Sunday, Oct 26 2014 [832 miles]
SAE power for the cockpit
I picked up this SAE pigtail yesterday. I’m going to use it to add switched power to the cockpit of my DR650 should I ever want to charge a phone or the batteries in my GPS. I already have an SAE-to-USB adapter.
Wiring inside number plate
Switched power connector
There is an unused “Hitachi” connector that supplies switched power in the wiring bundle hidden above the headlight inside the number plate. Just to confuse me Suzuki uses brown for the hot lead. All my other vehicles are German; in the world of BMW and Mercedes brown is always ground.
Modified SAE cable
With electrical tape
I ordered some of the Hitachi connectors a few weeks ago. I cut the ring terminals off the SAE cable and crimped the cable to the pins. I also applied a small drop of solder to the end of each wire where it touches the pin.
After checking and double checking and tripple checking and getting a meter out just to make sure I inserted the pins into the body of the connector.
Connected to harness
Ready to install number plate
After connecting the SAE cable to the wiring harness I used my multi meter one more time to check that plus was plus when the ignition is on. Yup. Guess I can put things back together.
Sits here for now
Cable routing
I may want to use a cable tie or some velcro to keep the end of the cable from moving around. That decision will come after some miles with the cable as it is.
The cable came with a 7.5 amp fuse. That is more than I’ll need at this location. I have a coaxial pigtail connected directly to the battery for heated gear with a larger fuse.