Adding a Powerlet accessory socket

[kris]

I've done this on my BMW's and my last two Honda's, they had a place in the fuse box to add wiring and a fuse to make things simple.  I haven't found this on the Norge.  Have any of you added an accessory socket and if so how did you wire it? 
Thanks, Kris  ;D

[radguzzi]

Kris,
Powerlet makes a bunch of different options for adding the sockets, check their website.  Cool stuff.

http://www.powerlet.com

You can often find the same stuff on eBay.

I installed a couple on the Norge, wired directly to the battery with an in-line fuse block.  
One of the sockets I mounted on the left side fairing façade for the GPS with a weather cap.

You could use a small accessory type fuse block to mount under the seat, near the battery, toward the rear shelf but don’t over thing it, for just one, go right to the battery.

Best,
Rob

[malik]

All my bikes wear one. Prefer the rearset kit, mounted at the top of the pillion footrest hanger (unobtrusive there, and up out of the way and handy), commonly wired directly to the battery. Well built, always work, never had any trouble with them. Would probably be better connected to an accessory fuse block, but haven't got around to setting that up yet. Powerlet have all sorts, for every occasion.

Mal

[wrbix]

Always directly to the battery w in-line fuse. That way one can connect one's battery charger via the Powerlet.


If anyone has to ask how - don't bother, just turn in your Man Card.

[canuguzzi]

Here is what I did:

Run wire from under the seat to up where you want power. Under the seat terminate with an accessory plug that fits right into the female port.

At the location up front, split off and terminate one set of wires to an powerlet port (I don't like them much) or a water proof power accessory female port. Make sure it is fuse protected.

There you go, very simple and you have the option of simply unplugging the port under the seat if you like and the power up front is dead.

The other set of wires (actually just split off at the front location) can be used for just about anything you want.

I ran # 10 shipboard wire from the under seat to front location.

After thousands of miles, never a problem, works fine.

If you run the wired as I did, just sheath them in high temp wrap. Threading the wires is a pretty easy thing to do and I suggest removing the tank to make things all nice and tidy.

The #10 wire means should I ever need to, I can send power back to the battery for a jump (I split it under the seat as well), avoiding taking off the seat if it comes to that.

Up front I use mainly USB power so I have a three port USB with each port being 2.2 amp capable. The other feed is straight to the battery (through a fuse) so it is limited only by charging capacity and what the battery can sustain.

My next plan is to put in a Lithium battery as an additional back under the tail and use that for all accessories. It will be isolated from the Norge's electrics except for a charger for the lithium battery. In this way none of my accessory draws will be the ones that leave me stranded for lack of a battery.

In the event of a low SOC on the main battery, I have a few options, plug in a jump from up front, use the charger plug that the Norge has near the right side underneath the seat or send power from the lithium to the main battery.

Anyway, I'd run wire right to where you need it and then simply plug it into the port already provided under the seat. No splicing and super simple to do.

If you run the wire as I did, go along the right side of the frame and then cross over just rear of the steering stem. Follow the path of existing wire up to the handlebars or where ever and leave the same amount of slack to account for handlebar movement.

You don't have to use #10 shipboard wire, I just happened to have some. #12 or #14 would work just fine for most things too. I went a little larger  just because.

There is another alternative though, tie into the GPS power wire just under the tank near the front. I had to remove my tank to even get at it and then figured why tie into that when I can make a clean new run and not have to worry about something cross wired where the GPS power was somehow tied into the power grid of Kansas and you know...

[guzzi ride]

Here are some pics of my Norge with the powerlet plugs.

[ohiorider]

I don't drill mounting holes in painted motorcycle bodywork, but this flat black plastic area under the saddle seemed perfect for an outlet.  I salvaged this plug from an old non-working battery charger, wired direct to the battery.  This is a good location for powering a heated vest, since all of them I've owned have their electrical connection on the left side.  Eventually (it's only been 4 years) I'll get around to swapping this outlet for one with the little spring-loaded lid.

[charlie b]

One of mine is wired to the factory fuse block.  I suspect that is not an option on the Norge.

The older fuse blocks have several extra connectors that can be useful for stuff like this.

I have one at the rear, in the right side cover. That one is nice for heated gear or powering a compressor and such.  15A fuse on it.  The front is on the dash, tapped off the primary power source for the front of the bike (I have a custom harness on the front).  It is mainly used for GPS and such.

[kris]

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. :bow  I went the simplest route and wired directly to the battery with an inline fuse and routed the wires along the left side and down to the plastic cover that hides the rear shock adjustment.  I haven't received the Powerlet plug yet but wanted to be ready when it arrives.  Once the plug is here I'll just need to drill a hole in the plastic piece, mount the plug, attach some spade lugs, plug it in and tidy up the wiring.  I really only use it for an electric vest but I like the idea of being able to plug a battery charger directly into it without even removing the seat.  ;D