Battery overload?

[JoeZ]

I'm gonna do LA to NY and back in Sept. on my 2012 NC700X and have a question about loading the battery. I would like to be able to plug in and use the following:
1 Garmin GPS
2 Bluetooth transmitter,
3 My iPhone
4. My dash-cam.
Do you think the NC's battery would be fine if these 4 devices were all plugged in at the same time (only while I was riding, of course). Thanks.

 

[Antarius]

It'll probably be fine. The Bluetooth transmitter will take almost nothing, the iPhone charger will also take almost nothing. Your Dash-Cam will be dependent on the model, but mine uses very little power and can operate on it's battery for 6 hours alone. The GPS will use a "good amount of juice," but they are designed to work on motorcycles with minimal charging systems.

I'd say you're okay - just remember your bike has a stator, not an alternator, so if you could toss it on a battery tender when you get to your destination you may be well served.

 

[ste7ios]

Normally a battery has nothing to do with any load when the engine is running. The generator must be adequate to feed the needed load AND charge the battery.

The battery is here to start the engine, act as buffer when the power output of the generator is low (usually at lower RPM, when idling), as a filter, and to feed some devices when the engine is not running, like an alarm.

Garmin Zumo draws about 1A (15 W @13.8 V), Bluetooth transmitter about 500 mA, iPhone 1 A, your dash cam may draw another 1 A...

You must have a draw of about 2.5 - 3 A. Judging from Honda's fuse choice (7.5 A) on the subharness you've 6 A for accessories.

Connect them using the optional accessory subharness (it provides switched power) and you'll be ok.

 

[HarveyM]

You really only need to worry when you start adding heated gear, and/or extra lighting.

Honda NC700X 2012 - Present - Powerlet Products

And:

Engine running at idle charging voltage 13.8 volts with everything on including heated grips. Charging voltage at 3000 rpm 14.0 volts.
Engine running Measure amperage at the fuses:

Lights...................5.78 amps

Eng Stop ...............0.35 amps

FI........................4.20 amps

Illumination.............1.60 amps

Aux Heated grips.....3.50 amps

total 15.43 amps or about 208 watts (this could vary by 10% given certain conditions) without heated grips on running wattage would be about 150 watts.

Turn signal, horn and brake light not measured as they are intermittent use only.

After seeing this did not try to measure alternator output as it appears there is adequate power available as long as you do not added two 55 watt Hella off road lights.
Honda heated grips will auto shut off if charging system voltage is low.
Prolonged slow speed operation with large electrical loads would drain the battery.

A conservative estimate would be you have a least 100 watts available at cruising RPM for your selective use, leaving a 100 watt buffer from max alternator output.

Proceed at your own risk.............this is for general information ONLY...........if this post does not make sense to you do NOT modify your wiring or any part of your bike's electrical system. There is a good reason Honda supplies and fuses the aux power harness and is relay controled. NEVER connect unfused wires or circuits to the the battery or electrical system.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

Set your idle up to 6260 rpm so the stator is at full production and you'll be fine.

 

[JoeZ]

Thanks guys.... Yeah the Garmin I bought wasn't a zumo, it was a nuvi. It said bluetooth ... But found out later it was NOT bluetooth compatible with headsets. Sooooo, instead of spending seveveral more hundred dollars to get a Zumo, I'm having my nuvi upgraded for a few bucks with a bluetooth transmitter that will allow me to hear my Garmin through my helemt. As for making it weatherproof, I have a waterproof (really rainproof), touchscreen casing for it. I'll be very conservative about the amp usage but curious about the worst case senerio where I would need to plug in all four devises at the same time. Appreciate the feedback... Always learning.

 

[ste7ios]

Don't worry about it. Just ride!

 

[GunNut37086]

I tried to run heated gloves, heated jacket liner, Garmin Zumo, Note4, and 2 sets of aux LEDs (18W and 10W) at the same time. The controller for my heated gear flashed a trouble code that Gerbing says means there wasn't enough power. When I unplugged the jacket liner the trouble code went away and still I had a nice 3 or 4 hour ride. I think you'll be fine.

 

[TigerDude]

I'd say you're okay - just remember your bike has a stator, not an alternator, so if you could toss it on a battery tender when you get to your destination you may be well served.

You said that his bike has the stationary part of a generator but not the generator. The bike will not run for long without the spinning part of the alternator.

Bikes have a slightly different construction for the alternator than carrs, but that's still what it is.

 

[ste7ios]

Althought the voltage regulation is different, they're both three phase alternators. On cars they do that by controlling the field current (an electromagnet). It's the best way to control voltage but it's bulky, it needs space that we don't have in a motorcycle, so we've to use a Permanent Magnet Alternator also known as Magneto (Flywheel) and a Regulator / Rectifier.

 

[DCTFAN]

For future reference:Calculating Excess Electrical Capacity - Learning Center - Powerlet Products

So exactly how many "gee-whiz" pieces of electronics will your bike power? Well that depends on a few variables. Basically, your bikes excess electrical capacity is the alternators charging output minus the common operating load. Usually these numbers are shown in "watts".
A "watt" is a unit of measure for electrical power (P). In this case, the charging power is the product of the bikes voltage (V) and peak current (I). So P = V * I. What this mean? Simple... if the bikes alternator has a peak rating of 20 amps @ 14 volts then the peak charging output is (20 * 14) or 280 watts.
A motorcycles electrical system consists of three major parts, the alternator, the regulator-rectifier and the battery. The alternator is responsible for producing the power to keep the battery charged and power all of the electrical loads. The regulator-rectifier converts the alternator output from un-useable AC power to useable 14.4 VDC. The battery is used to both start the bike and buffer the power from the alternator.