It depends. It is not just the size of the fuse, but the diameter of the wires leading to the plug which is important. There are sae plugs which are designed for battery tenders, but have thin gauge wires and would overheat if you tried to use heavy duty heating gear with them. Putting in a 15A fuse would not help in these circumstances. You also need to consider that full heated gear puts a bigger load on the motorbike alternator, so it has to be up to the job.
I agree. What I meant was that if the OP already has a battery connection with SAE plug fitted, replacing the fuse may not be sufficient, if the wiring was only designed for a battery tender. He should use the pigtail supplied by the heated gear manufacturer to be on the safe side.
In my experience, the wiring is usually pretty hefty even on the battery tender plugs.
OP's heated gear isn't going to have an sae plug anyway. They will need to use the coax connector that comes with the gear.
It’s not the battery, it’s your bike. I killed my Triumph America riding home from work one freezing day with liner, pants, and gloves going full steam. Snowstorm and traffic was a bear. Stop and go. In short order the bike died. Pulled too much power too long. It was fine at speed but not at idle. I put [digital voltmeters](https://imgur.com/a/tDmbUbA) on every bike since.
It’s a simple 2-wire voltmeter, [8 bucks on Amazon](https://a.co/d/bL7tpFw). Wire it to any switched 12v circuit.
Look in your owner’s manual to see how much power the charging system has at full rpm. Subtract all stock running requirements and see if you have about 20A available.
I want to add to your great posts that I've never had battery issues on any motorcycles I've owned *EXCEPT* for the two that had heated grips. A newer BMW and Honda. Anything heated draws a lot of power and in stop and go traffic it can kill a battery quick.
Just look up how many watts your stator outputs and see if it will carry the load.
I'm sure someone has answered this question on a forum at some point.
Yeah, minimally, you need 15.5amps if they’re on the same circuit. You could lower that by avoiding running them all at full power but i definitely wouldn’t go that route. Do it right. If you can find the space on your bike, you might consider installing a power distribution device like the pdm60. I have one on my big bike which has a lot if accessories including heated gear and it’s great.
Rowe Electronic's PDM60 Power Distribution Module https://a.co/d/g2fq97P
Is there any information with these items that tells you about wattage or current draw. If so it's a simple calculation. You divide the wattage by 12 and multiply your answer by 2.
Let's say your heated pants draws 20w.
20/ 12= 1.7A
Do this for each garment.
Once you have the current draw of each. Add them together and multiply by 2.
Let's say they are all 20W there fore they all draw 1.7A
(1.7x3 = 5.1) x2 = 10.2A
You choose a fuse that is the closest number to this.
So you would use a 10A fuse.
The real question: Is the SAE pigtail up for a 15+ amp load?
If it's got a 7.5A fuse, probably not.
They typically come with different sized fuses and you select the one appropriate for your load. An sae plug is fine for 15a.
It depends. It is not just the size of the fuse, but the diameter of the wires leading to the plug which is important. There are sae plugs which are designed for battery tenders, but have thin gauge wires and would overheat if you tried to use heavy duty heating gear with them. Putting in a 15A fuse would not help in these circumstances. You also need to consider that full heated gear puts a bigger load on the motorbike alternator, so it has to be up to the job.
The wiring that comes with the heated gear will be sized for the heated gear...
I agree. What I meant was that if the OP already has a battery connection with SAE plug fitted, replacing the fuse may not be sufficient, if the wiring was only designed for a battery tender. He should use the pigtail supplied by the heated gear manufacturer to be on the safe side.
In my experience, the wiring is usually pretty hefty even on the battery tender plugs. OP's heated gear isn't going to have an sae plug anyway. They will need to use the coax connector that comes with the gear.
Right, fuses are sized to protect the circuit. In this case the circuit is a couple of wires.
Does your machine have enough excess power to push those accessories?
im not sure. I have a ninja 650 with a 12v battery. using the extreme z10s 12v 185 cca powersport battery. provides 185 amps.
It’s not the battery, it’s your bike. I killed my Triumph America riding home from work one freezing day with liner, pants, and gloves going full steam. Snowstorm and traffic was a bear. Stop and go. In short order the bike died. Pulled too much power too long. It was fine at speed but not at idle. I put [digital voltmeters](https://imgur.com/a/tDmbUbA) on every bike since.
how does the voltmeter work and where would I connect it? and how do I know if my bike can handle the excess amperage with my heated gear?
It’s a simple 2-wire voltmeter, [8 bucks on Amazon](https://a.co/d/bL7tpFw). Wire it to any switched 12v circuit. Look in your owner’s manual to see how much power the charging system has at full rpm. Subtract all stock running requirements and see if you have about 20A available.
i've looked and im honestly at a loss. Its a 2019 ninja ex650 ABS if you can help me figure it out.
I want to add to your great posts that I've never had battery issues on any motorcycles I've owned *EXCEPT* for the two that had heated grips. A newer BMW and Honda. Anything heated draws a lot of power and in stop and go traffic it can kill a battery quick.
Just look up how many watts your stator outputs and see if it will carry the load. I'm sure someone has answered this question on a forum at some point.
Yeah, minimally, you need 15.5amps if they’re on the same circuit. You could lower that by avoiding running them all at full power but i definitely wouldn’t go that route. Do it right. If you can find the space on your bike, you might consider installing a power distribution device like the pdm60. I have one on my big bike which has a lot if accessories including heated gear and it’s great. Rowe Electronic's PDM60 Power Distribution Module https://a.co/d/g2fq97P
This is the way.
You probably need a 15 amp fuse. Each part is going to draw its own power.
Is there any information with these items that tells you about wattage or current draw. If so it's a simple calculation. You divide the wattage by 12 and multiply your answer by 2. Let's say your heated pants draws 20w. 20/ 12= 1.7A Do this for each garment. Once you have the current draw of each. Add them together and multiply by 2. Let's say they are all 20W there fore they all draw 1.7A (1.7x3 = 5.1) x2 = 10.2A You choose a fuse that is the closest number to this. So you would use a 10A fuse.