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Topic : Aux. Lights Wiring
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 eagleone 
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Reg. Date : 27/02/2011
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Location : Johnston, Rhode Island, United States
Posted : 16 Apr 2011 - 00:29   Post title : Aux. Lights Wiring
 
I'm going to mount driving lights to my dresser bar and wire them to my aux. light switch. I need to know if this switch has a relay in it. I was told if I switch from 35 watt bulbs to 55 watt the wirering needs a relay. I would think it is this way from factory but need to be sure. Thanks

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 Fordster 
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Posted : 16 Apr 2011 - 01:19   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 
I've been thinking about doing the same. I'm not sure, but I didn't think there is a relay included from the factory at the switch. Or maybe I'm just assuming there isn't. I think you can pick one up for about $5 and just put it in the headlight assembly but there's others here who have done it and would know more! What kind of lights are you getting? I was looking at these Link from fasteddy... includes clamps, switch (which you won't need if you use the factory one) wiring and relay.

Post edited by Fordster on 16 Apr 2011 - 01:24
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 feduke 
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Posted : 16 Apr 2011 - 01:38   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 
I've have my Motolights connected to the handlebar aux light switch since the bike was new, and I was one of the first to buy a Thunderbird. It was actually registered almost a week before Triumph released it for sale. I haven't had a problem and I never turn the Motolights off. There is a post on the forum somewhere showing exactly how to do it (it's very simple) with excellent pictures included in the post. I do remember that you splice into the blue wire with the orange stripe.

 
I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
Post edited by feduke on 16 Apr 2011 - 01:42
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 EnGage 
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Posted : 16 Apr 2011 - 13:09   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: feduke)
 
My motos are 50watt, are on all the time and wired to the switch. No issues. Blue wire with orange stripe sounds right. It will be in a harness with two other wires. One should be black and a ground.

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 mat1600 
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Posted : 16 Apr 2011 - 22:53   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: EnGage)
 

EnGage wrote:

My motos are 50watt, are on all the time and wired to the switch. No issues. Blue wire with orange stripe sounds right. It will be in a harness with two other wires. One should be black and a ground.


Is that connection made in the headlight unit ?

 
My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.


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 eagleone 
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Posted : 16 Apr 2011 - 23:23   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: Fordster)
 
I am going to put HEADWINDS Revolver 2" spots and use there clamps. Looks like very high quality stuff. I've looked at Kuryakyn stuff which isn't bad and PIAA ... I decided to do it this way instead of the factory p[assing lamps. I can get those for $280 but then I'd have to pay to install were as I can do the dresser bar lights for $290 and have a triangle light patten which will stand out more and I think look better.

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 feduke 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 00:02   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: mat1600)
 
Yes, all the connections you need are in the headlight nacelle.

 
I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
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 eagleone 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 00:22   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: feduke)
 
So I should have no problem ? Kinda plug and play .

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 eagleone 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 00:43   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 
The dresser bar is 1 1/4 correct


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 davetac1 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 03:28   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 

eagleone wrote:

The dresser bar is 1 1/4 correct


Affirmative!! I just went out and measured mine. Dave!!!

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 eagleone 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 11:27   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: davetac1)
 
Thanks Dave, Hey what dealer do you deal with ? I bought my SE from Greatbay last year. Don the owner is a great guy. The dealers around here I don't care for at all.

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 davetac1 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 12:10   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 
That's where I bought my SE too last July.And yes,Don is a great guy.And the business seems to be treating him pretty well.lol With gas fast approaching the four dollar a gallon mark,I told him that,pretty quick,he otta be selling those Vespa scooters he has like hot cakes.lol He said"he hopes so" lol I can't speak for his service department though cause I've never let them touch my scooter.The inservice they did to it just before I took delivery kinda put a bad taste in my mouth.And Don did hear about it.There's a couple other Triumph dealers in the area too.One is in Nashua,N.H. and I think the other is somewheres around Manchester,N.H.But I haven't been to either one yet. Dave!!!

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 eagleone 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 12:28   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: davetac1)
 
I just read your reply to my wife......We felt the same way when we picked up the bike. I could not believe the way the bike was presented to us. Like you said I would not bring it back up for its first service but I have issues with my left side exhaust pipe where it exits the motor. It is all gouged, also some small chrome issues on valve cover. Handle bar lock does not work and snaps on bags have all fell off. So I'm putting that on him not some other dealer. Plus I was reseaching AVON grips and whether they would fit on the bike. His parts / service department told me to call Avon. I did before I called them. Now a dealer in State College PA. Called Avon and ran it through there service dept , then within a hour called me back to let me know that the grips will be to long. So that gave me my second bad taste about Greatbay. Not Don cause he did what he needed to do to sell me the SE. But he needs to fix the little things that will turn repeat buisness away.

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 feduke 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 12:56   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 

eagleone wrote:

So I should have no problem ? Kinda plug and play .


It's more "splice and play" but quite easy. There were some pictures of the operation on the forum but I haven't been able to find them.

 
I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
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 EnGage 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 13:36   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: feduke)
 
Here is a picture of the harness from another member that ran the ground back to the battery:



I made both my connections at the harness. I figure if it's good enough for the Triumph lights it's good enough for the motos. It looks like I used the purple with the Blue/orange, not the black. Can't remember why and I'm not in front of my service manual right now, but I'll check.



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 feduke 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 13:51   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: EnGage)
 
Good man, EnGage! Where the devil did you find that? I searched everything I could think of to come up with it.

 
I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
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 Fordster 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 15:25   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: feduke)
 
Did you guys wire up the motolights without a relay? I thought the OEM highway lights include a relay but I'm really not sure.

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 feduke 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 15:37   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: Fordster)
 
Nope, no relay and no problems in 19 months of always on. Maybe there's a relay in the system.

 
I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
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 narsisco_lopez 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 15:55   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: Fordster)
 

Fordster wrote:

Did you guys wire up the motolights without a relay? I thought the OEM highway lights include a relay but I'm really not sure.


Yes, the OEM light kit does include a relay. And yes, you really SHOULD wire in a relay for aux. lights, but it seems the 'Bird's charging system can handle the initial power draw of the lights, but it's probably not good for the battery in the long run... especially if you're running any other accessories. If you're Motolights are the LED ones, then the initial power draw is pretty low, so a relay wouldn't be as important.

 
2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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 eagleone 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 17:44   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: narsisco_lopez)
 
How do you go about putting a relay in ?

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 narsisco_lopez 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 17:52   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: eagleone)
 

eagleone wrote:

How do you go about putting a relay in ?


Here's a pretty straightforward description...

Wiring a Relay for Accessories

 
2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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 EnGage 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 18:50   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: Fordster)
 
Fordster wrote:

Did you guys wire up the motolights without a relay? I thought the OEM highway lights include a relay but I'm really not sure.


You don't need a relay. The auxiliary wiring harness uses the starter relay. When the bike is not running, you cannot turn on the Auxiliary lights.

As I mention above, I used the purple wire. Looking at the wiring diagram, it is fused (fuse 8).

In the diagram below, 14 is the aux wiring harness. 8 is the Aux Light Switch and 4 is the starter relay. UO is the blue/orange wire, P is the purple and B is the ground.




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 Fordster 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 19:05   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: EnGage)
 

EnGage wrote:

Fordster wrote:

Did you guys wire up the motolights without a relay? I thought the OEM highway lights include a relay but I'm really not sure.


You don't need a relay. The auxiliary wiring harness uses the starter relay. When the bike is not running, you cannot turn on the Auxiliary lights.

As I mention above, I used the purple wire. Looking at the wiring diagram, it is fused (fuse 8).

In the diagram below, 14 is the aux wiring harness. 8 is the Aux Light Switch and 4 is the starter relay. UO is the blue/orange wire, P is the purple and B is the ground.



I think the issue isn't so much not being able to turn on the aux lights without the bike running, I think it's more an issue of not running the full amperage of the lights through the small handlebar switch and that's why the OEM lights include a relay. But if both you and Feduke have been running the motolights all this time without a relay then I'm sure it's fine. I would think any problems would have surfaced by now.


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 EnGage 
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Posted : 17 Apr 2011 - 19:22   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: Fordster)
 
Fordster wrote:

EnGage wrote:

Fordster wrote:

Did you guys wire up the motolights without a relay? I thought the OEM highway lights include a relay but I'm really not sure.


You don't need a relay. The auxiliary wiring harness uses the starter relay. When the bike is not running, you cannot turn on the Auxiliary lights.

As I mention above, I used the purple wire. Looking at the wiring diagram, it is fused (fuse 8).

In the diagram below, 14 is the aux wiring harness. 8 is the Aux Light Switch and 4 is the starter relay. UO is the blue/orange wire, P is the purple and B is the ground.



I think the issue isn't so much not being able to turn on the aux lights without the bike running, I think it's more an issue of not running the full amperage of the lights through the small handlebar switch and that's why the OEM lights include a relay. But if both you and Feduke have been running the motolights all this time without a relay then I'm sure it's fine. I would think any problems would have surfaced by now.


I would understand that if it was an electronic switch like the one for the heated hand grips, but its a sizable mechanical switch, as big as the ones that turn on several hundred watt chandiliers above a dining room table

Post edited by EnGage on 17 Apr 2011 - 19:23
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 davetac1 
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Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 00:52   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: EnGage)
 
I have a stupid question.Why did you cut the black[ground] wire,splice it into the blue/red tracer wire,and run it back to battery ground??? Dave!!!

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 davetac1 
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Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 01:06   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: EnGage)
 
I have a stupid question.Why was the black [ground] wire spilced into the cut off blue/red tracer wire and run back to battery ground??? Not having done this yet,I thought all the connections that were needed for the aux. lights were all in the headlight housing.

The other question I have is,when the switch is on,are the aux. lights from the factory wired to run all the time,or on low beam only?? I just mounted my home made bracket with my after market lights today but haven't hooked em up yet.I thought I had it all figured out,but you guys just threw me a curve.So what gives?? Whada you guys know that I don't??? SOOOOOOOOO??? Thank you. Dave!!!

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 feduke 
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Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 01:18   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: davetac1)
 
davetac1 wrote:

I have a stupid question.Why was the black [ground] wire spilced into the cut off blue/red tracer wire and run back to battery ground??? Not having done this yet,I thought all the connections that were needed for the aux. lights were all in the headlight housing.

The other question I have is,when the switch is on,are the aux. lights from the factory wired to run all the time,or on low beam only?? I just mounted my home made bracket with my after market lights today but haven't hooked em up yet.I thought I had it all figured out,but you guys just threw me a curve.So what gives?? Whada you guys know that I don't??? SOOOOOOOOO??? Thank you. Dave!!!


My lights will only come on when the igniton switch is turned on (I wired to the blue wire with the orange runner stripe.) The position of the high or low beams on the headlight doesn't matter. Is that why my electric bill has been so high lately?

And you thought YOU had a stupid question. HA!

 
I'm a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass. I eat cows.
Post edited by feduke on 18 Apr 2011 - 01:19
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 davetac1 
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Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 06:17   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: feduke)
 
The aux lights I just put on today, each use a Nokia 12 volt,13X LED bulb which draws less than 4 watts of power,combined,yet puts out 6000K of light,each.Plus,because they're LED's,they'll last a lot longer than conventional bulbs.These lights illuminate the inside of my garage at night,which is where I tested em with no interior lights on [pitch black],really well.So they otta light up the road in front of me real good at night too,while drawing practically nothing for power.We'll see.Once I get em wired I'll try and take some pics and post em.

The best part of this home made aux lighting set up is that,the lights,the LED bulbs,and the aluminum bracket we made to support em,cost less than 50 bucks,total.That,BTW,is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less then Triumph's passing lamp set up or anyone else's for that matter. If these things light the road like I think they're gonna,and hold up under every day driving conditions,I'll be WAAAAAAAY a head of the game.Whadaya think???lol Dave!!!

Post edited by davetac1 on 18 Apr 2011 - 06:27
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 eagleone 
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Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 09:41   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: davetac1)
 
Dave let me know how you wire your new lights. I have some on the way and will be wiring soon. I just want to be able to turn them on and off at the switch no matter what the headlight is at.

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 EnGage 
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Posted : 18 Apr 2011 - 13:08   Post title : Re: Aux. Lights Wiring (Re: davetac1)
 
davetac1 wrote:

I have a stupid question.Why was the black [ground] wire spilced into the cut off blue/red tracer wire and run back to battery ground??? Not having done this yet,I thought all the connections that were needed for the aux. lights were all in the headlight housing.

The other question I have is,when the switch is on,are the aux. lights from the factory wired to run all the time,or on low beam only?? I just mounted my home made bracket with my after market lights today but haven't hooked em up yet.I thought I had it all figured out,but you guys just threw me a curve.So what gives?? Whada you guys know that I don't??? SOOOOOOOOO??? Thank you. Dave!!!


The black wire wasn't cut off and spliced and I didn't run a wire back to the battery - everything you need is on that one harness. The first picture is from another member that did run a ground back to the battery, but the black wire in that picture would not be that ground - it is from the motolights. Go back and read my post with the pictures again and you'll see.

Post edited by EnGage on 18 Apr 2011 - 13:11
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