Installing an Accesory Power Distribution Plate on a Suzuki DL650 V-Strom

I just installed a power distribution plate on my 2004 V-Strom and noticed a few posts asking questions about where to tie in the relay, etc., so I figured I would post my experience. I'm sure there are other ways to do this, but this seemed to work for me.


Tools needed:

• wire cutters
• wire strippers
• wire connector crimper (or long handled pliers)
• exacto knife blade (or a sharp pocket knife)
• phillips head screwdriver
• flat head screwdriver
• a tool to trim the horn connector (a dremel works well)
• voltmeter
• soldering iron (and solder/flux)

Other supplies needed

• accessory power distribution plate (from twistedthrottle.com)
• auxiliary horn connector (Suzuki part number 36852-06G00)
• velcro strips (package sells for $1 at Big Lots)
• assorted automotive fuses (or specific to your accessories)
• 3/8" plastic wire tubing (4 foot length) to protect wires
  
• 1/2" plastic wire tubing (4 foot length) to protect 12 gauge wires
  
• 12 gauge wire (red and black) to power accessories at front of the bike
  
• heat shrink tubing (assorted sizes) and a heat source (e.g., matches)
• 8 position dual row barrier strip (Radio Shack 274-670) as a ground plate
  
• 8 position jumper strip (Radio Shack 274-650)
  
• an extra yellow terminal connector (for the ground wire)
  
• a yellow butt connector (to connect the ground wire to the ground plate)
• "dielectric" grease to protect connectors from corrosion
  

Ordering Parts

Before you can begin, you need to order power distribution plate (I got mine from twisted throttle) and the auxiliary horn connector from a Suzuki dealer. While waiting, you can obtain the rest of the supplies.

The power distribution plate kit.

Suzuki auxiliary horn connector (part number 36852-06G00)

I've heard mention of a "heated grip connector" in some forums. When ordering the part, the Suzuki dealer told me the part was actually listed as a "auxiliary horn connector" and they were not familiar with a "heated grip" connector. I checked the wiring diagram, and sure enough, it's listed as a heat grips connector (kind of surprising though, given the gauge wire used).

Just be aware that when you are ordering the connector from Suzuki, use the part number to avoid confusion.


Prep Work

Secure the bike (use a center stand if you have one) and remove the gas tank and the rear cowling on the left side adjacent to the battery. It will also help to remove the bolt on the right side securing the bottom of the radiator. If you can swing the bottom of the radiator forward a bit, it will help later.

A quick side note...

The first time I had to remove the gas tank, I broke a few of those little black nylon rivets holding the cowling on.


It wasn't until my friend Cullen told me how they worked that I was able to get them off without fear of breaking them. All you have to do is push in the center of the rivet, and then it just slips out. To replace it, pus the pin outward (so it sticks out), insert the rivet, and then push the pin down with your finger so it's flush again. Easy-peasy.

If you do manage to break off any rivets (like I did) you can order more from www.boltmotorcyclehardware.com. Most Suzuki dealers carry them, too--but they aint cheap (around a buck and half per rivet).

Remove the ground lead from the battery, then the positive lead.


Mounting the fuse block

Probably the best place to mount the fuse block for the power plate is on the front of the storage area, just behind the battery. The power plate kit comes with ties, but I found that a good strip of velcro along the length of the fuse block works quite nicely.



Run the red wire from the fuse block along side of the battery compartment, parallel to the wrapped trunk of wires, and then out the side as pictured.



Mounting the Relay

Now for the relay. I mounted mine on the left side along the side rail just inside the cowling.



Even though the relay has a hole for mounting with a bolt, I recommend (again) using velcro. No need to worry--the relay isn't going anywhere. Besides, if you mount the relay with a bolt, it's going to be exposed to more vibration.



If you position the relay as pictured, you'll find that the 30 amp fuse holder will tuck nicely into a niche on the front left side of the battery compartment.



There are three red wires coming off the relay. Not pictured here are the long blue and black wires coming from the relay. They are just hanging off the side of the bike.



The wire with the white tab connector will connect to the wire from the fuse block. The long red wire with no connector will connect to the battery terminal, and the short wire with the light blue crimp connector connects to the positive lead of your battery tender, if you have one.

Measure the length needed to connect the lead from the fuse block to the lead with the white tab connector from the relay.



Measure twice, cut once, strip off about 3/8" of the insulation and crimp on the yellow tab connector, If you don't have a crimp tool you can use long handled pliers but make sure you crimp the wire with as much force as possible. You do NOT want this wire to come loose. Give it a good tug to make sure it's secured, and then attach the two connectors (with a dab of dielectric grease). Tuck the wire under the frame.



Run the long wire from the relay so that it parallels the wire from the fuse block to the positive terminal of the battery. Similar to the way you connected the yellow tab connector, measure, cut, strip and crimp the wire to the yellow ring terminal to later attach to the battery.

Insert the wires into a section of 3/8" wire tubing to protect them. The wires are almost too large for this size tubing, but just be patient and you'll get them in.



Connecting the Relay Wires

The power plate kit comes with a ring terminal and a T-tap for connecting the black wire coming from the relay to ground. Forget them. Throw them away, or stow them for some other project. Instead we're going to use the auxiliary horn connector (Suzuki part number 36852-06G00).



Just behind the left side of the radiator near the top is a trunk of wires wrapped in tape. Attached to this trunk with more tape is the female auxiliary horn connector (or the heated grip connector--whatever you want to call it).



Use an exacto knife, pocket knife, or some kind of blade to (carefully!) detach the female connector from the tape holding it against the wire trunk. Once free, remove the tape that was securing the connector--it's separate from the tape wrapping the rest of the trunk and can be removed without making any other cuts.


Temporarily connect the battery leads to the battery (positive lead first), turn on power to the ignition, and use a voltmeter to verify the polarity of the leads to the female connector. The lead connected to the orange/green wire should be positive, and the black/white wire should be ground. When done, disconnect the battery leads again (negative lead first).



The horn connector (part 36852-06G00) has a black connector and a white connector on each end. Use wire cutters to cut off the black connector. You can even cut the wires to the white connector down to a couple of inches long (or not). The white connector has some kind of tab molded onto it that looks like it snaps into a hole somewhere on the bike. I wasn't able to locate any place for this to fit, and it looked to me like it would be in the way so I simply used a dremel to cut it off.

Feed the black and blue wires from the relay along the left side of the bike to the connector. Measure (a little long is ok) and cut the wires. Strip the black and blue wires to expose 3/8" of wire, and strip the wires from the wires from the white connector as well. Twist and tin the wires with a soldering iron. Mock fit the connector to verify polarity, then remove again to solder and heat shrink the wires onto the connector. The blue wire connects to positive (to the orange/green wire on the bike), the black wire to ground (to the black/white wire on the bike).



Insert the wires into a length of 3/8" wire tubing to protect them from heat, vibration and rubbing.



Mounting a Ground Plate

The last thing to connect is the ground plate. The kit doesn't come with this, and the V-Strom definitely needs one.

The VStrom electric system is designed with all grounds returned via wires to the battery ground. The frame should never be used as a ground return path on these bikes. Due to the fact that the frame is a mix of aluminum and steel, running current through these parts will result in an electrolytic reaction which will eat away at the frame. All added electrical accessories should have their ground current running through wires to the battery.

Special thanks to Mark Lawrence for publishing this information :)

Make a Radio Shack run (if you haven't already), and get either a six position or eight position dual row barrier strip and a jumper strip.


Attach the jumper strip to the barrier strip (this will turn every connector into a big ground). Then attach it to the right rail (again, velcro is fine here) behind the helmet holder wire. Test fit your seat to make sure nothing hits, and adjust/move the ground plate accordingly.



To connect what is now the ground plate to the negative battery terminal, take a length of the extra red wire you previously cut off and cover it with heat shrink (you don't want a red wire connected to your ground plate, right?). If you happen to have some black 10 gauge wire on hand, you can use that instead. Strip and crimp on a yellow terminal connector to one end and a butt connector to the other end. You'll need to file down the sides of the butt connector a bit to get it to fit on the ground plate.

Connect the positive lead (and the terminal connector from the relay) to the battery, and then the negative lead (and terminal connector from the ground plate) to the battery.

Now time for the initial test. Turn on the ignition and listen for the "click" from the relay. If you hear it, great. If you insert the 30 amp fuse, you can also test the lead to the fuse plate to make sure it shows voltage when the ignition is on.

Now you can insert fuses for each of your accessories, and run wires on the right side of the bike to the front through 1/2" wire tubing, and you are ready to roll!