FUZEBLOCKS FZ-1 FUSE BLOCK INSTALLATION

Transcription

1 FUZEBLOCKS FZ-1 FUSE BLOCK INSTALLATION FZ-1 Fuse Block purchased from Cyclenutz dot com P.O. Box 954 Waukesha WI price $74.95 plus $8.95 shipping & handling - Total $81.90 Photo of FZ-1 Fuse Block with cover attached Photo with cover removed Direct-wire connection - no wire terminal rings are needed. Built-in relay for the ignition key-switched power circuits is direct-soldered onto circuit board. Unit appears to be well-made of high quality construction. Is indicated to be highly weather-resistant and splash-proof. Accepts Mini size blade type fuses. Six individual fused circuits. Each circuit can be constant power or switched-only power simply by changing the insertion position of the fuse. Includes ground bus and sockets for 2 spare fuses. Closeup pic of circuit board. Manufacturer s wire hookup diagram from the Installation Guide appears on the next following page. Instructions were very clear and concise including wire gauge size recommendations.

2 FZ-1 Fuse Panel Wiring Hookup Schematic From Installation Guide INSTALL LOCATION ON 2009 HONDA GL1800 GOLD WING - WITH NO CB / CD PLAYER (Feasible if you do have CB radio only). FZ-1 Fuse Block reportedly will fit underneath the left battery side cover on a GL 1500, but it will NOT fit under the left side cover on the GL I installed mine in the rear trunk s CB radio / CD changer sub-floor cavity.

3 My GW has neither CB Radio (no desire for one) or CD Changer (because I use XM Radio and MP3 Player). I wanted easy access to fuse block but did not want to mount it directly to cavity floor. I decided to mount the fuse block on a support tray lift panel that rests upon the two molded-in sidewall shelves of the sub-floor cavity. Apparently, these are shelves upon which the stock OEM divider panel would rest dividing the lowermost CB cavity from the uppermost CD Changer cavity, if the bike is so equipped. In this fashion I can store small-item stuff adjacently next to the fuse panel in the upper cavity, as well as lift up the tray panel for access to store small-item stuff in the lower cavity underneath the tray panel. Photo shown with the 09 GW s trunk floor removable cavity cover lid removed for photo. FZ-1 Fuse Panel and a 12V power accessory socket installed onto the lift-up tray panel. A flat-lying swing-up D- ring was used as fingerpull to lift tray panel upward to access storage compartment underneath the tray. I used a Casco 12V power outlet obtained from Wal-Mart for rough cost of $8 - $9. Have seen identical outlet in auto parts stores under brand name Bell. Spring-loaded protective cap cover is quite strong and presses against side body of an accessory power plug inserted into power outlet, thereby helping to hold the power plug very tightly & securely in socket to aid reliable electrical contact. I also picked up a triple-socket 12V power panel from Wal-Mart attached via industrial grade Velcro to center of main trunk rear wall. (See pics on next page). Power wire runs under trunk carpet mat and CB-CD cavity lid, plugs into socket on tray panel, thereby tripling 12V power supply in main trunk, with total of four 12V accessory sockets in trunk for approx $25 cost. When the triple-socket power panel is not needed or not in use, if-as desired, I can simply pull it off the trunk wall Velcro and stash in the CB-CD cavity, either above or below the fuse panel tray.

4 I debated material to use for the tray support panel - plexiglass, Lexan, etc. I ultimately decided to use this smooth-finished 1/4-in. thick crafts plywood panel obtained from local crafts supply store for about $6 - simply for ease of cutting it and attaching items to it. After cutting out tray template, I spray-painted it black to match trunk interior. This panel was thus very easy to work with, and provides adequate non-flexing rigidity and support. A dimensional sizing template for the lift-up support tray panel is shown on the next page.

5 SIZING TEMPLATE FOR LIFT SUPPORT TRAY (Note comments below the illustration) Actually, you do NOT need to cut out the curved arc at the top of the template at all. A regular straight-cut rectangle will fit fine and clear the raised hump in the CB radio cavity. I just cut the arc because I hadn t yet removed the seat and thus wasn t sure where I might end up deciding to drill the front wall of the trunk for the fuse block s wiring harness. If you elect to use a lift tray panel yourself, I suggest just using a regular rectangle shape because the hump region doesn t afford any convenient location for wire harness pass-through, as you ll see in subsequent pics later on herein. The dimensions shown in template diagram are intended as a general guide and will provide a loose fit and minor clearance leeways which should account for any slight variations that may exist in the dimensions of the CB-CD cavity between differing model-year Gold Wings. You should of course measure your own cavity dimensions on your own motorcycle and adjust size dimensions as per your own preferences. Suggest making a cardboard template first to verify if the above dimensions are suitable on your individual particular motorcycle.

6 Assembling Components Onto The Lift Support Tray Panel I pre-wired all 6 circuits for fuse panel and (hereafter) over-wrapped them all with electrical tape into a bundled wire harness. I didn t have a handy-sized wooden lift knob laying around. Did have a tiny little U-bolt clamp designed for clamping steel-braid cable, so I used that plus a D-ring for a tray lift pull-up handle. That worked out nice since the D-ring can fold relatively flat. I located a rubber wire grommet with central circumferential groove wide enough to accommodate the thickness of the trunk s front body-wall at Lowes Building Supply store. You ll need a grommet with a fairly wide groove in it. I used white plastic self-adhesive-backed wire retainer holders from local hardware store, which have large lever-handles for ease of opening and closing the retainers. Power socket & fuse block mounted on tray, with fuse block cover installed.

7 Power socket & fuse block mounted on tray, with fuse block cover removed. I ll be using Smart Fuses with built-in integral LED lights that glow if-when the fuse is blown. It wasn t really necessary, because there was just enough clearance as is... but... the triple-socket power suppy Velcroed to the main trunk s rear wall has a wire with cigarette lighter plug that passes underneath the trunk s carpet floormat, underneath the front of the CB cavity lid and plugs into the 12V power socket on the fuse block mounting tray panel. So - just to avoid any possible wire chafing, I used a Dremel tool to notch out the front lip of the stock OEM cavity lid for the 12V power adapter s supply wire, at the location shown here. DRILLING THE TRUNK HOLE FOR FUSE BLOCK WIRING HARNESS - A WORD OF CAUTION - ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE STOCK OEM HEATED SEAT I used 14-gauge wire for the six fuse block circuits. Once tightly tape-wrapped into a bundled wiring harness, the diameter of harness was just a tad thicker and just a tad less flexible and bendable that I had anticipated. I could have been a tad more judicious in trunk wall drill hole location but got lucky - I ended up having enough clearance for the wire harness to clear sufficiently enough to avoid harness chafing over time by the metal mounting tab that holds the electrical connection power supply Hitachi plug for the 2009 Gold Wing stock OEM heated seat. See the following photos. Take your time, go slow, and chose your trunk wall hole-drilling location very carefully for your application needs and your own year-make-model Gold Wing. The next 4 pics will illustrate why (especially if you have a heated seat).

8 (Seat Removed). Photo shown with the metal clip that holds the heated seat Hitachi plug connector removed. Here s the referenced metal clip that holds the aforementioned heated seat Hitachi Plug connector. The visual view-angle of pic is mildly deceiving. I was able to run the fuse panel s wire harness, routed as shown by the yellow line, without the harness contacting any edges of the metal clip - and secure the harness so it won t ever move into any contact with the clip - but it sure was a lucky close call... so be very, very careful when you decide where to drill the hole in your trunk wall!!!

9 The fuse panel wire harness route path shown here - cable-tied to the inner side of left frame rail and portions of the stock OEM harness that runs along that same frame rail - did not create any problems with clearance or pinching by the underside of the stock OEM seat pan. The fuse panel wire harness continues along the left frame rail to a point just forward of the frame rail cross-member near top rear of gas tank. It then splits right-left as described below. The continuing Wire Run A is the fuse panel s main positive & negative leads to the battery terminals... and to the stock OEM Fuse Panel s positive Accessory terminal. That third wire connected to the OEM fuse panel Accessory terminal is the wire that provides power to the FZ-1 relay which powers any of the circuits for which the fuse insertion position makes a circuit switched only, powered only when the ignition key is in the On or Acc position. Wire Run B continues across the bike from left side to right side, over the top of gas tank and in front of the Relay Bank Housing Box. These wires are the positive and negative power wires for connection to your add-on electrical accessories. I utilized 14 gauge stranded wire, double wires similar to lamp cord, colored red and black, obtained from Radio Shack, for easy visual ID of positive and negative wires for each one of the circuits attached to the FZ-1 fuse panel which exit from the trunk body. The power connections to existing accessories were made in the region under the right body side cover where there s plenty of room for routing, connecting and tucking wires above, below and behind the gas tank body. The ends of the remaining two (presently-unused accessory-item circuit wires) were shrink-tubed and tape-wrapped for protection against short-circuits and the weather. They were cable-tie-routed along the lower frame side-rail beneath the gas tank, above the passenger footrest area, beneath the right body side cover, where they are easily accessible for connection to additional accessories in the future. With the exception of the direct-connect screw terminals on the FZ-1 fuse panel, stock OEM fuse panel and battery terminals, any-all wire connections were soldered, shrink-tubed and tape-wrapped for reliable and weatherproof connections. COMMON GROUND & HOT BLOCK Had occasion to desire a common ground block. In the past I ve used the common ground block offered by Electrical Connections Co. on prior GW and was perfectly satisfied with it, but wanted to go a less-expensive route this time around.

10 I searched high and low for a generic aftermarket terminal block that afforded a common feed to any-all screw terminals. If such a thing exists, I couldn t locate one. All the terminal blocks I was able to find provide common feeds only for individual pairs of terminal screws, each in their own individual channel. Fortunately, there was an easy fix for that. Forum member Fred H accomplished the necessary fix effect by (apparently) dremeling out the terminal block s barrier ridge into a groove into which he inset (epoxied???) a metal strip which affords contact between both rows and all terminal screws. As shown in Fred s photo here. (After which Fred replaced the purple wire with a thicker-gauge wire which he felt was necessary). I truly applaud Fred for his Ingenuity, as well as his Patience in fabricating this modification. That patient, I am not, LOL. Here s the fix method I used to accomplish the same thing. I only needed a small number of connects, so I bought a small 4-terminal junction block. I used little metal jumper clips that jump over and bridge the barrier from one terminal screw to another, vertically. I then used a very short jumper wire with two ring terminals to bridge the channel rows horizontally. Thus, any wire connected to any terminal then provides current feed to all terminals. Here is a line diagram that illustrates the common distribution connections. A photo of my common ground block installation is shown on the next page. Note that although I used a terminal block with only 4 terminal screws, the screw lengths are plenty long enough to attach multiple ring terminals to any singular screw if so desired, and the marinegrade terminal block and its screws are designed to withstand high-torque screw tightening.

11 I attached a flat metal strap bracket to the terminal block s 2 uppermost mounting holes. That bracket is bolted to bike via the battery s hold-down bracket bolt. There were no clearance problems between the terminal block, the underside pan or lower edge of seat, or the upper edge of the body side cover, at all. The horizontal central hump of the 2 metal jumper clips can be seen between upper & lower terminal screws. The little ring terminal jumper wire that connects the left and right terminal rows is connected to the two lowermost terminal screws, and tucked inward between the bottom of the ground block and the top of the battery casing. Bearing in mind Fred H s admonishment to not use too thin a wire for the primary connection, I went a little bit on the overkill side and used a 10-gauge wire for the primary connection between the negative battery terminal and the common ground block. Next page shows a wider-angle view of installation.

12 Here s a widerangle view. A positive, common hot block was also made up and attached to the lower right front of battery casing via industrial grade Velcro. Hot Block sits behind the black plastic splash shield cover. For hot-block accessory connections I used LED glow-whenblown Smart Fuses in clear Smart Fuse fuseholders so I can see if fuse is blown without even having to open up the fuseholders. Note slit piece of fuel line hose on battery hold-down bracket to prevent wire chafe. When it comes time to replace the battery, all I need do is snip a few cable-ties, install new Velcro patch on new battery for remounting the hot-block, reinstall a few new cable-ties and I m good to go. The wire hanging near lower right corner of pic is the connector plug wire for the portable heat controller for my Gerbing heated jacket. When the left side battery / body side cover is installed, I reach in the side cover s vent hole and can access the plug-in for the Gerbing jacket. I have a Kuryakyn driver s backrest whose flat chrome sideplates (mounted beneath the passenger grab-handles via handle bolts) makes the perfect place to hang the Gerbing Portable Heat Controller on - via the controller s belt clip case cover, so the temp controller is within easy reach of left hand and out of my way. In similar fashion, I ran the connector plug for my Battery Tender so that the plug is accessible from the vent hole in the opposite, right side, side cover. The terminal blocks used are heavy-duty marine grade blocks manufactured by Blue Sea Systems, obtained from local marine supply store. The terminal screws are plenty long enough for attaching multiple ring terminals to a singular terminal screw if-as desired - and Blue Sea states they are specifically designed to withstand high-torque tightening of terminal screws. The terminal blocks I used are rated for 30 Amps - Part # The Blue Sea website (go to their Busbars, Connectors & Insulators page) lists many varieties of terminal blocks. The site also has a find a local dealer dealer page so you can locate a distributor near you who handles their product line if you don t want to buy online sight unseen. Strongly suggest personal pre-purchase look-see at items, at local marine supply store, if possible, to verify adequacy for your own preference and application.

13 I hated the idea of adding any spaghetti near the battery - which was the whole idea of the FZ-1 fuse panel to begin with. Unfortunately, after purchase & install of the Fuzeblocks FZ-1 fuse panel, in subsequent purchases of PIAA Powersports 1100X auxiliary driving lamps (love em!) and Gerbing heated clothing I discovered these two items came with inline fuse-holders rated at 20 Amps and 15 Amps, respectively. Exceeding the per-circuit max rating of 10 Amps on the FZ-1 panel. I do not know if the manufacturer-supplied inline fuse ratings represent steady current draw or not, but I elected to proceed on the side of caution and thus decided to power these two items via common ground & hot blocks instead of wiring them through the FZ-1 fuse panel. I like the FZ-1 panel for what it is, the convenience of being able to have always-on or switched-only power simply by changing fuse position, and the comparatively small size, but as the manufacturer states the small size comes at a price of Amperage limitation as noted on their hookup schematic - 30 Amp overall, 10 Amps per individual circuit. Evidently, the manufacturer must presume that all six circuits will not be routinely ennergized at any given time? In retrospective hindsight, I would have done better with more foresight to research in advance the amperage draw of any-all anticipated future bling accessories I might likely purchase, and choose a fuse panel accordingly. I debated returning the FZ-1, but didn t feel like going through the hassle of that plus installation of a new differing fuse panel. Since I anticipate purchase of no further high-amp-draw bling items, I decided to just live with the choice already made and use the easier fix of a common ground and hot block for the two aforementioned high-draw accessories. All in all I m satisfied (enough) because I managed to maintain at least some semblance of orderly neatness near the battery. Hope this info proves useful or helpful for anyone considering similar or alternative mods. Thanks to forum member Brian Fenner for sharing the idea of general install location o floor inside trunk cavity, and for some helpful advices he offered, and to Fred Harmon for his shared info. Mcrider4eva5491