Good places to tap into to get power but only when the bike runs

[Mat]

I wish to power my wireless charger but only when the key is in the run position (not to drain the battery while off), where would be the better place to do so?
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My GS400 does not have a fuse box but a single cylindrical glass fuse tucked in a little plastic holder under the left side cover. Should I tap right after that fuse?

And has anyone ever tried to replace that fuse with a resettable one kind?

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Check your wiring diagram. Many GSes have an unused brown wire in the headlamp bucket, 12 v switched on with the key, off when the key in off. Or the 12 v line that feeds the headlamp. Ground you can tie into the turn signal grounds inside the bucket or an open Black/white terminal. Grounds are always Black/white stripe.

This diagram from the ‘83 GS450ED, in the GS400-450 ‘77-‘87 Manual on BikeCliff’s Website. It may or may not be exactly like yours.

 

[Suzukian]

Why not just wire in a LED lit On/Off switch. Easiest thing to do.

 

[Mat]

I will have a look if I have this spare connector, thanks for pointing that up

To be honest, if I have to turn off the switch not to drain the battery I will probably forget it at the worst possible moment like when I'm deep in the woods so I,ll try my best to make every thing automatic.

 

[Suzukian]

You won't forget when you see that Red LED button or Toggle switch lit up right in front on you.

 

[tom203]

The horn is an easy spot to get 12+ power that is switched “on” with key. That’s where I got my juice for my running lights.

 

[bwringer]

I always install a relay to power my charger and heated grips, triggered by one of the above sources. That way, I always get full voltage. and there's nothing to remember.

Many (but not all) phone chargers can cope with low voltage, but grip heaters are noticeably less effective even with a relatively minor voltage drop.

 

[Mat]

I always install a relay to power my charger and heated grips, triggered by one of the above sources.

I find it to be an excellent idea! Bypassing that old, very long, low guage, original cabling when you draw more current is a wise move.
I might try that to power my 12V heated vest ...even with that one, half the time I forget to unplug from the motorcycle when I'm done so don't count on me to see a red LED

The horn's a good idea too!

Heated grips even you're not in Canada:glee:

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Yeah, the Red Light on the Speedo telling me my Side Stand is down hasn’t kept me from taking off with my Side Stand down a time or three. That’s why my USB port is plugged into a switched wire in the bucket. I don’t have to remember to turn off anything but the key when I get off the bike.

 

[Suzukian]

Do you guys turn the bikes on before you ride? :glee:

 

[93Bandit]

I second keyed power if at all possible. I tapped into the brown wire in the headlamp bucket for my phone charger/volt meter.

My heated grips have thick gauge wiring intended to be wired directly to the battery. The controller has an auto shutoff feature that I disabled because it leaves the grips powered for a period of time before shutting down after it senses key off. I feared this would put extra strain on the battery so I disabled it, thinking I would remember to manually shut them off. I haven't killed the battery yet leaving them on, but I did drain it enough once that it barely had enough juice left to start the bike. I'm considering enabling the auto shutoff feature this fall...

 

[Suzukian]

You could put a Micro Switch in the foam of your seat. When you get off the bike, the power to the USB will shut off. Heck, you could do that for the whole bike, so when you get off, it just shuts down. It might stall if you stand up to adjust your nuts every once in a while.

If you want to run it off the keyed switch, just take the switch apart and put a lead on the off side to hook up the power supply for you USB. That's pretty simple to do. Of course, you could just follow the lead and do it further down the line, same principle.

 

[Mat]

Hey just want to let everybody know I did use the brown and black bullet spares inside the headlight assembly. So simple and quick, right were I needed it.

I did fit a little "battery tender" brand usb charger and it only slightly protrudes trough the back hole of the headliht assembly, we'll see if the lightbulb heat fry it...

Will probably fit a couple wires in there too to feed a relay near the battery later. Probably should have took some pictures of that.