I am trying to wire in a lighted Stiffy Whip to my DS 650, and I'm hoping to get some input before I get started. I am not very good with wiring, so I want to make sure I don't fry something. I have decided to wire the whip directly to the battery, instead of tapping into the taillight, so that I can have the whip light on (for beverage stops at the dunes) when the headlight and motor is off. I have a Battery Tender Jr., and it came with a fused connector for permanent attachment to the battery (red ring to positive battery terminal, black ring to negative battery terminal, fused close to the battery connection, with a "hermaphrodite" SAE connector on the other end. I have now connected this to the battery, and zip tied the SAE connector to my grab bar.

I can now, instead of using the alligator clips that also came with the Battery Tender, plug into my Battery Tender using the SAE connector that is now zip-tied near my grab bar. The alligator clips, which I now don't use anymore, also have an SAE connector on the other end. What I want to do is cut the metal clips off and now use these wires to connect my lighted whip. There are two wires coming from the whip, I plan to connect (crimp on some spade connectors) these two wires to the wires that previously had the alligator clips at the end. I would then have a good solid connection point for the whip wires, easy to plug and un-plug, without the need to wire in a switch. Will this work? Is using wires that are/were designed for the Battery Tender a bad idea, or does it not matter (wire is wire right?). Also, in my scenario, I am not grounding any connections to the frame. Is that not necessary because I am ultimately connected to the negative battery terminal? Input from anyone who has wired in a whip, or who has wiring experience would really be appreciated. Sorry for the long post, I hope it makes some sense.

 

You will be fine with all that. Get a multi tester, and poke it around to make sure there are no crossovers or leaks, but the way you describe your setup is right on.

EDIT: I might be worried about running the light with your bike off... I don't even turn my lights on until I have had the bike running for a couple minutes, but I also run 200 watts of lights. Just make sure you have a switch to turn it off when you are not using it.

 

Thanks for the reply. I hear what you are saying, I definately don't want to have a dead battery at China Wall at midnight. I am running 170 watts of lights (65w PIAA headlight, 55w PIAAs in Baja lights) plus my GPS is hardwired. I'm thinking that, using the SAE connector, plugging and unplugging would be almost as easy as flipping a switch. If we are at a beverage stop, and I hear a V8 rail coming towards us, I could just plug the light in so he knows we're there, for example. What would be involved in wiring in a switch? Would I need a relay or anything like that? I don't know how to solder at all, and wires I crimp tend to not hold very well, so I am trying to minimize the number of connections.

 

wire it up to work off your cigarette lighter, i wont be able to0 go with you to glamis sorry mark