fog lights wiring help

[furio]

Hi everyone, some time ago I installed some auxiliary fog lights on the bike, with all the necessary relay and wiring looms everything connected to the battery, I do have when I have the fog lights on and the oxford hotgrips on at the same time, as the hotgrips switch have a small computer that automatically switch itself off when the power is low preserving the battery before it drains completily , leaving me with the option to either have the fog lights on or the hotgrips but not both at the same time. Can I connect the positive of the fog light somewhere else intstead that directly to the battery? So I can use both at the same time? Or can u advise me with other options.

Thatnks for the help

 

[hoston1765]

Hope this helps, the short answer is no. You will not gain any “free current” by connecting the lights anywhere else and may damage some components. How much do the fogs draw?, 55 watts each is the norm. If you connect the 110 watt draw to the ignition switch you could overload the ignition wiring, ignition switch or fuse. The same goes for the grip heater. The available amount of power is determined by the output of the alternator and any current demand in excess of the alternator output will eventually drain the battery. If the Oxford computer is shutting off the grips, that indicates the alternator is overloaded and the battery is discharging by taking up the slack. The output of the alternator is 310 watts at 5000 rpm and at night the low and high beam plus the ignition, fuel injection, gauges and running lights may draw 180 to 200 watts. The cooling fan is a significant draw and if you have ABS that draws a lot!. That leaves you with very little to spare with the fogs on, as the Oxford computer is telling you. If you connect the fogs or grips to the main 30 amp fuse terminal, it may pop the fuse at night as the battery will discharge through the fuse under alternator overload conditions. I am looking for fog lights myself and because I worry about things like the alternator diodes and stator coils maybe the best choice would be LED lights that draw a fraction of other types.

 

[furio]

Excellent answer. As I feared. Is either hot grips on, or fog lights. Thank u so much for your reply, I think as as you said the possible option is to install led light..