Category Archives: Electrical

New LED Headlight and Wiring Box, Aug 2022

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Had an ongoing issue with the H4 bulb in the after market bucket (the original headlight for this bike is a sealed beam unit) where the bulb was always on high beam. Solution? trouble shoot or replace. I opted to replace with one of those cool looking, hopefully not blinding, after market LED headlights.

While losing space for the wiring harness within the bucket (it was a tight fit anyway) it was easy to install a wiring box from a Honda GL500 (thank you ebay) and put a temporary cover on it. well, it is supposed to be a temporary cover … though i did need a headlight extension cable & just bought one instead of making one.

Also lost the place my front blinky things were mounted so i’m awaiting a set of fork blinker mounts to arrive (also thank you Amazon) & will install those next weekend.

New Charging Port, Nov 21, 2021

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Had some trouble with the cutoff switch staying in place in the original charger port on/off switch and location so i bought a new switchable C14 port for charger use. This piece is fused and good up to 240v and 10 amps. a bit overkill for my 72v system but i like the idea of the charging port not being live all of the time.

Picture of the new charging connection (C14 style) along with the 2-point mounting bracket that fits under the right side panel.

Changing Charger Connections, September 11, 2021

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So after a few months of using the SAE connection on the charger there’re a few shortfalls I figure I need to change connection type to address.

First problem was having the rubber protective cover to put over then ends slide off sometimes. Not really a big deal if the end of the cable is on the ground but not really good if the end is above the batteries and the exposed metal touches frame or battery metal.

Second problem was noticing that every time I plug it in there’s a spark between when the metal connectors meet.

Third problem is that the SAE connectors are only rated for 30 amps at 12v/24v, not for 30 amps or even 10 amps at 84v, which is the charging voltage. While the connectors held when charging at 10 amps, and the batteries charged faster, the plastic/rubber ends became soft and really warm to touch. When charging at 5 amps the plastic/rubber ends become really warm, but not melty warm.

The C13/C14 connectors are rated for 10 amps at 250V so not thinking there should be a problem using in this application as the 5/10 amp charger came with one with 16 ga leads to use as an adapter to other connectors – and unlike the SAE connectors it did not get melty warm when charging at 10 amps or even warm when charging to 5 amps.

SAE connector with rubber cover, meet Mr. Melty Connector
C14 male connector to mount on bike somewhere and C13 female adapter placed on charging cable direct
Finished connector beside open connector pictured by male C14 plug to be installed on bike

Updated Charging Port, September 11, 2021

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As the SAE solar type connection limited charging to 5 amps I finally got around to upgrading the charging port to a standard C14 connector. This allows me to use any standard C13/C14/C15 extension cable from my chargers and to easily make a female connector for any future charger. The C14/C15 port is rated for 10 amps at 240 volts so it should handle 10 amps at 84 volts fine (it does, the SAE connectors become melty when charging at 10 amps as they are only rated for 30 amps at 24v max, or 8 amps at 84 volts).

installed charging port with spring cover and on/off switch
installed charging port with cover open
template fitting, screwdriver is in side panel mount hole
mounting bracket in ABS along with cardboad template

Honda GL500 Rear Brake/Running Lights, July 10, 2021

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Took out the rather week inandescent rear bulbs, the ones in the brake/running light housing, and replaced with LEDs. Man are these things bright. No mistaking when the bike is on or when the brakes are being applied. Ordered from Amazon & prime delivery.

LED bulbs, these are red in color so better in transmitting light through the red cover
running light after install during the day

EV 5 amp/10 amp charger, July 10, 2021

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So my Amazon purchased 5 amp/10 amp charger finally arrived from China direct after 3 weeks. No complaints or knocks on China, seems to be a good product & does what it is supposed to do. So far I have only used it to charge on 10 amps & it really cuts down my charge time. Charging with my 3 amp charger could take 11 hours for a similar charge level – this one takes about 3.5 hours.

The interesting part is trying to see what charge level the battery settles to after a couple of days of having been charged to its theoretical maximum (82 V or slightly higher). The batteries are all used Nissan Leaf Gen 1 versions so there’s a known decrease in performance in higher heat days and a noticeable increase in performance on cooler days.

10 amp charger in action, set on a brick to help keep ground level dust out of the cooling fan
Cleverly disguised as an on/off switch this is actually a low / high charge rate switch. low charge rate (5 amps) is on the left and high charge rate (10 amps is on the right.

Upgraded EV Voltmeter, July 4, 2021

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So I didn’t really care for the rectangular container for the voltmeter & haven’t been able to find a round digital one of the size and type I want. So … what to do? Make your own case, came the reply from nowhere. So I did.

Started with a previous bad voltmeter, took the screws out, took the guts out, took a drill and a leatherman to the front of it after tracing the bottom of my voltmeter with a sharpie, and then installed. Note that a sharpie is not the best tool for marking on plexiglass.

basic finished product but not yet mounted
mounted to handlebar, basic finish

New EV voltmeter, June 21, 2021

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So the original analog meter got stuck about 16 or so volts above actual (or above something) after the first test ride. Replacing it with this one, once I figure out how to mount it in a secure and stable way. Would also be nice if I could get consistent readings across multiple electric volt meters but there seems to be a consistent difference between 0.3 v and 0.7 volts.