Wiring Widder electric accessories question.

[Guest]

Want to hook up these electrically heated clothing pieces.

20 watts electric gloves
20 watts electric arm chaps
35 watts electric vest
75 watts total


On the 1983 GS1100E the battery is pretty difficult to get to if I recall correctly.

Question .. would it hurt to (temporarily) hook the hot side of the power cord to the hot side of the starter solenoid and the ground to the frame ?

Later when it is warmer .. I will dig the battery out and hook them up properly.

[rustybronco]

Question .. would it hurt to (temporarily) hook the hot side of the power cord to the hot side of the starter solenoid and the ground to the frame ?

No it would not hurt to do it that way, as long as you FUSE them with a proper inline fuse and connect it to a proper ground.
I would highly suggest you install a male/female plug to make reconnecting and disconnecting
them easier.

[first timer]

if you don't already have one, get yourself a powerlet plug so you can easily hook and un hook everything from the bike.

[mriddle]

Thanks guys !!

Widder is proprietary so I went with the standard hookup.

It has an inline 10 amp blade type fuse.

May change later to a powerlet plug.

[first timer]

running my widder vest with a powerlet plug and adjustable control on my SV and haven't looked back. Heated clothing rocks!

[mriddle]

Cool .. I am sooo looking forward to this.

I only have the on/off switch .. guess the thermostat will be next year's upgrade.

My commute is about 30 minutes and there are a lot of days when I could ride but the chill in the morning persuades me to drive the .. car.

running my widder vest with a powerlet plug and adjustable control on my SV and haven't looked back. Heated clothing rocks!

[first timer]

it gets hot quick, i rarely go above the second setting on my adjuster. Thats in 50 degree weather. Doesn't get much colder here.

[bwringer]

I normally use the solenoid end of the battery cable for accessories -- it's easy to get to and you don't have to juggle more wires when you mess with the battery.


That seems like a hell of an extra load to put on a GS charging system, but I guess someone has to try it and tell the rest of us...

With a healthy stator, good wiring connections throughout and a Honda R/R, I don't think anyone really knows what the upper limit is.

It also depends on your commute -- if it's all crawling through traffic and idling at stop lights, you'll probably have a problem.

[mriddle]

My commute is about 25 miles and takes about 30 minutes depending on route .. very little traffic.

My bike has Rick's stator and r/r and an agm battery .. so I can attest to that setup .. and will report back in later.

Thanks again for all the help.

I normally use the solenoid end of the battery cable for accessories -- it's easy to get to and you don't have to juggle more wires when you mess with the battery.


That seems like a hell of an extra load to put on a GS charging system, but I guess someone has to try it and tell the rest of us...

With a healthy stator, good wiring connections throughout and a Honda R/R, I don't think anyone really knows what the upper limit is.

It also depends on your commute -- if it's all crawling through traffic and idling at stop lights, you'll probably have a problem.

[Steve]

Mike,

Do you have a voltmeter on the bike so you can keep an eye on charging status?

You might also want to speed up the acquisition of the thermostat. That is, as long as it's the digital one, not the analog one. The digital thermostats use pulse-width modulation, so they use full power for only fractions of a second, then NO power for fractions of a second, then repeat. An analog controller will use FULL power ALL the time, only controlling how much of it gets diverted to the clothing and dumping the rest. That might be the difference between whether the gear will work with your charging system or not.

Also keep in mind that Widder is going out of business at the end of the year and all warranties will expire at that time.

.

[mriddle]

Thanks Steve ..

I did not know the advantage of the digital thermostat .. that is the smartest course to take I think.

I will put a voltmeter on it soon.

I did switch it on and off a few times (waiting a few seconds between switching) both with the key on and the engine off .. then with the engine running ..

I could not tell the slightest dimming of the lights. .. not sure if I would be able to.


Yea .. I rolled the dice on the Widder stuff, but a good friend from Daytonville told me it was pretty good stuff

Mike,

Do you have a voltmeter on the bike so you can keep an eye on charging status?

You might also want to speed up the acquisition of the thermostat. That is, as long as it's the digital one, not the analog one. The digital thermostats use pulse-width modulation, so they use full power for only fractions of a second, then NO power for fractions of a second, then repeat. An analog controller will use FULL power ALL the time, only controlling how much of it gets diverted to the clothing and dumping the rest. That might be the difference between whether the gear will work with your charging system or not.

Also keep in mind that Widder is going out of business at the end of the year and all warranties will expire at that time.

.

[mriddle]

Well .. the first trip with the Widder gear was a cozy success.

Starting out in the upper 40s I was actually uncomfortable (no thermostat) but after the sun went down and as I was heading home .. the temp dropped into the low 30s.

Freeway speed was very comfortable. .. I could have ridden all night. .. no windshield or anything on my bike.

Pulling in the driveway, I checked the temp at 34.

I will do some tests with the meter, but everything was very warm feeling except the gloves .. so I wonder if they are getting enough juice.