How do I install a power socket... for GPS etc

Hi everyone,

I imagine this has been covered before, but I can't find the thread. If anyone knows if there is a thread please post the link.

If not, I'd appreciate some tips on how to go about getting a 12v socket installed.

For example, where do you put it.. where do you connect it?

Pictures would be great too.

thanks
Don

One good link...

https://www.silverwing600.com/silver-wing-accessories-modifications-f5/12-volt-power-install-without-removing-tupperware-t196.htm?highlight=power+outlet

there have been others... expect other suggestion.

Good luck.

Gary

Hi Don.

I'm not sure if you plan to do the work yourself, but if you're not...

I had mine installed by a Honda dealer. I bought it from West Marine, a boat accessories dealer, so that it would be waterproof. Then I brought it to the dealer. I had it placed below the handlebars, above the gas tank section, on the body of the scooter. The switch for my heated grips was placed next to it, along with the switch for the foglights. I had this all done at the same time, and it wasn't very expensive.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures right now, but I'll take some this afternoon and post them.

Mandy

Thanks Gary and Mandy,

Looking forward to seeing the pics

Don

I asked my friendly Honda dealer and after thinking about it for a 3 days they said that there is no part available from Honda. Also, the aftermarket one could be installed, with $269 worth of labor!

Don, I know there have been two really detailed posts about this before. Apparently they are on the other big Silverwing forum that I have been booted from. I am a BAD boy. DennisB is the one that installed mine and he has detailed installation instructions. There was another poster that had a different approach. I can't remember his name. You can do the work. It is not a big deal if you are slightly inclined to do these kind of things.
I am sure another poster here is going to name the forum. I am not. They booted me, so I choose to never promote them. Just call me childish. I love my Silverwing, and this forum. I will help anyone that needs advice that I can help with. If you are close to me, I will even come to your house and baby sit the kids or dogs while you work on your scoot.
Good luck,
Gary

Hi Gary,

I think Arizona to British Columbia may be a "bit" too far to come and help

I talked to my dealer today and he sent me to a marine store to get the right parts. I didn't get a quote (I will), but the shop foreman said it was no big deal... they've done lots before.

If the quote is too high, I'll do it myself, with the remote control help of everyone here.

BTW my shop has just been bought by a new guy who is a real "bike nut"... he rode a KTM in this year's Paris-Dakar... and almost killed himself. Anyways, it's cool to have an enthusiast running the business.

thanks again
Don

I mounted two 12v sockets. There's a space for one in the left pocket (SWings sold overseas come equipped with a cigar lighter sized socket there). I mounted my first one there. I bought the socket from NAPA for about $8. It fit perfectly. I ran some heavy-duty lamp cord (with a fuse) directly from the battery inside the lower left tupperware to the front of the bike. I only had to remove the left passenger footrest and the windshield garnish. I have fairly small hands so I was (barely) able to get at the back of the socket area throught the small hole behind the garnish. I use this socket to recharge my cell phone and connect my trickle charger. I used the same wiring from the battery to install a Powerlet socket on the dash for my GPS.

Hi Scooterian,

Can you post any pictures of the finished job... especially the dash mount?

I guess what I'm concerned about is.. how do I know where a hole for the socket can be drilled in the tupperware that will have enough space behind it.

thanks
Don

Ok. I put a couple of pictures in my new Album. I hope this helps. --Scott

I installed a stainless steel marine one one just under the pillion seat facing downwards just near the battery next to the little bulb changing hatch. this gives easy access to the socket if I ever need to attend to it or the wiring
I used a hole saw to cut the plastic panel and ran a short 10 amp fused wire back to the battery. I can now hook up a solar charger without having to have the pocket unlocked, pump up my tyre with a small compressor, boil my kettle, run a flouro lamp etc etc. The OEM unit in the LH pocket is only rated to 1 amp, so is only useful for electronic equipment.
Next: a 6volt outlet to run hand held CB, Hikers GPS, Pillion intercom, and get rid of those pesky AA and AAA batteries.

Hi Scott,

Thanks for those pics. I had never thought of putting the plug up there.

cheers
Don

Don,
This is old Dave in Western Nebraska...
I installed a power outlet in the left glove box where it is prepared to go then I put the other one to the upper left of the right hand glove box for my Garmin c300 GPS. The one on the right is a marine outlet so has a rubber cover to keep it moisture proof. This was not my Idea, I take no credit for it. Someone else mounted the second one to the upper left of the removable box. He was very smart to put it there as it really works out well.

NewScoot wrote:

Thanks Gary and Mandy,

Looking forward to seeing the pics
Don

Don,

I put some pictures in my album. Hope this helps.

Mandy

Thanks Mandy,
That was where I had originally thought to drill the hole for the socket, but I didn't and still don't know what's behind there... is it safe to just drill through there?
thanks
Don

NewScoot wrote:

Thanks Mandy,
That was where I had originally thought to drill the hole for the socket, but I didn't and still don't know what's behind there... is it safe to just drill through there?
thanks
Don

I took it to a Honda dealer, and they did it for me. So I can't answer your question directly.

Don, I had two installed. One was in the left glove box with the pre-installed punch out. That one was relatively easy to install. I use that for recharging my cell phone. The second one was exactly like the one Emeskay has. I use it for the GPS. There were a few [b]major[/b] things I learned on that one. First, there is [b]plenty[/b] of room for drilling there. The problem was getting my fat hand down there to get the nut on the back of the socket. Also, same problem hooking wire lead to the terminal. We removed the right pocket for access to the area behind the tupperware with the new hole that was drilled. The parking break is there and I can not express how much tension was generated trying to bend my arm and squeeze it into that tight space and not drop the locking nut that had to be threaded on that terminal. I would recommend looking for another place unless you choose to remove the tupperware to allow you to see and reach that area. Someone had pictures showing how they moved it a little higher and another moved it to a flat surface on the dash. A little higher would be good. There would be a consideration for possible moisture if you mount it on a flat surface. I would experiment reaching in and make sure what you can reach. As I said earlier, there is plenty of room to drill the hole, but that is not the only consideration. I really like having mine where they are, but not sure I would try to do it exactly that way again. I use both very often. Wouldn't be the same without either.
Hope this helps.

Just added pictures in my album

Gary

Opalsboy wrote:

Don, I had two installed. One was in the left glove box with the pre-installed punch out.
Gary

I'm definitely going to add one in the glove box. I didn't realize there was a punch out. Thanks!

Mandy

Mandy, the Silverwings in Europe come with the outlet already installed in the left lockable glovebox... go figure.

Gary

Please will someone tell me if the socket in the cubby on UK Wings is wired through the ignition switch or live all the time.

Thanks in advance.

I'm trying to find out if replacement rear wheel from other year than 2002 will work. I just purchased a 2002 and one of the recalls is for rear rim. Also does anyone know how to fix and what is involved the faulty handlebar issue from 2002?

Thanks

Hi Tallrr,

Welcome to the forum.

I would take the scooter to the Honda Dealership armed the the VIN number. They can look it up on their computer to see if your scooter has had any recall work done on it. If no safety recall work has been done on your scooter they will do it for you free.

DennisB

Question: I keep reading people here talking about pictures but I don't see any throuought the thread. Am I missing something?
P.S. I'm considering taking the right glovebox out and installing a radio, power socket(s) & GPS socket there.

For referred-to pictures look in the Album - third button from the left at the top of the thread:

Forum Calendar Album FAQ etc.

MikeO wrote:

Please will someone tell me if the socket in the cubby on UK Wings is wired through the ignition switch or live all the time.

Thanks in advance.

Mike, I've just been to the garage and checked the output from the cigar lighter. It is permanently live.

Resurrecting this thread:

I want to install a 12v socket (which I have ready) near the RH glove-box.
I planned to take a spur from the back of the socket in the LH box.
Is there any way of getting to that socket without taking the bike apart?
I've looked carefully at all the threads but can't find what I want, i.e. the easiest, laziest way of doing it!
Or.....is there another suitable source of power close by?

I'm not totally unable to do such stuff and have all the proper connectors and tools but hesitate to hack into wiring I'm not familiar with nor strip down lovely new machinery.

Hi MikeO, Can you get the left power outlet out of the hole with wires attached? That would make getting to the 12V power wire much easier and getting a wire tap installed would be a snap. You can ground wire off any FRAME screw or bolt.

DennisB

Thanks, Dennis.
I'd got that in mind but am a bit wary of trying to pull out the socket as, reading other posts, I think it's a push-and-click fit so won't slide out without getting the 'click' bits out of their registers.
I'll investigate further.

Mike,

Here's another thought...there is a person on ebay that manufactures a hard wire cable assemblies for M/C GPS power hook-ups. Here's a thread:

http://shop.ebay.com/mfauls/m.html?_nkw=hardwire&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3911.m270.l1313&_odkw=&_osacat=0

Hi Don, I installed 2-12volt sockets on my swing, one i installed in the right side access door under the seat, easy access for installation and that way I can charge stuff while riding and not worry about it moving around. The second one for my Sirius Satellite Radio, I made a stainless bracket to mount to the Ball Mount that I bought from this site which mounts in the center of the handle bars. For Power I choose to install a Power Bar & Grounding Block that way only 2 ring terminals on the Battery which gave me room to add 6 more wires which I ran up the left side of the bike by removing the rear Tupperware and the piece under the foot board. Used a piece of stiff wire to fish my power wires up through the front Tupperware to power my 12 volt outlet for my radio and my GPS.
Good luck with your project.

Belated thanks for tips and hints.

These days I'm reluctant to cut holes in new things and, having given much thought to the problem/solution, came up with this:

I bought one of these to mount on the lid of the LH cubby:

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/12v_surface_mounted_din_socket_cap/

I drilled three holes; two tiny ones for the self-tappers to fix the socket and a larger one through which to feed the wires.

On the end of the wires I fixed a chocolate-block connector and into that more wire attached to a plug which goes into the standard socket inside the cubby.

I made a gasket from gaffer tape and sealed the big hole with silicone sealant. The wires are clipped with self-adhesive cable clips to the underside of the lid.

It looks and works fine and should something unforeseen happen, I have only to replace the lid to bring the bike back to 'normal'.

I'll take some pictures in due course and put them in my album.

Incidentally, I also bought one of these in case I want to charge my phone or ipod in the cubby or plug in a GPS:

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/12v_twin_din_socket_adaptor/

Hope this is of use to someone.

Quick, simple solution for having GPS and cell phone power on a made-for-America Silver Wing with empty power socket.

Get a Battery Tender Jr. It comes with a yoke you screw on to the positive and negative terminals on the battery for trickle charging. It's around $25. Battery Tender also sells a female receptor (cigarette lighter socket) for $8.99 that plugs into the yoke. Plug a USB male cigarette lighter insert into the female receptor and voila, you can charge your phone under the seat. It charges anytime the battery is on; no need to have the engine running.

Or, if you want power for GPS, but don't want to do the wiring from the battery to the empty power socket in the left glove box, plug the GPS into the female socket and snake the GPS cord under the front of the seat, then run it up to the GPS on the handlebar. It's a little bit "amateur hour" because the GPS cord hangs down and disappears under the seat, but for  me, that's fine. I don't use a GPS often enough to be fussy. Like I said, quick and easy if you want to create a power source for your various media.

Updated version if you prefer a more permanent solution for the Battery Tender wiring ....

This is a two to three hour solution, great for a Saturday morning when you're looking for a project ... and made easier if you invest $20 to $30 in a digital service manual.

Remove the lid under the seat (four screws).

Remove the seat (four bolts under the nose and a cotter pin holding the shock arm). A Vanna White to hold the seat while you unscrew the bolts is a huge help. Also, put some tape under the cotter pin while you're working with it. You do NOT want to drop it into the bowels of the bike.

Remove the spark plug lid (two screws).

Remove the rubber floorboard liners and the floor skirts (lower screws behind the front wheel plus screws and bolts on the floor boards).

Remove the entire floor step, the centerpiece that includes the gas cap lid (two screws). The center of the bike is now exposed for your surgical wiring operation.

Back the cord from a Battery Tender "female cigarette lighter" ($11.) into the hole in the left cubby. Feed the line into the hole down the inside of the left faring until it emerges into sunlight at the bottom. I will confess, seeing it emerge was a near orgasmic feeling.

Pull the line tightly so the female socket is taut in the empty hole (it's too big to pass through so you'll never lose it in the bike). Keeping the line taut, zip tie it in place along existing lines and/or the frame to form a path to the battery. It will need to go UP through the hole in the lid under the seat (photo).

Attach a Battery Tender "ring terminal harness" (pre-fused and $5.00) to the battery. Connect this to the female line and voila: You have power in the left glove box for GPS or charging your phone. You can obviously also use the harness to charge the battery as needed.

Hey Delray, thank you for your detailed post. I’m following your directions and have come across a bit of a snag. At the section “Remove the entire floor step...” I can’t get it to come out. It seems to be stuck around the gas cap. I believe I’ve removed all of the screws and bolts, but think I’m missing something. Any more details on this would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

Sounds like the two screws next to the gas cap need to be removed. There might be some tabs in that area but I don't remember. The illustration below suggests that there are two on either side, on top of the floorstep.

Here are the written and visual instructions from the Service Manual ....

Perfect! That did the trick. I missed removing the foot pegs. Now all is good. :-)

Thanks Delray!! You, and this forum, are awesome.

"Perfect! That did the trick. I missed removing the foot pegs. Now all is good. :-)"

I can't tell from your description if the passenger footpegs were holding the floorstep in place or the two screws next to the gas cap. I checked my instructions from the earlier post and noticed I hadn't included the footpegs step, so I amended the instructions -- thanks for that. It might make life easier for a future power socket installer ;o).

Mike

(UPDATED INSTRUCTIONS. This is the same information as an earlier post but includes removing the footpegs just before removing the entire floorstep)

This is a two to three hour solution, great for a Saturday morning when you're looking for a project ... and made easier if you invest $20 to $30 in a digital service manual.

Remove the lid under the seat (four screws).

Remove the seat (four bolts under the nose and a cotter pin holding the shock arm). A Vanna White to hold the seat while you unscrew the bolts is a huge help. Also, put some tape under the cotter pin while you're working with it. You do NOT want to drop it into the bowels of the bike.

Remove the spark plug lid (two screws).

Remove the rubber floorboard liners and the floor skirts (lower screws behind the front wheel plus screws and bolts on the floor boards).

Remove the passenger footpegs, two bolts. There is a grommet on the inside of the footpegs that slips over a hook behind the tupperware. Push up and away from the tupperware to remove it. When re-installing, slip the grommet over the hook to settle the footpegs in place.

Remove the entire floor step, the centerpiece that includes the gas cap lid (two screws). The center of the bike is now exposed for your surgical wiring operation.

Back the cord from a Battery Tender "female cigarette lighter" ($11.) into the hole in the left cubby. Feed the line into the hole down the inside of the left faring until it emerges into sunlight at the bottom.

Pull the line tightly so the female socket is taut in the empty hole (it's too big to pass through so you'll never lose it in the bike). Keeping the line taut, zip tie it in place along existing lines and/or the frame to form a path to the battery. It will need to go UP through the hole in the lid under the seat (photo).

Attach a Battery Tender "ring terminal harness" (pre-fused and $5.00) to the battery. Connect this to the female line and voila: You have power in the left glove box for GPS or charging your phone. You can obviously also use the harness to charge the battery as needed.

It’s live all the time

tworiversuk wrote:

It’s live all the time

The power socket on the FJS Silver Wing isn’t live all the time. Switch off the ignition with a sat nav plugged in and the sat nav powers down and switches itself off.

It is live all the time , your sat nav may stop and shut down but the power socket stays live , I’ve checked it wit a multimeter

You haven't used a sat nav then, just poked around the socket with a multimeter. It's interesting that the sat nav powers up again when I turn the ignition back on again. Why do you think that is?  

My Forza does exactly the same with a sat nav fitted too.

Its live all the time, just this minute checked it so you are wrong Meldrew, just tried my phone in usb charger and it is definitely live with no ignition keys in sight

I've never used any maxi scooter 12v socket with or without a USB plug to charge a phone. On the Silver Wing apart from sat nav and occasionally a heated vest, I'd plug my Optimate in a few time over winter and that’s it.

Still it's nice to know that I occasionally get things wrong and I've generated a bit of interest. Now I'm curious why you'd even consider charging a mobile on a maxi. It's so much easier to do indoors overnight on a charging stand, a Lightning cable, or with a power bank if you own one.

The reason I’d need to charge my phone , is.. when touring I’d have it constantly on whilst using the sat nav tom tom app which drains the phone battery , I also use a shuberth Bluetooth connection and that also drains the battery, so it’s good to keep it on charge all the time I’ve used the fuse box , live only when the ignition is on wire to power a secondary power outlet in the right cubby.

I have two Schuberth helmets that both have different coms set ups, internal on the E1 and external on the M1 and their batteries are charged by plugging into their mini USB ports. They both automatically mate with my Garmin Zūmo sat nav by Bluetooth. They don't drain anything and I usually charge them up at night when using them.

Occasionally I remember to fit my clamp on Schuberth handlebar controller, another piece of kit I bought thinking I'd use more than I do.

ive never heard of a handle bar controller have you a link?