Alright so i was originally gonna stick this in the thread i made for the electrical problems i have with my 06 GS500 but this idea is just so good that i need to make a whole new thread for this. So the main problem i have with my bike is the fact it only has one fuse for the ENTIRE friggin bike. This makes it that much harder to isolate whats making the main fuse blow, since it could be a wire touching the engine or the frame or some other stupid crap. In my Auto Electrics class, we made "jumper" wires so we can see if theres a broken wire. What it is is basically a fuse compartment connected to these different wires with either male or female terminals at the end. I then came up with the idea to use the electrical wiring diagram for the GS 500 to find areas where fuses would be helpful to have so instead of the main fuse blowing and the whole bike shuts off, just one fuse would blow and turn off a specific set of components. Not only will this eliminate the hassle of changing out the main fuse so you can get back home(if you get stuck somewhere, that is), but it will also help isolate the short to ground to a specific location. Once i have the time and money, i will attempt this and if it works as i plan, then i will post a tutorial to mod your bike with multiple fuses as well as where to buy the parts. Heres a pic that shows the fuse compartment i was talking about.

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Certainly can be done - the main issue with sub fusing is that fuses are considered "coarse protection" and have very poor discrimination. Major upstream Fuses can run warm and may blow before a downstream fuse does since it may be cold before a fault occurs. 

A quick look at the wiring diagram for the GS500 shows you could possibly look at sub fusing the indicator circuit, headlight circuit, horn etc.  The main fuse however only is there to protect the battery from a short / high discharge - the more pressing issue is that the alternator on the GS is a weedy little thing that can only just meet the energy demands of two coils, headlight + tail light and try top off the battery..

I meant to do a full run down on voltages / currents around the place - will do this at the weekend and follow up with some numbers which may help decide if additional fuses are going to be useful.

Maybe Adidasguy / others can comment on common failure points for the wiring harness / pinch points etc. These would be the best place to start looking at sub fuses with fast blow style fuse elements.

Edit:

Don't forget you can also get indicating fuse holders - LED will light up when the fuse pops
http://www.jameco.com/1/1/46812-blr-i-310-10-pole-indicating-auto-blade-fuse-block-circuit-protection.html

Worthwhile idea,particularly if u don't know your bikes electrical history.Some downstream fuses(eg,horn) that only have a small current drain only need to be around 5-10A.I ilke the idea of a fuse that blows lighting a LED.

I like the idea of the LED indicator, but I feel like it would be a bit better to set up a fuse block. That way, all your fuses are right there, easy to get to and check (depending on where you put it).

Just my $.02. I prefer organization with things like that.

Overall, I like the idea. It should definitely help track down electrical gremlins.

you're not tracking them down, you're complicating the harnesses.

get a compass, and a self resetting 5a relay. hide them somewhere on the bike.

if the 20a ever blows:

replace the 20a fuse with the relay, and as it resets, scan the perimeter of the wires with the compass.

you'll find the short in 3-4 minutes, roll tape on it, replace the fuse and feel invincible. I did anyway.

They do make and see blade type circuit breakers that look like fuses

Quote from: weedahoe on November 28, 2013, 09:45:14 PM
They do make and see blade type circuit breakers that look like fuses

wasn't it you that had a friend whos bike went toasty not too long ago? im thinkin it was due to an electrical fault?

Correct, his main fuse never blew at all.

Maybe we should do master disconnect switches instead....LOL

Ive seen the LED indicators before but the relay and compass thing? where would i get one of those?

Quote from: frylockjim on November 29, 2013, 03:13:05 PM
Ive seen the LED indicators before but the relay and compass thing? where would i get one of those?

napa may have self resetting relays.   or any electronics store.

Can you explain how you, "scan the wires with the compass"


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Quote from: bmf on December 01, 2013, 04:03:30 AM
Can you explain how you, "scan the wires with the compass"


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get it close to them, then scan up and down their lengths.

just like you would looking for a frayed cable.

Compass as in magnifying glass?

Compass as in you pick up the significant magnetic field which forms around the cable as current flows through it.  The higher the current, the more the compass needle deflects.. bit tricky with a ferrous steel frame.. I am not so Zen, so stick with a good ol' multimeter 

Had a quick look at the electrics on my 2k7 at the weekend - the coils are especially greedy on power between 3-5k rpm (Battery is in deficit it seems in this range).  Alternator seems to peak about 210W out - will throw together some pretty graphs hopefully this week (although the madness has started at work, and I would like to get a better RMS volt meter on the bike to get more accurate numbers).

I am seriously considering making a basic monitoring system using an Arduino with a data logger - anyone else tried this on a bike? I see a few attempts out there which seem promising.

Quote from: ohgood on December 01, 2013, 07:25:44 AM

Quote from: bmf on December 01, 2013, 04:03:30 AM
Can you explain how you, "scan the wires with the compass"


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get it close to them, then scan up and down their lengths.

just like you would looking for a frayed cable.

Ah now i know what your talking about. I can get access to one at my school. But as Kiwingenuity said, Multimeter would probably work better. Since the compass uses magnetic induction to measure amperage. it would give you weird readings when your next to the frame. Oh and a quick note for everyone, if your main fuse keeps blowing, check your spark plug cables to make sure they arent touching the engine. i discovered that my spark plug cables were shorting out the fuse cause the engine burnt through the insulation. I was spending hours taking my bike apart and trying to find the short and the entire time the answer was in front of me. I never thought about checking the cables.

Quote from: frylockjim on December 01, 2013, 06:27:22 PM

Quote from: ohgood on December 01, 2013, 07:25:44 AM

Quote from: bmf on December 01, 2013, 04:03:30 AM
Can you explain how you, "scan the wires with the compass"


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get it close to them, then scan up and down their lengths.

just like you would looking for a frayed cable.

Ah now i know what your talking about. I can get access to one at my school. But as Kiwingenuity said, Multimeter would probably work better. Since the compass uses magnetic induction to measure amperage. it would give you weird readings when your next to the frame. Oh and a quick note for everyone, if your main fuse keeps blowing, check your spark plug cables to make sure they arent touching the engine. i discovered that my spark plug cables were shorting out the fuse cause the engine burnt through the insulation. I was spending hours taking my bike apart and trying to find the short and the entire time the answer was in front of me. I never thought about checking the cables.

you should really try the experiment before dismissing it

A compass will be affected by the magnetic field generated by a DC current passing through a conductor......assuming the field is strong enough.  Its the `Right hand rule` Grab the cable in the palm of your right hand with your thumb pointing in the direction of current flow and your fingers will indicate the direction of the field surrounding it at 90deg. The compass needle will follow the field N/S if placed alongside.



Its a test that electricians and linesmen carry out to indicate DC current flow in a single conductor ie: which side is + and which side is - but big volts and amps are generally present so the field is strong and the readings clear.

I cant see how it could detect shorts in the cable

I cant see how it would work if other live cables or magnetic fields were close by (speedo, generator) as they would interfere with the compass 

Cant say if or how the steel components of the bike would affect the compass 

Its a useful trick but IMHO......no substitute for a good voltmeter/ammeter.

OK... carry an ohm meter or a volt meter on the bike. it packs so small and is used so often on trips, whereas a compass is useless.

pfffft

Quote from: ohgood on December 08, 2013, 09:01:41 AM
OK... carry an ohm meter or a volt meter on the bike. it packs so small and is used so often on trips, whereas a compass is useless.

pfffft

Well......tell us how to use a compass how to find cable faults, no one other than you seems to know