| Author | Message | ||
     Mikef5000 |
  Off:  Tail light:  Brake Light:  Then swing in to the inside: Contact switch:   Interior LEDS:  The interior LEDs are run (through a fuse and then the switch shown above) straight to the battery, so the light will turn on whenever you open the trunk, whether the key is ON or not. The exterior LEDs are on steady at about 50% brightness, then when the brakes are applied they strobe for 2 seconds then stay solid at full brightness. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Very nice... ready to install round two | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Great job. I think I'll be copying something similar to that. | ||
| Billyo |
Mike, what brand LED's are they? | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Ebay super cheap brand. Straight from China. Just make sure you get the SMD 5050 LEDs, they are 1000% brighter than the ones that don't specify. A single SMD 5050 LED puts out more light than the whole strip of unspecified LEDS. For the interior lights I used the 'unspecified' type only because not that much light is needed in there, and the 30cm strip was less than $2 shipped. I may switch it over to a SMD 5050 strip though because the difference is so huge and I have a spare SMD 5050 strip. Here's one: http://cgi.ebay.com/White-15-LED-SMD-Waterproof-Gr ill-Strip-Light-Bulb-30cm_W0QQitemZ250529297334QQc mdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a54b5 b3b6  For the exterior lights you need the SMD 5050 LEDs though. Here's a set (I used two): http://cgi.ebay.com/Extandable-30CM-5050-SMD-White -LED-12V-Strip-Waterproof_W0QQitemZ390114691081QQc mdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad4a5 c809  Then I used a square 4-wire weatherpack connector like this one:  Also bought from ebay. As of right now I have one empty terminal. The switch is a fairly standard long lever snap action switch and can be found online here: http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/SM S-196/SPDT-SNAP-ACTION-SWITCH-W/LEVER/-/1.html  Or your local radio shack should have them as well. I just cut the end of the lever off where I needed it and wrapped it in electrical tape to eliminate the sharp edges and 'black' it out a bit. I think that about sums it up. (Message edited by mikef5000 on December 03, 2009) | ||
| 7873jake |
I'm fully stoked to finish this now! I finally have all of the bits, parts and pieces collected but work keeps killing my garage time. I feel a sick day coming... Thanks for the write up and info. Nicely done! | ||
| Mikef5000 |
The last touch to my rear lighting will be converting the turn signals to red running lights. They will be on steady and blink off when the signal is activated. I already have relays wired and red bulbs, it's just a matter of buying a no-load LED flasher. I really don't want to run those big resistors. | ||
| Eshaw |
get your LED's from elementalled.com I am an electrician an use them for under cabinet lights. They make waterproof ones as well that are covered in a silicone jacket. I have not used any yet on a vehicle but they are 12volt so should work lovely on a bike. e | ||
| Billyo |
Thanks Mike. Those really look great. I pick up my new XT next Saturday and that was the first thing I was planning to do. Then driving lights, then CR mirrors, then paint the silver parts of the cases to match the plastics, then...well, you get the picture. I'll stay tuned for the turn signal mod. | ||
| Thesmaz |
Looks great! Thanks for the links for the parts as well. Do you have a wiring diagram or picks of where you ran the wires down to the OEM tail/brake light. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
another nice job mike. you really come up with some pretty good electrical stuff. | ||
| Court |
Very cool and I am eager, this winter, to do something like this. Nothing worse that digging around in dark luggage during the night. Hey Mike . . . I stopped in Columbus the other night and stayed at a killer place called the Westin. It's a Historic building that was spectacular. They even offer goose down "Heavenly" dog beds . . . . you guys in Ohio are living large ! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
The next time you are in C-bus let me/us know.... there are a some local places that you must eat at when you are here... | ||
| Aceldama |
Excellent job, you've given me some ideas. What are you using to get the strobe effect? | ||
| Sekalilgai |
Looks great Mike! really like the in-trunk light...good idea | ||
| Etennuly |
Hey Mikey, you could have saved all the trouble if you just sit backwards on your bike and pose that face whenever you put the brakes on!  I know if I was behind you, I would stop! I'm sorry.....but you scared me! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I think that is the same look he gave me when I stepped out of the shower at TWO.... LOL.... sorry Mike.... I luv ya man.. | ||
| Etennuly |
 The only thing missing is the magnifying glass from his left hand, which seems posed for it! I'm sorry, I drifted a bit.....Mike, I like the lights!.....all of them! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
He would need it...... it was cold.... VERY cold! | ||
| Svh |
Mike- I see you ran with my stick up LED light thing quite well that you were checking out on the 26th ride. I like your version better and will be switching to something like that soon. Good job. Sam | ||
| Rcsmithracer |
Do the lights come "dual function" to use as running and brake?? (Message edited by rcsmithracer on December 05, 2009) | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Nope, but the addition of a diode and resistor allow them to operate "dual function". | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Scary how similar our installs look. FYI the 1 watt LED's from oznium are not good choices for signals  I'm still working on that issue.. Also trying to get the brake lights to come on consistently. There's an inconsistent open connection in the trailer lights socket and after cleaning all of the contacts multiple times I think I'm going to have to find another plug/socket (not from wal-mart this time) Your install looks great! A lot cleaner wiring inside the trunk compared to my job  I bought the same strips, but cut each in half and stacked them in the center of the reflector one above the other. Two are wired to tail, two to brake, instead of your cleaner looking diode/resistor method. Again - great job! Very clean. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I have red 1156 bulbs for my rear signals, but I'm quite nervous I'm going to melt the housings. Something about doubling the wattage, and running them on continuously. I may pick up a pair of standard LED 1156 bulbs, so heat won't be an issue. They won't be quite as bright as the 1156 bulbs I have now. But they really don't need to be bright. | ||
| Billyo |
Are there 2 power and 2 ground wires? What diode and resistor did you use and how did you wire them? I guess I assumed they were dual function already. Do you think there is enough room for turn signals in the trunk? | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I thought I had a diagram, but I guess not. Here goes an attempt at a description: 1 ground wire 1 constant power wire for interior light 1 power wire for rear lights Ground wire: Easy, just grounded to the frame in the bike, and then all three LED strips are grounded to it in the trunk Constant Power Wire: Run straight from the positive battery terminal (through a fuse) and up to the trunk. In the trunk it runs beneath the weather stripping to the switch. Then out of the switch, again beneath the weather stripping to the positive lead on the interior LED strip. Rear Light Power Wire: Splice into the OEM tail light power wire; in this new wire you add a 150 watt resistor. Then Splice into the OEM brake light wire; in this line, first you'll add a diode, then if you wish you can add a 2 wire LED flasher module like I did, or you can just run it straight through. You'll splice this new brake light wire into the new tail light line AFTER the resistor. Now your left with one wire, your new power wire for the rear LEDs. Run it up into the trunk, and into the positive wires of the rear facing LEDs. I'm sure one way or another you could add signals in the trunk as well. I thought about it, but decided against it. I'm not worried about someone behind me not seeing my signals, it's my running light and brake light that I want everyone to see. To run signals up there you would need to run two more power wires. | ||
| Billyo |
Thanks again Mike. That made perfect sense. There is one less wire to run through a connector this way than with a dual function strip. | ||
| Rcsmithracer |
150 watt resistor??? I'm no electronic wiz, so this is all foreign to me. Where did you get one? Is that something Radio Shack would have? Thanks! (Message edited by rcsmithracer on December 08, 2009) | ||
| Motorbike |
Mike, I have a brand new 08 XT and plan to do exactly what you did to install a tail light and brake light on the trunk. I am NOT an electrical engineer but do have a good understanding of basic electrical. Your explanation is very precise but I have a few questions: 1. How do you calculate the resistor size? I will probably be using a different brand of light strip than yours. 2. Won't current back-feed through the bike tail light wiring when power is applied to the brake wire as brakes are applied? Do I need a diode to prevent that or does it not matter? 3. Any specific detailed info on the resistor and diode you used would be very helpful. I assume Radio Shack will have what I need? 4. Does the resistor get hot? Can I wrap the resistor and diodes with shrink tubing or do they need to be out in the open to cool? 5. Can you post a wiring schematic of this? I am certain I understand your description but I always like pictures! You did a beautiful job on yours and I appreciate what you have shown us so far! Thanks! | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Shnikeys! There's some interest here apparently! Good thing I wasted time at work making a wiring diagram!  1) Resistor info: I went to radio shack, spent $6 and bought a pack of 100 various resistors. Then I setup a bench test with my LED's, and touched them to every different resistor till I found my favorite level of dimming. I ended up using this one: 1/2 Watt 150 Ohm 5% Tolerance Carbon-Film Resistor 2) A diode is needed for the exact reason you stated. What kind is not very important, because we're dealing with so little power. I also bought this from radio shack. I'm using this one: 3 Amp 200 PIV Epoxy Rectifier Diode I wrapped both my resistor and Diode in electrical tape, and removed it again after a weeks use. No signs of damage or excess heat. Let me know if you have any questions. Note that in my diagram I wrote 1/4 watt resistor, but after double checking, it is actually a 1/2 watt resistor. The 2-wire LED flasher I'm using can be found here: http://autolumination.com/1156_1157.htm It's about half way down the page. I really like it, it's not a blink 3 times than steady like my other bike's flasher, it's actually a fast strobe effect for just a second then steady. |
