Denali Powerhub 2 Installation Questions

[Grumpy Goat]

so you use the SAE direct to battery for the heated gear? I wondered about that- not sure what the current draw is for my heated jacket. I was surprised the Corbin seat only needs a 7.5 amp fuse, so it can't draw very much! The R has a direct SAE connected  to the battery I use for charging,  so I could just use that, but I was thinking of running an SAE connector from the Thunderbox  from under the seat to be easier to connect while on the seat.

My bike came with a fused SAE pigtail connected to the battery, and this is a popular dealer-installed accessory with all bikes I have ever bought. With this installed, they can throw a charger on any bike they have in stock to keep it charged up and ready for riding. In the past I have always added a separate fused co-ax pigtail that came with the heated gear; so that is a second pigtail on the battery terminal. With this Tiger, I took a different approach. Since the charging pigtail and the heated gear are never used at the same time, and to reduce the number of connectors on the battery terminals, I simply added an SAE - co-as adapter. So on the Tiger I have only 2 connectors at present, and one day a third will be added when the Denali CANSmart is added - that is it for this bike.

I like a separate direct-to-battery pigtail for my charging purposes. I have never gone through the CAN-Bus system and likely never will, designed for it or not. With this approach I have never had any issues with charging, batteries, or anything electrical (knock on wood).

Hey since I have you here anyway- I did get the Thunderbox, it arrived today. What sweet setup- I love the wire connectors. One question about connecting the ground wires- is there someway they have to match on the block connectors, or does it not matter (I assume they all connect to the same ground anyway...).  The instructions don't say either way.

It does not matter since each connector is a sort of bus-bar, i.e. one common terminal. What I assume to matter is that you utilise one circuit or the other for each accessory, i.e. don't connect +ve on one circuit and -ve on the other circuit.

Addendum- my jacket is an older model, the spec for the current jackets are 42 watt, 3.2 amp. Shouldn't be a problem running it through the Thunderbox. I got the twin 16 box, so I'll connect the Corbin seat on one positive block and the heated jacket on the other just to be safe. The ret of the stuff (GPS, USB, light later) won't draw much extra.

Dave

While I like the Thunderbox a lot for the 8 connection possibilities, I had a concern that I have never seen addressed or explained anywhere, and that is the gauge of the wires. The Thunderbox claims to handle up to 2 x 16 A accessories, yet the wires are not even as thick as speaker wires, and those connectors appear to be made for lighter gauge wires.

Generally, the more current is passed through wires the thicker gauge the wires need to be or else they could overheat. Heated elements (gear, seat, etc.) draw more power and so the demand on the wires would be higher; Healtech must have accounted for this. If the Thunderbox can somehow handle it through its internal circuitry such that the wires are as they are, then that is great, and your approach to keep the two on the separate circuits is a logical one.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention, my Thunderbox installation video dropped today. Since it is a universal accessory, sharing the link here is not off topic.