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PC8 eastern beaver kit switched/unswitched

2K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  DoubleThumper 
#1 ·
Hi Guys.

i installed the PC 8 eastern beaver kt today on my AT 2019.
But is it true that the first 6 outputs are switched, and connection 7 and 8 are unswitched ?
Motor vehicle Electrical wiring Computer hardware Electronic engineering Cable
 
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#3 ·
Hi Dave,

I was referring to the screws on the blue connection block. On the left you see F1 ,F2 til F6 (PWR) and at the most right you see F7 F8 (BAT). So are these 2 powered by the white fuseholder, and F1 til F6 powered by the black fuseholder ?
 
#5 · (Edited)
The F1 - F6 connectors are switched. When you turn off the key, these go dead. The F7 & F8 connectors are connected directly to the battery. They are always providing power so long as the battery has voltage. These two are the "unswitched" connectors. Plug your battery recharge connector (or Zeus kick starter) into one of these two making sure to get the polarity right. I have an SAE connector wired to one of these so I can use a 12V tire pump or use it to recharge the battery when the ignition switch is off.

In EB parlance, "PWR" is switched power. "BAT" is power directly from the battery...unswitched.

Also, be VERY careful putting fuses into this bus. The fuse connectors are very stiff. It's very easy to bend these and run into real issues. I put the fuses in very lightly then tap then into full contact with a very small hammer.

Good luck.
 
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#11 ·
If I were you I would use wire terminals. Not exactly sure, cant see it very good but it looks like you soldered the bare wire and then screwed it down. That seems to be a good idea, however, tin is soft and ovee time it will deform/crack under force. Meaning there will be less/no forcr, hence a loose contact.
 
#14 ·
Agreed, I am an electrician, and our codes do not allow joints to be soldered and then screwed, for 2 main reasons. 1-The contact point (screwed, bolted etc) may not be of a large enough area and allow a small amount of heating to occur under the joint from the resistance and current flowing . 2-When this soft soldered joint heats, the solder will soften, further adding to the problem.
Just a suggestion, one or the other, but not both.
Cheers
 
#17 ·
Old fart here with P-EE and I have tinned heavier gauge (up to 15A, 115VAC) braided without any historical issues. However, I do agree that if the conductors are reaching temperatures that would soften the solder, then arguably one has a different issue and likely a more serious one to address first?
 
#18 ·
Bootlace ferrules are a good method, crimping is usually better than soldering especially if flexing/vibration is expected. This is just my opinion however but it is gained from doing lots of electrical work on fishing boats over the years which tend to have to resist a fairly extreme environment.
 
#19 ·
Agreed. I use 'em for connections that get tinkered with every so often (e.g. in push-on/screw-down electrical distribution strips). I use these whenever possible, and typically for lower voltage applications (e.g. 48 DC), but not restricted to.
 
#20 ·
Spent too long in Mil -aerospace wiring, early in my career, for power and signal as an engineer/production supervisor/quality trainer. (F-16 programs, etc.)

For vibration environment, a crimp connection with die sized to the gauge of the connector/wire was considered ideal, with shrink sleaving supporting, over the crimped connection. Finer wires had contacts that had a support built in to the contact that went over the insulation to support the crimped area.

Soldered connections were fine, but not considered as vibration resistant as crimp. Both needed support for maximum vibration life.

Knowing that, I still solder tin stranded wire before putting it under the screw connections on my PC8. My rationale: I think having the solder wick up the wire a bit farther than where the screw hits the tinned area gives the wire the ability to flex over a larger area than just the point of contact with the screw, so maybe more vibration resistant than that particular type of screw connection.

If it gets hot enough to melt the solder, then yeah, there is a whole nother set of problems to worry about.

But really, though, it is a freaking motorcycle, and about anything is better than vampire clamps, that many people think are acceptable...

Courtesy of the moron that wired my sidecar rig, the first time:

No no no!!!!



Broken wire from vibration sawing it through:



Ended up buying the pig tails from Eastern Beaver guy, and fixing the broken wires with crimp connections that have the shrink sleave as part of the connector, then put another, longer layer of shrink tube over that and shrunk it down tight. OCD any one?
 
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