A meter to see what the current flow is.
I can recommend a good multimeter. Best choice according to my research. It's a bit complicated to choose the proper features in a meter. Mine was ~$27.
I would put a switch in line to the speaker.
Yeah, that would work if you hooked the speaker directly to the battery and put a switch in the negative wire. You would have to remember to turn the switch on yourself when you turned on the radar though. Not a bad thing to have the option of audio alarm or no audio alarm if that is what you're planning. If this is a music speaker, you probably don't want to listen to Joe Satriani all day either.
If I hook it to my battery,I can install a small switch in the hot lead right?
You could put the switch in the positive wire ----that would be a
switch to draw --the accessorie that is drawing the power has ALL AVAILABLE power cut from it when the switch is OFF. That would work but it probably would be a little less safe than placing the switch in the black wire. A switch in the black wire is a
switch to ground.
SWITCH TO DRAW = Your switch shuts OFF all available power in that circuit. i.e. you are using the battery!!!! that is 100% fullON power coming up that red wire!!! How many amps the battery can supply is the max amperage your bike can make. I bet it is ~60 amps and that is way more than anything on the bike can use except maybe the starter motor. SO (assuming my guess of 60 amps is in the ballpark) you got 60 amps coming up the red wire (better have at least 18 gauge wire) and you are going to switch all of that power ON/OFF. That's 60 amps arching each time you throw the switch (better use a HD switch, not a mini). A switch ALWAYS causes an arch and it is a LOT stronger arch with DC than it is AC. Your speaker only draws 2 amps. Why do you want to arch 60 amps when all the power you need is 2 amps?
SWITCH TO GROUND = You are safer to let the 60 amps lay steadily in wait within the red wire and let the speaker draw in its 2 amps off that 60. It goes through the speaker and what comes out the other end in the black wire? Less than 2 amps. SO you see, a switch to ground creates a lot smaller arch.
You could place an inline fuse between the battery + and the red wire to the speaker. That would lower the amperage to the speaker and the switch if you must put the switch in the positive wire. Even if you put the switch in the black wire, I would still use an inline fuse in the red wire from the battery to the speaker. It will protect the circuit from an overload and there is no reason to run full battery power to a speaker. Same goes for the radar detector and I'm sure you def want to protect that expensive item from getting fried by an overload. The detector might have an internal fuse built in.
Short answer: I believe it is proper to create the switch to ground meaning you let the power flow into the accessory (speaker in this case) and then install the switch in the negative wire. Also, use an inline fuse 3Ah or lower) in the positive wire. You can put the inline fuse right to the battery terminal.
Here's where I put my inline fuse for my guages. One end to battery + other end to the positive wire for gauges and run through one of the many secret holes in the battery box. I grounded the black wire to frame but you could ground to battery with your pigtails.
There are a few cool holes in the battery box you can rout a wire through. I'm sure the Gen2 has them as well. Put a 1/2" gromet in one of those holes in the floor or the hole in the wall. The floor holes are a bit larger than 1/2"...I lost the first grommet somewhere underneath it fell through pressing it in. It never fell out in the garage. Second go I was more careful and I got it in.
* Last updated by: Rook on 5/18/2018 @ 5:03 PM *
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