H4 Relay to PC8 or Battery?

[JohnnyCanuck]

For those of you with the PC8 and H4 Relay mods, is the general preference to run the H4 Relay Kit to the PC8 or straight to the battery and why? I'm prepared to do either but would prefer as few cables as possible going to the battery so am leaning toward connecting to the PC8. However, I also don't want to give the PC8 more than it can handle so any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[saboteur]

I doubt you'll be able to overload the pc8 without seriously trying to do so. You looking to hook up an electric frying pan?

 

[Gothlander]

From memory I think it is recommended that the lights are connected to the battery due to the power they draw.

 

[atomsplitter]

All my electric mods are straight to the battery. The charging system isn't overloaded that way.

 

[Rayvin]

As was mentioned before, there is no reason to not go directly to the battery with the H4 kit--it's already got the relay and fuse protection by itself. To run it through the PC8 would risk overloading the PC8 (depends on what other accessories you have running through the PC8) and provides no extra benefits over straight to the battery, other than having one less connection sitting on the battery posts.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

Now that I am finally taking the time to put the H4 Relay on I realized that I ordered the relay kit with bare wire ends. The bare wire ends relay kit does not have any fuse protection on the relay itself. Eastern Beaver still provides 2 - 20 amp fuses but they are for install into the PC-8. I expressed my concerns about possible overload of the PC8 to Jim at Eastern Beaver and he replied that dual H4's will usually draw about 10 amps so it shouldn't be a problem. He cautioned that bikes with a flash to pass button can draw 20 amps. He also cautioned not to use higher watt bulbs so I'll follow that advice when it comes time to replace them. The Rocket doesn't have a flash to pass button so that shouldn't be a concern. So looks like I'll be going directly to the PC8 after all. I wanted to minimize any possible spaghetti bowl around the battery anyways so should work out fine.

 

[Gothlander]

On my bike I noticed that both beams can be on at the same time with the rocker switch in the middle. So it can draw 20 amps briefly or longer if you don't switch it properly. I think this is the catalyst for ignition problems.