Scooterotica

hi, could anyone tell me the advantage of using relays , or in what circumstances you would need to use them to avoid overload. also is it safe to wire 2x 4inch angel eyes directly to your sidelight and main beam switch. if i used a separate battery for several spots would i need to use relays , or is it safe just to wire them via a fuse to separate switches, thanks, Mick.

There's better qualified folks to tell you how to wire the relays but it depends on how much current your lamps draw, the original wiring and switching is fairly light weight and if you're going to add extra watts you should consider relays.

Try a search for relays and you might find some info, I'm sure it's been discussed before.

To switch anything more than original lights you will need relays and proper automotive wiring. The fact of the matter is that every pattern switch and wiring harness is not even remotely capable of handling any decent power. If you are using any form of battery I'd insist on a harness built with conductor of a know and specified standard. If you don't you run the risk of torching your pride and joy. I've seen an Indian harness and light switch melt (and I mean totally melt, smoking and terminals fall out) in 2 seconds because spots were switched through the handle bar switch. There was no wiring fault, it was purely because the parts were junk.

hi again, the scooter had 2x4" angel eyes on it when i bought it, the halo came on with the sidelight and the main fog came on with the headlight switched on. i had to take them off and just wondered if it is ok to wire them back as they were. the bike has been converted to 12v with electronic ignition, 12v battery and i would imagine a new harness.thanks for any comments, Mick.

mickfeath. wrote:hi again, the scooter had 2x4" angel eyes on it when i bought it, the halo came on with the sidelight and the main fog came on with the headlight switched on. i had to take them off and just wondered if it is ok to wire them back as they were. the bike has been converted to 12v with electronic ignition, 12v battery and i would imagine a new harness.thanks for any comments, Mick.

It would help if you gave us the wattage of the lamps being used, the harness will possibly be fine but it's the switch contacts that need to be looked after.

hi, if i were you i would only connect these extra lamps to a relay, the original switches are pretty poor and so are the wires, a relay will stop any overloading of your existing wires and switches. you want a four pin relay, think of it as an electrical switch, one pin goes to earth, another to your battery power supply, use a fuse inline to protect against short circuits or overload, another wire goes to your switch(you can use your dipswitch if you like its only switching voltage to actavate the relay so it will be safe) and the last wire connects to your extra lamps. you can buy 4 pin spotlamp relays on ebay, ive used one for my radiator fan on my gp350. you can always mount it in your horncasting or toolbox to keep it out of view.
hope this helps you,
holty

Hi, thanks for all your replies, they have been very helpful. Thanks again, Mick.

Hi again, just one more question on this topic, could i run two banks of four 55W spots via relays off one 12v battery.

Forget that. That's a load of 440 watts and the current draw would be 37 amps; an immense current.
A 12 Volt 4 amp hour battery will last about 6 or 7 minutes !
Trickle charging won't really extend that by much

You could easily and safely run the blue halos off your sidelight circuit without relays. They draw next to nothing.

you could put some christmas tree light bulbs in the lights! and even that will take the battery down quickly