with vehicle manufacturers? Are they that mean that they can't put a couple of extra switched circuits in their fuse block? The high end after market ones are great but expensive, there appears to be nothing in the middle and the low end stuff is rubbish and not suitable for bouncing around under the seat. So I bit the bullet and installed a small active bus and an earth bus. The active bus is housed in a robust plastic container and is powered through a fused relay. The earth bus is screwed to the plastic box lid. The relay is good for 30 amps, my wiring is 15 amp and the fuse is currently 15 amps but I will see if I can get away with 10. The active bus is just that; a bus, and not a fuse block. I might use in line mini blade fuses for the accessories but probably not given my heated hand grips are less than 5 and I only intend to add a dual USB charger (Max three amps) and maybe, some led lights. Here is a picture. By the way the coiled blue wire is the trigger for the relay which I intend to take from the capped plug above the head on the left side. Still waiting for the BMW plug to come from Munich
Very similar to what I did. I only wired mine for 15A, for the heated grips and a powerlet outlet to use for USB charging. It's worked for me for close to a year. I'd like to make a higher quality, beefier, more robust version, but I haven't gotten back around to it yet, since I've had no problems. Originally, I was going to tie into the tail light wire, but then ended up running my trigger wire up to the headlight, and piggy backed it off of the driving light. Soldered it onto the crimp. So, it's not as clean as a plug, but at the time no one seemed to know where to source one from. I can remove it though with a touch of an iron, so it's not too bad.
Can you tell me exactly what I need to buy to make this setup? I also plan to run heated grips and my dual USB is currently wired straight to my battery (with a inline fuse). Do I understand correctly that the relay from the capped plug will just switch on the power straight from the battery? Sorry I've never really gotten deep into electronics.
Can anyone tell me where to get what I need to setup a switched power supply? Is a relay the way I mentioned in my last comment possible?
You get one of my awesome MSPaint wiring diagrams! This is basically what a relay system will look like: The signal wire doesn't pull much juice, it's just there to flip the switch. I think I have my signal wire ran with 22 awg. Pre-fuse I have 14 awg I think. And after the fuses I'm using 18 awg. You'll need to figure based on your accessory draw. I have heated grips on one circuit with a 10 A (I think) fuse, and the cell phone charger on a 2.5 A fuse. I actually have an additional fuse prior to the relay, but I left it out in the quick drawing. It's a 15 A, as that's all the larger relay I bought and I have no plan of using my current setup above that. So, assuming you have the wire. You will need a relay. Base this on what you plan to run, with my modest requirements, I used a small one from Radio Shack (expensive but I thought the project over lunch and wanted to pick up parts quick). The fuse holder I used was from an auto parts store, it has the capacity for 4 fuses. Then I also used a terminal block to tie in after the fuses, so I had a clean spot to wire my circuits to. I put it all in a small project box with some double sided foam tape. I don't have a detailed part list complete with numbers and pricing, but you should be able to scrounge up everything locally. The most important thing is the fuses, you really don't want to fry any electronics because you wired things wrong (or have the whole thing burst into flames on top your battery). And yes, the accessory plug should only be on when the ignition is on, so you can use that as your signal wire. You'll need the plug though which can be expensive, if you actually find one.
This looks to be exactly what I need, does that price seem high? http://www.ebay.com/itm/331084641278
Jon, it does seem high after you import it, you should be able to find a device local. Maybe talk to your dealer or an autosparky.
Sorry, for the tardy response, Jon, l have been off the air riding in the Andes for some weeks. It seems you have solved your problem. From what I understand the FZ-1 is an excellent solution. I opted for a less elegant homemade one mainly because I had the time and inclination. I have decided to take the 'signal' for the relay from the plug which is discussed at the 'Switched 12v Power Supply' thread. This required the purchase of a $25 male plug from BMW.
I am interested in the same plug, do you have a part number or a link to where I could buy one? It just seams cleaner than splicing into the wire.
I understand that BMW part number 83300402344 fits the plug on the right side just above the head. I have purchased the plug but have yet to install it due the holiday I mentioned above. I strongly recommend that you read the thread at: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/switched-12v-power-supply.30803/
