Power Consumption

I am trying to figure out just how many accessories we can run off the Bandit's stock electrical system without causing any damage.
I have a heated vest, run a GPS and occasionally an iPod/cell-phone charger at the same time. I am now contemplating adding some heated gloves, but I haven't been able to figure out just how much power we have and how much we can spare. I guess changing some of the stock bulbs to LED would help, but it seems rather costly.
Has anybody had any problems so far with the electrical system? And, if so, how much equipment were you ruining?

I more or less asked this question of somebody (here) who has a voltmeter display mounted in his mirror; and he also has quite a few accessories he can run simultaneously.

From what I gather, we can load up our charging system with 'stuff'.... but we must be cautious around town and cruising at speeds under 4,000 rpm.... We should expect that our charging system would be so taxed and our battery to drain.

I'm thinking that if I ride with heated clothing (I don't have any), I might not want my PIAA driving lights on while cruising. If I'm running a pair of PIAA's (wish I had some), I might run the low beam and turn off the Plasma TV. Our bike and it's charging system was not designed for multiple toys/gadgets, unlike BMWs or the 'Wing.

Yeah, I added the voltmeter because I've been concerned with all the extra's I've added. I typically run the hand warmers, accessory lights (big power consumer) and gps. The voltmeter and thermometer are also included and I occasionally use my 12v plug to charge headset/phone. End verdict, accessory lights use a bunch of power, but I can safely run everything without worry as long as I'm not creeping along at the lower rpms. At cruising speeds, with everything on, I'm still pushing over 13.1-13.5 volts. Even at idle though, I'm still typically between 12.1-12.5 volts, so I wouldn't feel comfortable just sitting around with everything on, but it would still take quite a while if it would even discharge at that rate.

For reference, I checked the other day and with my Widder vest and gloves wide open and GPS running, I show 13.6 volts at idle. My 276C has a voltage function on it I run all the time when rolling.

Most items really don't take that much draw with the exception of accessory lights. Those will drop my voltage a full volt when I turn them on. I would imagine that something like an air pump would be similar...

Terizius said:

Most items really don't take that much draw with the exception of accessory lights. Those will drop my voltage a full volt when I turn them on. I would imagine that something like an air pump would be similar...

Click to expand...

Sorry Terzius, what do you mean by 'turning on' the accessory lights? On the Canadian model the lights (acc, headlight, etc.) are always on; are they not in the US model?

These are accessory lights :P

You could save 20 watts by switching to an HID if you're concerned. It's a constant load so it'd make a lot more difference than LED turn signal bulbs. Heck, most people add the resistors to get the blink rate back thus negating any benefit form them. A standard HID only consumes 35w versus a typical bulbs 55w.

Yes, I just bypasses all of my stock wiring, so the lighting is better. Still considering the HID's though. $$ is the problem now though. One day I'll be rich.. or done. nah.. I'll be rich before i'm ever done

I’d be interested in knowing what the bike is capable of running. Here is a list of my add-ons that seem to be working without draining the battery.

HID Low Beam 35W
HID High Beam 35W
Heated grips 36w
Heated seat 39w
GPS ~5w
Communicator ~3w
Satellite radio ~3w

Also have a Nautilus horn but that only needs to be used for short bursts.