Dumb question - Relays

A relay failed on me last week switching my high beam aux lights on
after i'd parked up and flattening the battery.
Today I have been putting new fuse holders into the circuit and I've
noticed the Bosch relay always seem to be warm, even with the bike
switched off.Clearly current is flowing through the relay as its
connected
direct to the battery for the input live - are they meant to be warm
or is
my bike about to explode?
It's not something i've ever checked before.

Steve

 

the relay will be warm if there is current flowing through the coil. The
question is, why is current flowing through the coil when the bike is
parked up? Sounds like you have the switch for the circuit in the wrong
place.

 

Aiui the relay coils should only be carrying current when the contacts are
required to change over. This would only be momentary so they should
definitely not be warm. I would look for a short to ground on the earth side
of the relay coils.

hth

 

<snip>

Ladeez & gennelmen - the man who noticed I'd seriously underpriced
something on my pitch at Kempton Park today and who snapped it up
immediately.

Bugger.

 

Only a latching relay: normal relays (as in most of them) require current
through the coil continuously while in the 'active' state. 'Active' can
include contacts closed, open, or one (or more) sets open while one (or
more) alternative sets are closed in the case of a changeover relay,
depending on the relay type.

 

Well ,its been fine for the last year , the switch is the high beam
switch
so I don't think its wired wrongly.
Its only just warm , but noticeable IYSWIM.
Some Googling for relays seem to suggest its normal on SPDT
relays , so i'll just keep an eye on it I think.

 

Heh - BMW power sockets , £25 from Motorworks
or £2.50 from Classicspares Ltd.
Bargain it was.

 

Well done that man.

 

These would be the BMW 12V power sockets that only take the smaller
Hella plugs that you have to buy and fit to all your phone chargers and
suchlike, instead of the industry standard car type ones they come with
and that everyone else uses?

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

No , these would be the Industry Standard DIN 4165 connectors
that BMW bikes are fitted with as standard equipment to power
accessories with.
I didn't realise that a Versys comes with a Cigarette Lighter socket.

 

Do people actually change the plugs? That' s a bit dopey when all you
need to do is buy an adaptor and plug it in. It's not just BMW btw,
the plug I bought for my Tenere was one of the smaller Hella ones.

 

The smaller, more secure, higher current rated and more weatherproof
plugs and sockets that only BMW riders ( oh, and and most Trucks drivers)
use?

Yep.

 

No, they are the Euro DIN standard socket used by Triumph as well. Many
cig lighter plugs are universal and have a red bit of plastic on the end
that comes off to convert it to the Euro DIN. Just have a look at an
Optimate charging lead.

One advantage of the Euro DIN socket is that there are parts made to
marine spec. which as Alex says, makes them ideal for all weather
riding.

BTW, for carrot cruncher types, if you need an adapter for a phone
charger etc then these sockets are used in John Deere tractors so your
local farm supplies place or tractor shop may have the part in stock at
farmer's prices.

 

"Now, yew zee, if yew'n went to one o' they flashy toype shops loike
Maaaplin, yew'd'a bin payin' zeriouz CASH, boy, know, what I'm zayin'?
Now, 'ere, zee, we wantz juzt three carrotz an' a cupple o'spudz.
'Owzat?"

"Arr, foine. Got change for a turnip?"

 

Why let that get in the way of him having a pop at BMW? I'd be hanging
my head in shame if the best I could do was to highlight the fact that
a manufacturer specs their bikes to suit their home market before
others and I'd be even more ashamed if those specs were significantly
higher than most manufacturers.

 

it's the Triumph branding on the bullet-foot interface that amuses me.

 

I must admit, it's long been a mystery to me why the mighty H's
flagship tourer does not have such a device as standard.

It can't be through lack of space, or available electricity, and it's
not because they're averse to loading up the thing with wossnames,
either.

 

I've got to admit that from a personal point of view I'd sooner the
plugs were the larger size that we find in UK cars but you can buy an
adaptor for under a tenner so it's still cheaper than buying a new
accessory socket and wiring it in from scratch. I don't know why more
manufacturers don't fit a socket as a standard fitment on everything
apart from out and out sports bikes but you can go and buy one with
crocodile clips for only a small outlay and it's job done. I used such
a device when I spent a week camping at the Manx GP a couple of years
ago left it permanently clipped in place then tucked under the pillion
pad so it was a matter of seconds to remove the pad and plug my phone
in.

 

On 20/03/2011 16:37, Salad Dodger wrote:

Is there anything you can plug in that's not available as a factory option?

 

It doesn't, I fitted one to suit the accessories I'd be buying, which
are all fitted with the industry standard car cigarette lighter plug...
like just about every phone charger and air bed pump etc is.

The BMW ones always used to be the smaller sized socket, have they
finally decided to move into the 20th century then?

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)