Making your accessory wires 'switched': Difference between revisions

 

Compared to installing a fuse box, this method is easier, costs much less, and is totally invisible, unless you open the back of your fuse box. This was written for a '96 Ninja EX250F; F series bikes built since 1995 ''should'' be the same, but take a good look at yours to make sure before you start modifying. This won't work on '94 and earlier bikes. They have a different junction box, which contains not only the fuses but also things like the diodes and relays which implement the headlight logic and other interesting things.   

* Solder - 1.6mm was used, but smaller would be preferred. See [[Soldering 101]]

* [[Waterproofing your electrical connections|Dielectric grease]] - Not required, but it's nice to have.

*Soldering iron - Smaller is good; a really big one runs the risk of overheating the board and delaminating the copper. See [[Soldering 101]]

*Utility knife

*Testing light or another means of testing connections.

Before you remove this box, take a moment to look at the fuses inside. Remove the cover. It comes off really easily with hand pressure. Take a look at the inside of the cover. You should see something like the picture below. The fuse being pointed at is the ACC (accessory) fuse. This is always powered, even when the ignition is in the Off position. That fact is what this article is going to change.  

Once you've removed this from the bike, go to your favorite work station. You will need to remove the back of the box, so bring all of the tools and materials you haven't used yet with you. Take all four screws out with your small Phillips; be careful not to strip them, as they are soft. Remove the rubber baffle on the back; this comes off fairly easily by hand.  

Now that you have the back off, you should see an exposed circuit board. This is where all of the fuses are connected. From now on you want to keep all metal tools away. You '''don't''' want to scratch this board (until you need to). Locate where the fuses are connected, and observe that the diagram on the cover will be mirrored. You can draw one yourself, just to make life easier. This makes it readily apparent what goes where on the circuit board.  

This is where you're going to remove power from your ACC fuse when the ignition is Off. The only other item that receives power when the ignition is in the Off position is the fan, and you can see here that they are connected by the circuit (refer to earlier diagram). The best way to do this is to sever this printed circuit. At this point you need to take your knife and make a cut in the board, as in the picture below.  

[[image:acc switched 7-r.jpg|100px]]

 

Crush both ends lightly with your pliers, just enough to flatten them for clearance issues. Draw some solder into each end of the wire with the iron, making sure it is well saturated before you solder it onto the board. Solder one end at a time to the applicable connectors. You are connecting the power (before the fuse) of the horn to the power (again before the fuse) side of the ACC. This way, if your ACC fuse blows, you won't also risk blowing the horn fuse (as it is at a lower amperage after your modifications).

 

If you aren't brave enough to learn to solder on this job, take it to your local electronics nerd and show him the final picture. Should be that easy.

You can now re-assemble everything and test the finished product. Use some dielectric grease on the fuse box connectors. No modifying is obvious, and what has been modified is reversible (you only need to solder a wire to make the connection you severed whole again).