[Chicago-Spike]

1800 » Lighting/Electrical/Wiring
How to wire a Kuryakyn lightbar (part# 4001)


For reference here are Kurys (poor) instructions: http://web.archive.org/web/20061025114833/http://www.kuryakyn.com/documents/installation/4001-22GL-0204.pdf . Lets do this one part at a time, first the blinkers... Your bar has 3 different colored wires coming from it, red, white and black. There is a set of these for the right side and a set of these for the left side.
On the left side you will wire:
Red wire from Kury bar to orange wire with white stripe on the bike.
White wire from Kury bar to orange wire on the bike.
Black wire from Kury bar to green wire on the bike.
On the right side you will wire:
Red wire from Kury bar to light blue wire with white stripe on the bike.
White wire from Kury bar to light blue wire on the bike.
Black wire from Kury bar to green wire on the bike.
Now with the turn signals on the bar wired well wire the foglights... These lights get their ground through the mount to the bike so well only need to put power to the BLACK wires on these to make them work. For EXCELLENT info on wiring fogs you can go here:
http://www.rattlebars.com/mtz/foglites.html
Here is a diagram from Chet that shows EXACTLY how you need to wire these lights:

The only difference is that the red wire going to the lights will be the black wire coming from the lights now. Using the Kury wire harness (which IMHO is a ripoff since you can make your own for much less, but to each their own!) this is what well do.
Kury harness directions are here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20061025114833/http://www.kuryakyn.com/documents/installation/2328-21HD-0503.pdf
From the plug on the Kury harness:
White wire (with ring terminal) on Kury harness to the bikes battery + (positive) terminal.
Black wire (with ring terminal) on Kury harness to the bikes battery - (negative) terminal.
There are 2 white and 2 black wires bundled together - you will wire the 2 black wires to any good ground on the bike. I dont recommend wiring it to the green (ground) wire in the headlight only because youll overload it. You can ground these wires to any bolt on the lightbar or pretty much any bolt on the bike. The point is just get these 2 black wires grounded. The 2 white wires will go to each spotlight on the lightbar. One white wire (from harness) to one black wire (from the spotlight) on each side.
From the switch on the Kury harness:
Red wire on the Kury switch to the blue wire with white stripe located in the headlight on the bike. Pay close attention when routing these wires and snugging everything down, a bunch of guys reported pinching wires on these harnesses early on causing the lights to short out and blow fuses.
More information:
http://web.archive.org/web/20061025114833/http://www.vtxoa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28298&sid=d60354c08423f980e505ae4f54d21b6e

Last update: 2004-11-10 11:56
Author: Bareass172

 

[Chicago-Spike]

How to wire a Kuryakyn run/turn/brake controller (part# 4710)

Kury directions:
http://www.kuryakyn.com/documents/installation/4710-21HD-0404.pdf
Junk the supplied vampire connections and solder these connections. The Kury directions dont give the color codes because they label the wires, so youll have to wire according to these labels. Go under the right side cover and locate the following colored wires: Green, green w/ yellow stripe, light blue, orange, brown. Unplug the light blue, orange and green w/ yellow stripe, youll find the connections in the wire bundle located under the right side cover.

At this point you need to decide if youre going to use the supplied connectors that came with the unit which will require you to cut the stock barrel/sleeve type connectors off - OR - you can go to an auto parts store and buy matching bullet/sleeve connectors so you cut/replace the connectors on the Kury unit. Basically, you need to decide how you want to plug the unit into the stock wiring harness - you can cut the bikes harness and use Kurys supplied stuff, or you can replace the Kury units plugs and leave the bikes wiring stuff alone... I know thats probably confusing, I hope you follow it.
Once you figure all that out this is how youll wire the unit:
Plug the green w/ yellow stripe FROM THE FRONT OF THE BIKE into the wire labelled "input brake" or whatever wording Kury uses.
Plug the orange wire FROM THE FRONT OF THE BIKE into the wire labelled "input left turn" or whatever wording Kury uses.
Plug the light blue wire FROM THE FRONT OF THE BIKE into the wire labelled "input right turn" or whatever wording Kury uses.
Plug the green w/ yellow stripe going TO THE REAR OF THE BIKE into the wire labelled "output brake" or whatever wording Kury uses.
Plug the orange wire going TO THE REAR OF THE BIKE into the wire labelled "output left turn" or whatever wording Kury uses.
Plug the light blue wire going TO THE REAR OF THE BIKE into the wire labelled "output right turn" or whatever wording Kury uses.
Strip a small section of the brown wire from the bike (found in that same bundle) and solder the blue (power) wire from the unit to it. Connect both the input and output ground wires from the Kury unit to the green ground wire on the bike (also found in that same bundle). You can connect these however you like as long as they get grounded (solder, plug, whatever) just dont use vampire clips!


Last update: 2004-12-18 22:39
Author: Bareass172

 

[Chicago-Spike]

How to make and install a load equalizer

How to make and install a load equalizer

This is a write-up for installing on a C model but everything is the same on each model - the load equalizer itself is comparable to the one you buy from Kuryakyn.
http://www.bareasschoppers.com/loadeq

Last update: 2004-12-18 22:31
Author: Bareass

 

[Chicago-Spike]

How to make and install a diode kit

How to make and install a diode kit

This information is only relevant to the 1800 C model as the 1800 R and 1300 models all have separate dash indicators for their blinkers, therefore they are not prone to this problem. The instructions to fabricate your own diode kit will make a setup comparable to the one you can buy from Kuryakyn.
http://www.bareasschoppers.com/diode

Last update: 2004-12-18 22:31
Author: Bareass

 

[Chicago-Spike]

How can I get red lenses for my rear turn signals?

How can I get red lenses for my rear turn signals?

Hats off to Bugshield, the original person to submit this idea:
If you need/want red lenses for the rear of your bike but can't find them for sale (I don't believe anyone currently makes them) you can try this little trick. Get Testors Transparent Candy Apple Red (Part# 1605) paint available at WalMart and hobby stores for about $3.
Remove your lenses and apply one or two light coats on the inside of the lens until you get the shade you want. The lights are just as bright as before because the paint is transparent so there is no diminishing of light intensity.

Last update: 2004-12-01 14:18
Author: Bareass

 

[Chicago-Spike]

Why do I need a diode on my 1800C when I add LED blinkers?

Why do I need a diode on my 1800C when I add LED blinkers?

To understand and explain this thoroughly I think a schematic of the 1800 C's turn signal setup will help:

What makes the C different from the other VTX models is that we have only one indicator light to let us know our blinker is on. On the 1300 C and R and 1800 R models there are 2 dash lights, one for each side, thus eliminating the problem we have on the 1800 C.
To better understand this we first need to understand how a basic (DC)electrical circuit works. Take for example just the right hand side of the schematic above, disregarding the indicator light altogether. Power comes from the 12V supply (your battery) through a 10A fuse which is designed to protect the circuit if there is a "short" in it. Past the fuse you hit the relay which determines the rate at which the signal flashes and then you hit the switch which is what actually turns the circuit on and off. With the switch in the on position (in the schematic it is off) the circuit is completed and power is allowed to flow from the battery, through the fuse, relay, switch and into the "load" (the blinker bulbs in this case) and then finally to ground.
The key to learn from this is that in order for any circuit to function it needs to be complete from 12V all the way to ground. The switch in this circuit is what allows power to flow and the blinkers to blink.
With this basic understanding of how circuits work it will help us understand how our one indicator light functions. By having only one indicator light you can see that it must get power from either the left or right side in order to blink. The problem is that Honda designed this system in such a way that when the left blinker goes on it provides power to the indicator light which then finds its electronic ground (to complete the circuit) through the right side of the circuit - and vice-versa for the right blinker. If that confuses you then look at the diagram above and cover up everything on the right side. With the switch flipped to the left the right side of the circuit doesn't function BUT the indicator light still uses it as a way to find its "ground" so it can light up.
Once you understand how the indicator light gets its power from each side of the circuit then you can see how a small amount of power is "leaking" over from one side to the other. This small "leak" doesn't matter when you have the stock incandescent bulbs or even aftermarket halogens because they require more power to light up then the little indicator light can "leak" to them. LED signals on the other hand require VERY small amounts of power to light up and the indicator light DOES leak enough power to light these. So instead of hitting the left blinker button and getting a left blinker, we get "emergency flashers" with all 4 lights blinking together.
So therein lies the problem - how do we get the indicator light to still function with LED signals based on the design of Honda's circuit? The answer is we modify the circuit - like this:

This is how we rewire the indicator light portion of the circuit. Using diodes you can buy at Radio Shack we fix the circuit so that no "feedback" can occur from one side to the other. To better understand diodes, think of them as a "one-way" valve for electricity. They let power through one way only, in this case it lets power get to the indicator light but not to the other side of the circuit.
For more information about making or installing this setup on your bike you can check out my site:
http://www.bareasschoppers.com/diode

Last update: 2005-01-24 02:45
Author: Bareass

 

[Chicago-Spike]

Why can't I run a higher wattage headlight bulb?

Why can't I run a higher wattage headlight bulb?

Lots of guys think nothing of adding a higher wattage bulb to the headlight, and in many cases on many bikes it's not a big deal - but on the VTX it will cause problems. it's not a matter of "if" but "when" and when it happens you'll likely end up stranded. Here's why:
Our headlight gets power from a very small (22 gauge) wire that runs through the starter switch. This is how the headlight turns off when you hit the starter - the switch breaks the contact for this little wire going to the headlight. This wire can handle between 1 and 7 amps of load (depending on what conditions it's under) and the stock headlight bulb pulls roughly 5 amps by itself on low or high beam so you can see how there's not much room for improvement. Most guys replace the headlight with at least a 100 Watt bulb which is pulling over 8 amps and easily overloads this wire. When you add this higher wattage bulb that 22 gauge wire in the starter switch struggles to handle the extra load and it heats up. As it heats up it in turn melts the starter switch and the other contacts. It's a slow process, some people have problems within weeks, some take years - but rest assured if you're running a higher wattage bulb it is happening and one day it will melt the switch enough that it causes problems.
If you insist on replacing the bulb, See the next post on how to fix the problem before it happens to you:
Author: Bareass

 

[Chicago-Spike]

How can I run a higher wattage headlight without burning out my starter switch?

How can I run a higher wattage headlight without burning out my starter switch?

This is in response to the above post, which discusses why you shouldn't run higher wattage headlight bulbs on the VTX.

Here is what needs to be done to protect the starter switch with higher wattage bulbs (it is possible with some rewiring):

Doing this you are using the starter switch to now do nothing more than trigger a relay which then pulls power to the headlight from the main fuse for the headlight (or you can use power straight from the battery if you install your own fuse). This way you don't have to worry about melting that switch or getting stranded!
Green is your ground, red is the power lead (from the headlight fuse or battery) and the blue with white stripe is what provides power to the headlight hi/low beam switch.

Last update: 2004-12-01 14:19
Author: Bareass

 

[X'N]

Spike here's a great picture to add in this thread!

 

[Chicago-Spike]

Replacement lens for Honda light bar

Replacement lens for Honda light bar
Got this fix from enfuego

So your driving light on your new light bar got hit by a rock and Honda says its $65 to replace the lens cause its an assembly. Hog wash! Take the screw at bottom of the light out. Now take the bulb assembly out remove the H3 bulb. you now have a two piece assembly held together by silicon, take this apart and clean the silicon out and from BIG BIKE PARTS get Part # 16-23L It is the lens only then silicone the new lens in place. http://www.bigbikeparts.com/Inventory/Navision/16-23L?catalogNo=1


Last update: 2005-12-02 09:49
Author: Video

 

[Chicago-Spike]

How To; Change the Headlamp
by grundle

Ok could not find a write up on this and just spent the last hour wanting to bang my head on the driveway....

1) There are either 2 or 3 screws holding the headlight assembly in place, 2 inside the headlight assembly at the top and possibly 1 at the bottom. You do not need to remove the bottom screw, there is also a tab connector at the bottom, simply remove the top 2 screws the assembly will open towards you. A little bit of jockeying and the assembly will come out (I removed the light bar and headlight to find this part out)

2) There is a rubber gasket where the wiring goes into the headlight assembly. Roll this backwards (away from the light) and it will expose a brass colored spring type thing. This brass spring holds the light in the assembly. Push down on the tab will release it and it will unclip, carefully roll this to the side (one side is hinged) being careful not to rip or tear the rubber sleeve.

3) OK now all you have to do is pull the bulb from the connector. This is or was for me a major pain, kept thinking I was going to break it or that there was something else holding it in... Nope just a major pull.

4) Put new bulb in, make sure sleeve is over the end of the bulb (leave sleeve rolled back). Reclip brass spring, roll rubber sleeve back and rescrew assembly.


Hope this helps someone I know I sure could have used it.

Original author; grundle

 

[dan3]

Battery Tender important info

I don't see where this has been posted previously. If it has my apologies and please disregard.

This only applies to the Battery Tender brand of "float" chargers. I just got off the phone with them and of course they could not speak for any other brand.

Anyway I called them to find out why the manual says it's important to plug into the bike 1st, and then the wall second. Seems that even though the connection is incomplete when not plugged in to the bike, the charging unit is still getting power, and the sensor in the microchip never resets as it has to to work properly. You plug in to the wall first and the unit gives false readings. So even if more convenient to leave the thing plugged in to the wall and just plug and unplug at the bike, that is a bad way to go. For convenience purposes it was suggested to use a power strip near the bike, run a 16 gauge extension cord to the wall, and then you can keep the unit plugged in to it and turn it on and off with the power strip instead of plugging and unplugging from the wall, after plugged in to the bike, thereby not having to go to the wall every time. Hope that's clear.

Secondly, I asked about plugging in during the summer, even if riding just about everyday. Was told to absolutely plug in all year. Reason being that the unit will greatly retard sulfation of the battery cells. Will not save an already sulfated battery, but will slow the process way down.

Hope this answers a couple of questions. I know it answered mine. Good people there at Deltran, the makers of the Battery Tender brand. :thumbup:

Here is the entire thread if interested: http://www.vtxoa.com/forums/showthread.php?

 

[toboggan]

Dynamic Clusters from Custom Dynamics

I just finished installing my new LED turn signals from Custom Dynamics. They're very bright, and installation wasn't too big of a pain. Their instructions aren't very detailed, so it took a bit of figuring out, though.
The parts I bought were:
Front signals - GEN180-A-1157-TH
Rear signals - Dynamic Clusters - GEN180-AR-1156-TH
Flasher - EDFR
The LED's are mounted on a circuit board disk, with notches cut out to mate up with ribs inside the stock signal housings. Directions would have been nice here. I couldn't get them to fit very well at first, and tried to put them in the lenses and that just didn't seem right. But, I couldn't get them to fit inside the housings.
Turns out, I was trying to put the left one in the right-hand signal and vice-versa. The signal housings are mirror-images of each other. Once I figured that out, I realized that there's some mounting tape stuck on the back of the circuit boards. That's supposed to secure the board to the flat metal part of the socket bracket.
Each of these boards has a short pigtail with a plug on it, to go into the bulb socket. There's a screwdriver slot in the plug, to make it easier to turn in the socket. It can be turned without a screwdriver, but I only tried that on the first three before I noticed the screwdriver slot. The fourth went in a lot easier.
The Dynamic Clusters are a bit more involved, so I took some pictures. Each bulb has 2 extra wires, a red one to be wired in to the brake light circuit, and an orange one for the running light circuit. These have to be threaded thru the stalks on the signal housings, and tied into the wiring in a convenient location. I would have liked to have about 2 feet more wire on each of these, so that I wouldn't have any splices up under the fender.
I started out by unbolting the signals from the fender, and letting them hang on their cables while I was working on them. Without pulling the rear wheel, there isn't much room to swing a ratchet in there, but I managed. Fishing the wires thru the right-hand signal wasn't too bad, but the left hand on only had about an inch of slack in the cable. When I got it all back together, running the wires up the inside of the fender was pretty much impossible, so I ended up taking the fender off. I wish I had thought of that in the first place. It made the whole thing go a lot faster.
With the fender off, I was able to get the turn signals completely off, and work on them with all the room I needed. So, I decided to take them all the way apart to take some pics.

I started out by disassembling the signal completely. After the lens and bulb are removed, there are two phillips screws that hold the socket together. Take these out, and pull the metal clip straight out. I used a flat screwdriver to gently pry it out of there. When you have the socket apart, you can pull the cable right thru the stalk.

Next, I enlarged the hole that the cable goes thru with a utility knife. A drill would work, too, but I used what was handy. I also trimmed off a corner of the strain-relief that's molded onto the cable (rubber block that keeps the cord from pulling out of the fixture after it's assembled) to make room for the two extra wires. I wish I had taken a picture of that before I put it all back together.

To fish the wires back thru the stalk, I took a stiff wire and shoved it thru from the end of the stalk. Then, I taped the cable and extra wires to it, and pulled them thru the stalk. I found that easier than just pushing everything thru from the inside, because the wires kept wanting to go thru the bolt hole instead of the wire hole.

Afer I reassembled the socket, I squirted some black RTV around the cable, where I enlarged the hole in the stalk, to keep water out.

Then, I peeled off the back of the mounting tape and stuck the circuit board to the bracket.

After bolting the signals back on the fender, I put the cable back in the same way it came out. The new wires weren't long enough to run all the way out of the fender, so I spliced about 2 more feet on each wire, with solder and heat-shrink tubing.

With the wires all pulled thru the grommet on the fender, I tied the new ones into the oiginal brake and running light wires. The red ones are for the brake lights, and get tied into the green/yellow wire. The orange ones are for the running lights, and get tied into the brown wire.

The lights come with some nice-looking splice connectors, but I prefer soldering and shrink-wrapping whenever I can.

Then, it's just a matter of putting the fender back on and plugging the wires back into the harness.

The flasher was dead simple to install. It just plugs right into the socket where the oem flasher goes, and I tie-wrapped mine to the original bracket so it stays in place

 

[Thrill]

I get my Battery Tender Jr's from Pacific Battery.

http://www.pacificbattery.com/batterytender0123.html

The "2 pack" is only $38 + $8.90 S&H.

I keep them on the equipment all year, even during riding season for all the reasons listed in the previous posts...

I have one on my VTX, one on my wife's Vulcan, one on my Simplicity Lawn Tractor, and one on my New Holland Skid Loader. Haven't lost a battery in over 6 years!

I used to change them crappy little batteries in bikes or lawn tractors every year or two at the most.

Good Luck

Stay Fully Charged!

 

[yotaman]

Headlight Relays

You will Need:
2x Ring terminals to battery
2x Insulated spade terminals to motorcycle headlamp coupler
8x Insulated female terminals to relay terminals
3x Insulated female piggyback crimps for doubling up wires to relays (terminals 85 Low beam & 85/30 high beam relays)
2x Auto Relay with a minimum contact rating of 15 amp
Headlamp connector you can get at most auto parts stores
Wiring your headlight this way will save your switch

 

[Chicago-Spike]

Starter Switch DIY Instructions

I have received so much help from this great forum and I'd like to do a little bit in return, so the following is my attempt at DIY instructions for replacing the start switch. It is my first attempt at posting a DIY, so I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions.

My problem started when I pushed in the starter pushbutton switch and I noticed that a. nothing happened, and b. the push button was stuck in. I then tried the helpful instructions at

http://www.rattlebars.com/mtz/starter.html

and although, as a forum member noted, procedures that include "gently pry back the tabs and be careful of the springs" frequently don't end well for me, it really wasn't too hard (15 minutes). I found the easiest way to open the switch housing was to slide a knife blade, lengthwise, into the crack between the white and the black piece.

Here's what I saw on the inside. The arrow shows where the shunt should be. Mine is buried in melted white plastic.

While I was waiting to get the new switch ass'y, I dangled the back of the switch out the hole and jumpered it by touching a blade fuse across the back 2 contacts. I suppose any wire would work, I just happened across a blade fuse while looking for a jumper wire. Worked like a champ.

As I learned on the forum, you have to buy the whole assembly. (Push button starter switch, start/run switch and the housing that holds them to the handle bar.

The first step is to remove the 2 screws that hold the switch housing. Looking from below you'll see.

Once the housing is off and the switches are free, remove the 2 throttle cable housings.

You'll notice that on one cable (left side in the picture), just the knurled ring comes off. On the other side the whole end comes off.

Now we can move on to disconnecting the throttle cables. You'll need some slack in the cables. I followed someone's instructions to loosen the handle bars and slide them to create slack. First be sure to put something over the gas tank to protect it. (Dealer told me they are $1,800 to replace?). Be careful when loosening as shown below. It surprised me how suddenly the handle bars swung down.

I also, followed the instructions to slide the whole throttle assemble off the handle bar. Unfortunately, I twisted my ISO grip off in the process. Nothing a little Gorilla glue won't fix.

Now for the tricky part...getting the cable ends out of the slots. Here's what it looks like. For me, this was the hardest most time consuming part of the job. There's probably a better way, but all I can do is pass on how I did it.

I tried at first to create slack by pulling on the cable with needlenose pliers and prying the barrel end out of the slot with a small flat head screwdriver...no dice.

Next, and this happened accidentally, I rotated the grip (around it's axis)

and then I rotated it along its axis (in the direction of the arrow)...almost like you were bending the throttle grip off your handlebar. (Sorry, this is tricky to describe)

Eureka! This move creates a ton of slack and getting the ends out becomes really easy.

Next, remove the clips that secure the wire on it's way to where it connects in the headlight bucket.

I hate clips. So easy to break. I think there should be an international law, allowing only one kind of clip!:banghead:

Here's what they look like. I was able to get them open by GENTLY prying the retaining part of the clip with a small flat blade screwdriver as shown with the arrow. Again, there is probably a much easier way, feel free to comment if you know how. This is just what worked for me.

This is what the clip looks like once it's opened.

Next remove the retaining ring of the headlight. 2 screws, as shown. Be sure to put something on your fender so you don't scratch it.

Now fish around on the rats nest...

until you find this...

Separate the clip and carefully pull the whole thing out.

Good news. The hard part is over.

Some pointers on reassembly. I used the same "magic move" to put the throttle cables back in. It was easy.

When you are reconnecting the throttle cable tubes to the switch housing, you will remember that the 2 tubes have different ends. First, thread the housing onto the tube that has just the knurled ring. Do this by spinning the housing around the stationary tube.

To get the other tube to connect, I spun the barrel nut where the tube connects to the black cable housing. Once the (L shaped) tube is free, you can spin it in to the switch housing and then tighten the barrel nut back down.

The entire job took me a couple hours, with about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get the throttle cables disconnected, and 15 minutes messing with the clips.

I hope that someone will find this helpful.

Author; Boomvang

 

[Neomike]

Adding LED Flasher Relay on 1800

I am using a LED flasher relay on my '06 1800 Neo like the following image: Not sure if this applies to all 1800's, but I suspect it might. Looking on page 20-6 of my Honda service manual 61mcv06, you will see the Turn Signal/Position Relay on the left upper corner area of the page. You notice that the 9 pin plug uses only 8 pins/wires. Three of the wires have a light blue color code as part of their identification, and three other wires have orange as part of their color code identification. If you trace out the wiring, you will learn that light blue wires corresponds to the right side turn signals and the orange wires correspond to the left turn signals. You have two ways of making this work. First way I did was to make 2 jumpers with 3 connectors on each jumper. I don't recall which wire goes were for the jumpers; however, just look at the three light blue wires and jumper them together, and do the same for the 3 orange wires. This leaves you with 2 wires left over (one is gray and the other is white/blue (not light blue)) for the LED flasher relay. Remove the plastic connect of the relay and plug the individual wires to these 2 wires. I don't recall which one goes to which. But there are only 2 ways to hook them up and if it doesn't work the first time around, then you guessed wrong and need to re-hook them up with the wires switched. Second way is to remove the plug all together and solder the 3 light blue wires together, and then solder the 3 orange wires together to make it more permanent. Sorry, no pictures showing the install, since this was done a while back. A cheap source for the relay is found here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...rake-turn.html I hope this helps. Enjoy!

 

[Neomike]

Strange, I had previously posted about this and the thread ended up being attached to another thread. So, I've reposted.

 

[Chicago-Spike]

Strange, I had previously posted about this and the thread ended up being attached to another thread. So, I've reposted.

Yes, because I want things put in certain threads. Yours was moved to the "1800 Electrical" thread where it should be for easy finding :thumbup:

 

[Neomike]

Yes, because I want things put in certain threads. Yours was moved to the "1800 Electrical" thread where it should be for easy finding :thumbup:

Ok, thanks! I was thinking my computer was acting up.