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[evdjerome]

I read here that reportedly some folks have replaced the 10 amp accessory power fuse with 12.5 amp or 15 amp. How safe is that? Would it void warranty?

I'm looking at buying some heated gear. I'm already powering Denali D2 lights and a USB charging port.

Worst case if I had everything on (lights on high beam, charging with the USB, all heated gear on high) I would draw around 176 watts. Breakdown below.

Denali D2s 10 watt
USB charger 15 watt
Hotwired Jacket 83 watt
Hotwired Pants 46 watt
Hotwired Gloves 22 watt

Any idea if it would be safe to have all of these on the accessory power (SAE connector) after swapping 10 amp fuse with 15 amp? I'm not really interested in replacing the wiring with heavier gauge wire if that would be required for safety. In that case I'd just forego some of the heated gear or get heated gear with it's own battery power.

Thanks.
-Jerome

[togo]

It's kind of unfair to ask people (from a liability point of view) if something is unsafe or would void warranty.

But asking what wire gauge is present and how much is needed for how much voltage and amperage, that's probably fair.  For that sort of thing one can refer to authoritative sources.

[Doug S]

That seems like a lot of constant loads. In my opinion, if you have some intermittent load(s) that add up to more than 10 amps, it might be okay to bump up the fuse a bit for those. For example, if you want to mount a high-powered horn, which is never used for long periods of time, it might be okay to run a 15 amp fuse for that. You could use your horn for brief bursts without blowing the fuse, and short bursts wouldn't run any risk of overheating the wiring. BUT stay well aware of it, and never lean on the horn for an extended period!

But the loads you've listed are all, at least potentially, constant loads -- on a cold day, you're going to want all that heated apparel on continuously. I wouldn't even consider running continuous loads greater than the fuse is rated...the fuse is there to keep the downstream wiring from overheating, so don't exceed the fuse rating for any length of time (more than a few seconds at most). You'll need to use or add another circuit.

[evdjerome]

Thanks Doug. Yeah that is the conclusion I came to as well. My current plan is to get battery powered gloves and jacket liner, and wired pants liner and insoles. I'd only use the wired pants liner and insoles when it is really cold. And the current draw on those is barely within the fuse limit, but still within.

That seems like a lot of constant loads. In my opinion, if you have some intermittent load(s) that add up to more than 10 amps, it might be okay to bump up the fuse a bit for those. For example, if you want to mount a high-powered horn, which is never used for long periods of time, it might be okay to run a 15 amp fuse for that. You could use your horn for brief bursts without blowing the fuse, and short bursts wouldn't run any risk of overheating the wiring. BUT stay well aware of it, and never lean on the horn for an extended period!

But the loads you've listed are all, at least potentially, constant loads -- on a cold day, you're going to want all that heated apparel on continuously. I wouldn't even consider running continuous loads greater than the fuse is rated...the fuse is there to keep the downstream wiring from overheating, so don't exceed the fuse rating for any length of time (more than a few seconds at most). You'll need to use or add another circuit.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

One (advanced) alternative to consider is to run a separate DC converter alongside the stock one for extra or always-on loads.

It'd be a good idea to install HV and LV fusing for such a thing, too.

http://zeromanual.com/index.php/Advanced_Modifications#Always-On_Accessory_Power_Supply