Circuit Breaker fuse box

[Crooked_Fender]

Hey guys,

When I wired up my custom, I ended up using auto reset circuit breakers instead of a standard fuse box. Would any of you be interested in having a box that fits a stock bike with circuit breakers instead of fuses? If enough of you would like em I might make em. Would be stainless steel and sealed.

[CatatonicBug]

Never heard of that kind of setup on a vehicle... Do you have pictures?

[Crooked_Fender]

I can open mine up tomorrow in the daylight for pics.

[b.walker5]

Is "Auto Reset" really a good idea ??. Sorry, but the electrician in me tells me that fuse's or circuit breakers blow for a reason, and auto resetting could cause serious damage and/or fire in circuits and components with faults on them.

Using circuit breakers is a good idea, as they provide 'close circuit protection' as apposed to the 'coarse circuit protection' of fuses (means the react quicker and provide better protection) but use 'Manual Reset' breakers not auto 'Auto Reset'.

Remember that the fuses in your bike, and your house, etc, are there to protect the wiring, not what's connected to the end of them, so size your breakers for the cable size, not the load. Overloaded wiring can melt the insulation and can go on fire

[natemoen]

I think the auto stands for automotive not automatic. Sounds intriguing, i would like some pics too.

[cywelchjr]

I would agree with using manual reset with one exception, and that would be for the headlight. Just like an auto, you want that to auto reset to give you at LEAST a possibility of a flashing headlight instead of no headlight. For the rest, I'm 100% with you, manual reset only.

[ManagerMike]

Never heard of that kind of setup on a vehicle... Do you have pictures?

Most medium duty and heavier trucks employ self reset circuit breakers, where light duty trucks and cars use fuses. Exactly why I don't know, but my guess is that it has more to due with reliability (for the commercial vehicle) and saving on production costs(for the consumer vehicle), than convenience.

That being said, if anyone out there has already upgraded thier fuse box to the ATC / ATO spade type fuse box, the 'self reset' circuit breakers are readily available without the need for special fuse panel setups. You can buy them for your car as well if you are so inclined.

[b.walker5]

I know they're out there but I struggle with the whole "auto reset" concept when it comes to electrical circuits. I've seen too many electrical fires over the years to think that it's a good idea. Admittedly there are instances where intermittant machine overloads are controlled with auto resets, and system are designed to cope with them but in our bikes there should be no such overloads, and if a circuit is drawing enough current to blow a fuse or pop a breaker then there is a fault that needs rectified. (unless the fuse or breaker is sized incorrectly). Auto resetting of faults can and frequently does cause damage to wiring and components, and when your a hundred miles from home do you really want a fried loom, or would you rather have a popped breaker and an hour on the side of the road finding the reason why before manully resetting and riding home.

Picture a chaffed wire earthing on the frame, constantly being livened up with an 'auto resetting" breaker. How long do you think it will take to get the wire hot enough to melt the insulation and burn out? Not my idea of fun.

I now what Cy is saying with the headlight thing, but where is that an option with the current OEM glass fuse? No doubt that a sudden loss of lights is unnerving (it's happened to me) but except in exceptional circumstances it's not catostrophic and completey survivable.

Just my opinion (based on 35 years in trade) but I wouldn't entertain "auto" resetting breakers on my bike. "Manual" reset breakers however would be a great idea and something i'm now going to explore.

[crazy steve]

Auto-reset circuit breakers can be found on a lot of US-built vehicles. While fairly common on larger trucks, on smaller vehicles they are rarely used for all circuits (mostly due to cost), but for certain 'critical' items they are; nearly all US cars from the fifties on up use these on the headlight circuit and these are generally built right into the light switch. Nowadays you'll find these on things like cooling fans and ABS brake systems. You'd find them on emergency vehicles for critical equipment also, like fire trucks, ambulances and the like. Harley used these exclusively up until the late 90s, and even after they switched to the cheaper fuses on most circuits, still used a CB for the 'main'.

While there is a small risk involved if one doesn't 'clear' correctly, a properly sized CB isn't much different than a fuse. The big difference is, it may allow you to 'limp home', with it cycling on/off/on. On some electronic circuits this may not be a good thing, but for properly wired lighting circuits I don't see any problem. The big downside is these breakers don't like being continuously cycled, so if you have an 'incident', don't be surprised if you have to replace a breaker. They're not there so much to save you money on fuses but to keep the circuit working until you can fix it right.

The one caveat to this is the non-US manufacturers generally run lighter wire gages for a given amp rating than do the US makers and breakers don't clear a short or overcurrent condition as quickly as a fuse, so you can get some heating into the wiring. Add in poor connections and/or previously overstressed wire (XS11s don't have those problems, do they...) and you could have a problem. If you have confidence that your wiring is in tip-top shape, or better yet, you've rewired the bike using larger wire, I'd go for it...

[SFerinTEXAS]

Found these manual resets for ATO

http://www.delcity.net/store/Low-Pro...s/p_795453.a_1

Good prices too. Not currently having any issues , so going to the back of my mind.

[3Phase]

The one caveat to this is the non-US manufacturers generally run lighter wire gages for a given amp rating than do the US makers and breakers don't clear a short or overcurrent condition as quickly as a fuse, so you can get some heating into the wiring.

Thanks for mentioning that, Steve, I was kind of hesitant to bring it up.

I was going to add a couple of circuit breakers to replace the Main and Headlight fuses until I read the trip time/over current/reset specs on a few of the more common automatic and manual-reset circuit breakers. Eventually I decided a breaker might cause more problems in the long run than finding and fixing the problem and replacing the fuse. Those breakers sure do look tempting though!

[Crooked_Fender]

Well, it seems this is a pretty unpopular idea. I guess my situation is a bit different. My whole harness is brand new larger gauge wire so I have less to worry about. Oh well, can't win em all. Thanks for the feedback!

[3Phase]

Fender, it sounds like you know what you're doing if you've made your own harness to completely replace the O.E.M. harness. If you've made the new harness correctly then circuit breakers would be fine, just do some sanity checks:

If there is an overload, not just a dead short, a breaker can allow more current for a longer time than a fuse before it trips.

Auto-reset breakers will allow even more short/overload current than manual-reset breakers.

When you make the harness and the connections be sure to use connectors and switches that fit the larger wire so they will carry the load.

Unless absolutely necessary, like the connections at the TCI, don't try to cheat with an adapter to go from, for example, 12 Gauge down to 14/16 Gauge to use an O.E.M. switch or a smaller connector. The connection or the device will become a fusible link and burn up to protect the wire and the breaker.

When you first power up a new harness don't assume it's good just because the breakers didn't trip or the fuses didn't pop: test and verify the correct operation and the current in each circuit with a good ammeter, it will save a lot of headaches down the road!

[crazy steve]

Well, it seems this is a pretty unpopular idea. I guess my situation is a bit different. My whole harness is brand new larger gauge wire so I have less to worry about. Oh well, can't win em all. Thanks for the feedback!

I wouldn't say unpopular.... maybe more ill-advised given the stock harness on a XS11.

I personally like circuit breakers on a bike; I used them on my chopper project over the choice of a conventional fuse panel due to the ease of 'packaging' them, as well as the fact that you more options in how you construct the harness. But I also scratch-built my harness, so I didn't have any concerns about old suspect wiring...