| Author | Message | ||
     Jdorp_ |
i would like to make it so that both headlights are on when hi beams are on. what wires do i have to cross? | ||
| Draxel_teg |
Here ya go, I just did this a few weeks ago http://www.rhinowerx.com/fotos/details.php?image_i d=2501 | ||
| Staindus |
Draxel, How does the Back off work? Is it worth the money. | ||
| Sneth |
did the same mod. be prepared to be frustrated getting the wires out. If you dont have the exact tools, you'll have to use a lil ingenuity.. . | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
A rather more crude, but strangely effective technique, is to just put the switch on between high and low. I know it sounds mickey mouse, but it works, and total install time is zero, frustration level the same. I am ashamed to say that's what I have settled on!  | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
i just put my switch in the middle. there is a sweet spot there where both lights stay on. plus it is free and you don't have to touch the wires at all. | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
damn you jon....lol you beat me to it..... great minds think alike. | ||
| Semirgdj |
I did it a different way. I took apart the 2 way (high/low beam) headlight switch and added an extra notch to make it a 3 way switch. I now have low at the bottom high and low in the middle and high beam at the top position. When you take apart the switch there are 2 small springs, a bearing, and a small triangle contact, be sure not too loose these parts. It is a simple mod and only takes about 1/2 hour. There is a white plastic piece which is there are currently 2 notches that the bearing locks into. Simply add a third notch in the middle (using a dremmel) I had no clue what I was doing when I did this the first time and it was still easy. I know it sounds complicated but it is not Believe me it is simple and there is no wiring involved. I have been running 2 XB's like this for 2 years and have had no problems I just did my third bike the other day. | ||
| Kaveman |
Quick Question for "Draxel_teg" about swapping the yellow and yellow/brown wires. Does the circuit for the running light(yellow/brown wire) have enough to run the headlamp without melting anything? Is it fused as well? I'd like to do this swap, but don't want to kill anything electrical in the process... TIA Kaveman | ||
| Draxel_teg |
Swapping the wires costs nothing and took me around 5 min. Just take the flyscreen off find the wire harness that looks like the one pictures unhook the plug, unclip the clip that holds the little connector together then locate and switch the wires. I heard of the putting the switch in the middle trick but never tried it. I like having both lights on makes me more visible during the daytime and people stop asking me if my light is out  I have been told it is annoyingly bright at night my buddy said he felt like the sun was following him one night after I followed him home and neglected to turn my brights off. I still remember the scowl he gave me when I mentioned I was considering the purchase of HID's | ||
| Draxel_teg |
Kaveman I honestly don't have the answer to that. I found out about this mod by searching through lots of forums and found a few different threads discussing this particular mod. Out of all the posts I read I never heard of anything bad happening from doing this mod. And so far everything has been working so far on my bike so I would say it is pretty safe to do. | ||
| Kaveman |
Did a bit of checking in the schematics for this mod... Seems the wire swap puts the headlamp(low beam) on the tailight circuit(always on). It's all on a 15A fuse, so I guess the load is the same, except when you fire up the high beam. More to come, but I think I will do this on my 03. Kaveman | ||
| Argentum |
There's also another way...... Inside the Left Hand Switch Block(Headlight/Indicator/Horn Controls) you will find 3 soldered connecting points on the Hi/Lo beam switch. Blue wire is ignition switched power from the 15amp lighting fuse. Yellow wire goes to the low beam headlamp. White wire goes to the hi beam headlamp. Simply solder a short(7/8in) insulated jumper wire between the Yellow wire and the Blue wire connections. Wire should be at least 1mm cross sectional area(not sure of the guage) capable of supplying 8-10amps. How it works as standard: When the ignition is on and the headlamp selector is set to low beam, +12V power comes from the Blue wire and goes to the Yellow wire through the switch, illuminating the low beam only. When the headlamp selector is switched to hi beam the Blue to Yellow circuit(low beam) is opened and the Blue to White circuit(hi beam) circuit is closed, illuminating the hi beam. Thus switching off the low beam when the high beam is selected. Placing a jumper wire between the +12V ignition power(Blue wire) and the low beam supplied(Yellow wire) will keep ignition power supplied to the low beam circuit regardless of the hi/lo selector switch position. Thus the low beam will remain illuminated when the hi/lo selector is switched to high beam. Personally I've found this to be the easiest & neatest way to solve this problem. Also very easy to uninstall if required and negates the risk of breaking/damaging connectors while trying to unpick wires from the 4pin connector. Hope this helps. Cheers, Steve | ||
| Prof_stack |
TODAY I noticed that the low beam bulb was not shining. I checked and found the bulb was okay so I opened the switch block and found that the yellow wire was not connected. I soldered it back on and things seem to be okay again. I wonder if keeping the switch between hi/lo could be a problem. I doubt it, just wondering. Also, I once again tried in vain to remove the yellow and brown/yellow male wires in the 4-connect block going into the headlamps. What IS the trick to pop off the wires without pulling the thing apart or doing something worse? Thanks for any help. Going for an evening ride, be back later... | ||
| Cgocifer |
I just completed the wire switch method and started my bike. The bike died... completely! No power whatsoever. I checked all the fuses. None were blown. I hooked a battery charger to the battery just to see how much power was left in it. It was completely dead. I jumped it with my car and after about 30 minutes of riding, the engine shut off on the highway, came back on, gauges went crazy, and the check engine light flashed on and off. After that, it ran fine, but was missing badly. It seems ok now, but I have no idea WTF that was all about. The headlight wires shouldn't have anything to do with the ignition or engine management system. | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
Instead of swapping the pins in the headlight connector to use the running light circuit (cause getting the pins out was a pain in the hiney), my hubby just jumpered the two wires. Took about 10 minutes start to finish. AND ARE THEY BRIGHT!!! | ||
| 07xb12scg |
I just completed the wire switch method and started my bike. The bike died... completely! That's probably one of those odd coincidences that get you thinking when really the two are not related at all. That's sort of like when I put a new head unit in my S-10 and it died within the month. Turns out a wire rubbing against the frame put a hole in the insulation and it created a short. (Message edited by 07xb12scg on July 01, 2007) | ||
| Rody |
I did the wire swap mod Friday. There is a retainer on the back of the connector that needs to be opened (it's part of the housing). I found it easier to remove the terminals with a safety pin, sliding it at an angle down the surface of the terminal until it slides underneath the clip. The retaining clip is part of the housing and not part of the terminal. I hope this helps. |
