Slow Monster rebuild

[350TSS]

Thanks, Darren - I think I will have to invest in one of those.
Slob - you definitely have a point - my problem with crimps or soldered connections is keeping them in some sort of order, you just end up with a bundle of knitting with wires crossing each other, being the wrong length etc and they take up a lot of space like that. Choc blocks are about 10 mm between centres of the connections widthways and are not great when you want more than 2 wires joined. They take up more room than the neutral brass post (4mm wide) of a 3 pin plug, even allowing for 1mm polypropylene insulation either side and the need to curve the wire through 90 degrees to enter the "block" I save about 3mm width ways per connection and I can do 3 or 4 joining connections per 3 pin plug pin, each with its own grub screw fixing. I hope when I get it finished you will see what I mean in the photos.

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by 350TSS

...the downsides of this are: a) that it is only available in 7" and my shell and the hole cut in the front of the flyscreen are for an 8" headlamp and b) it is black and ugly.
The first is solvable one way or another, the second I am stuck with.

Could one of Mr Gazza's adapter rings be fitted to your shell?

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...hlight=ring%2A

[350TSS]

Possibly/probably but I will wait until the lens arrives to find out how it attaches and whether or not I need to trouble Mr Gazza

[Ron1000]

If you're keen on the chocolate block idea. Look up weidmuller they do industrial terminal strips. Much better than chocolate block and you can get them with screws or clamps. Are you crimping the ends of those wires?

Or another option might be an ampseal male plug to female socket arrangement.

Personally I prefer the traditional route of in-line solder and heat shrink or at least bullet and butt connectors that can pull apart, which could also be heat shrunk over.

It would be nice to run the cable though a gland going into the box rather than those gromits, Glands provide a better method of strain relief and if you fit an 'IP rated washer' you can get nice water tight seal. If you do go to glands i'd recommend a threaded entry hole and lock nut, serrated washer on the inside due to the vibration it's likely to take.

On the earth bar RS Components do small earth bars that a pre-drilled and look very neat. Might be ideal for you.

[350TSS]

Ron1000, I looked up the Weidmuller website and could not make head nor tail of what they were offering - thanks for the steer anyway
The last few days has been wiring, wiring and more wiring.
I made aluminium brackets to accommodate my enclosures then realised that if the boxes were orientated vertically rather than horizontally I would have less congestion.
I could not think of a way of twisting the aluminium brackets through 90 degrees successfully so I remade the horizontal ones in 3mm polypropylene then welded another sheet at right angles using a soldering iron. I came out rather well and is certainly strong enough. The polypropylene being flexible is unlikely to crack and should limit the transmission of any vibration to the connectors. To be sure I rubber-mounted the brackets and encapsulated the connectors within the boxes with closed-cell rubber foam. Pictures will follow when I have got it as tidy as it is ever going to be.
A few queries I hope someone will be able to help me with/answer.
I have the old-style regulator rectifier, it has 6 leads entering/leaving it. 2 yellow from the alternator, 2 red which join together and go to the positive terminal on the battery and a black lead which goes to a circuit on the "ON" side of the ignition switch and joins the other ignition switched auxiliary circuits, lights, neutral indicator switch, petrol tank sender unit, side stand switch etc.
The white lead (leaving the rectifier but changes colour on the Monster loom at the first connector)
on the original Monster wiring diagram goes to the instrument panel.
I sold my original instruments to Albie and I cannot remember whether or not there is a charging indicator light on the dash panel. It would make sense to me if there were although I do not know how the instrument light knows to go out when it receives more current????
My aftermarket instrument panel has no provision for a charging light.
Would blanking off that black lead do any harm?
My initial thought is that it would be the same as running the original set up with a blown charging indicator bulb.
In the absence of a charging indicator, I intend to fit a voltmeter (particularly as I have a lithium-ion battery and do not want any fault in the rectifier (not unknown) to set the battery alight).
Should I connect the positive side of the voltmeter to this white lead or should I just take power from the auxiliary circuit (and indirectly the black lead)?
Help please, my two brain cells (named "Lonely" and his mate) are overloaded with wiring issues and cannot cope.

[the lodger]

There is a red warning light with a picture of a battery on it which lights when the ignition is turned on and goes out when the bike starts so my basic understanding of electrics says this is a charging light. Hope that helps.

[slob]

Quite simple really

Blue/Black wire is 12V feed from Fuse 4 (7.5A 'Tail/Turn/Park')
Among other things it feeds the Oil/Charging/Sidestand-warning lights.

When the engine isn't running the White/Red wire from Reg/Rec Pin 2 is at 0V so the charge light is lit due to 12V drop across it.

When the engine is running (Assuming all is well with the charging circuit) Pin 2 on the Reg/Reg comes up to 12V (the same as the Blue/Black wire), eliminating the voltage drop across the charge light bulb and it goes out.

If the Charging circuit can't supply 12V to Pin 2, for whatever reason, the light comes back on.

[slob]

Works the same with M-Unit, from the 'Aux' output

[slob]

Just remove the white/red wire completely for no charging light, or as you say connect it to the + side of the voltmeter should work, although the charge light is much simpler. I don’t think Pin 2 will ever reach a higher voltage to show you overcharging, I’d be more inclined to do away with the white/red wire and connect the + side of the voltmeter to the battery side of the main fuse. However I’ll ponder that for a bit, there may be a better way. Are yiu going to keep the bike on an optimate? a voltmeter might want isolating with the ignition switch so it doesn’t slowly drain the battery.
I’m guessing you’re doing away with the sidestand warning too, so you can lose the grey wire too.
Then the blue/black to the clocks only needs to connect to the oil light, which still has white/yellow running back to the oil pressure switch.

Obviously I’ve stuck to the colours on the diagrams, you’ll have to translate to what’s in your loom yourself.

[350TSS]

Thanks, the lodger and Slob, brilliant and quick response
So pin 2 can be isolated altogether - good, less congestion above the battery
If I connect to the positive side of the fuse the voltmeter will be on all the time so could I connect the voltmeter to the blue-black in the wiring diagram above it would only be live when the ignition is on? - I think.
I will not be putting the lithium-ion battery on an optimate as I have read that conventional battery chargers have programmes that are designed to kick start/condition a lead-acid or gel battery but this is not what lithium-ion likes for either longevity or safety.
I will have to buy a specific lithium-ion charger at some point.

[slob]

Having spent a while looking at the diagram, I think the voltmeter + should be attached to the orange/black wire between the ignition switch and the M-Unit, that will show battery/alternator (RegRec) output voltage, but only when the ignition is switched on. Perhaps we have an auto electrician out there who can confirm this. The diagram was a best guess, after reading the M-Unit manual, however that was literally years ago now. I don’t think blue/black is a good idea, as the M-Unit may limit the output to 12V and you’ll never see an overcharge condition on the voltmeter.

[manwithredbike]

Orange/black would def give a charging voltage, only with ignition on.

[350TSS]

Thanks guys - orange black it is then.

[Ron1000]

350TSS. I can help you select electrical terminals and stuff if you need

[Ron1000]

https://my.rs-online.com/mobile/p/te...trips/8296653/

This is the stuff