Ground Block Lighting Confusion

[Timbone]

Last night, my tail light wouldn’t light up. I’m running a separate 12V 36w SLA battery. Been having headlight issues, too, so I just removed the headlight and most of the wiring.

I’ve been checking out auto stores and hardware stores, as well as looking at wiring schematics online. I figure there was to be a much simpler way to wire a small number of 12V devices in parallel. My new project will have the same kind of battery powered electrics as the 4 stroke motor is pull start.

As a test, I epoxied a ground block to a thick insulator and affixed it to the top tube. I grounded the battery negative to the frame. The positive lead runs to a pst in the ground block. I figure I can just run a hot wire from a device (say, headlight) and ground the other lead to the frame.

My tests, all using LED lights, have failed. In fact, when I join the positive lead into the battery, it is very poppy and cranky. That positive lead gets hot really fast.

I know with LEDs the pos and neg are critical. But it doesn’t matter. Nothing I attach in combination with the ground block and the frame will draw electrical power. No go.

Electrics are my weak spot. Seems like this would be very simple. There are things going on here I don’t understand. Here’s a pic of my terminal block. Will my plan work?

Thanks!

 

[heligonka]

Last night, my tail light wouldn’t light up. I’m running a separate 12V 36w SLA battery. Been having headlight issues, too, so I just removed the headlight and most of the wiring.

I’ve been checking out auto stores and hardware stores, as well as looking at wiring schematics online. I figure there was to be a much simpler way to wire a small number of 12V devices in parallel. My new project will have the same kind of battery powered electrics as the 4 stroke motor is pull start.

As a test, I epoxied a ground block to a thick insulator and affixed it to the top tube. I grounded the battery negative to the frame. The positive lead runs to a pst in the ground block. I figure I can just run a hot wire from a device (say, headlight) and ground the other lead to the frame.

My tests, all using LED lights, have failed. In fact, when I join the positive lead into the battery, it is very poppy and cranky. That positive lead gets hot really fast.

I know with LEDs the pos and neg are critical. But it doesn’t matter. Nothing I attach in combination with the ground block and the frame will draw electrical power. No go.

Electrics are my weak spot. Seems like this would be very simple. There are things going on here I don’t understand. Here’s a pic of my terminal block. Will my plan work?

Thanks!

View attachment 83427

I am familiar with electrical circuitry, but I don't understand your reference to "ground block" that is Not grounded. Could you explain the principle so that I can learn from this installation.

 

[Street Ryderz]

The terminal it's self coupled with using the frame as ground makes for a very large curcuit and the terminal now acting like a fuse is capable of drawing alot of current amperage wise before the item connected to it.

 

[Timbone]

Thank you for your comments. I did further experiments and I think I figured this out!

First, the piece I’m using is marketed as a Ground Block. I have no idea what it’s really used for. Studying schematics of motorcycle wiring gave me the idea that this would work. It will!

Since it’s insulated from the frame, I suppose it’s now more of a Hot Block, or maybe better, a terminal block.

My problem was that I grounded the battery negative to the frame AND I grounded my terminal block to the frame, too. That was one ground too many - I just set up a kind of short circuit. I removed the wire from block to frame and it works as I thought it could. Now with the battery hooked up I can light up circuits simply by touching the device negative to ground and positive to my hot block. I’ve run three light circuits at once as a test and all lit up well. So I have managed a way to simply add lights and horn.

The only tricky part is to run on/off switches to control the circuits.

 

[heligonka]

The terminal it's self coupled with using the frame as ground makes for a very large curcuit and the terminal now acting like a fuse is capable of drawing alot of current amperage wise before the item connected to it.

Oh, I see, that means that the positive factor of the brass connector that integrates with the current sensitive inductor serving the 12 volt modified capacitance has no alternative but to interface with the multiplex adaptor as it provides a real time interface with the amplified circuit. Got it, thanks so much.

 

[Midwest Rider]

Oh, I see, that means that the positive factor of the brass connector that integrates with the current sensitive inductor serving the 12 volt modified capacitance has no alternative but to interface with the multiplex adaptor as it provides a real time interface with the amplified circuit. Got it, thanks so much.

What is a current sensitive inductor and a multiplex adaptor ? Nice job on figuring it out Timbone.

 

[Timbone]

What is a current sensitive inductor and a multiplex adaptor ? Nice job on figuring it out Timbone.

I think the heligonka writer was pulling our leg.

I’m rigging the same kind of thing in my new build. Gotta make it impossible for the hot block to ground out on the frame. It could start a fire under the right (wrong) conditions.

 

[Midwest Rider]

Yeah I got that Tim. LOL kinda funny if you think about it.

 

[Timbone]

The best humor is the subtle kind.