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Switched Live


Skids

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My knowledge of electrickery is not great. I'm after some help with powering a set of Givi LED spots to my new-to-me 2018 VFR800X Crossrunner - it's mostly the same bike as the 800F so I'm assuming (sic) that the electrics are pretty much the same too so hopefully there's an 800F owner out there who may be able to help as well as anyone else.

 

I need to attach the spots to a switched live feed. They have their own On/Off switch, but I tend to leave this in the On position. They will be mounted on a set of Givi crash bars which wrap around the engine so access to the area beneath either the left or right side fairing will be best.

 

If anyone knows where best to tap (is there an aux feed?), especially if you have pics, and also what is the best was to splice into an existing feed without damaging it too much, all help gratefully accepted!  :beer:

 

I'm 5 mins off junction 10 of the A1 if anyone feels like riding over to help out. There would be remuneration, of course!

 

Cheers. :beer:

 

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Hi Skids.

Without knowing the current draw of these lights, I'd suggest using a 12v relay. On the 8gen there is an OPTION (Rear) connector designed for fitting an alarm system not sure if the 800X has it. The Black/Yellow wire is a switched positive you could use to drive a relay coil.

So to the relay coil is the Black/Yellow wire 12v then the other side of the coil to a convenient Ground. Now connect a Positive from the battery to one of the Relay Switching contacts then the other end of the relay switched contact to your Spotlight 12v positive. Ground your Spots to a convenient ground.

Hope this helps.

 

image.png

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9 hours ago, Grum said:

Hi Skids.

Without knowing the current draw of these lights, I'd suggest using a 12v relay. On the 8gen there is an OPTION (Rear) connector designed for fitting an alarm system not sure if the 800X has it. The Black/Yellow wire is a switched positive you could use to drive a relay coil.

So to the relay coil is the Black/Yellow wire 12v then the other side of the coil to a convenient Ground. Now connect a Positive from the battery to one of the Relay Switching contacts then the other end of the relay switched contact to your Spotlight 12v positive. Ground your Spots to a convenient ground.

Hope this helps.

 

image.png

Grum, appreciate your help there m8 but I'm afraid you might as well have written the majority of that in Latin.

 

I'll take a look for the draw of the lamps.

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14W per bulb so 28W in total.

 

Any idea of the exact location of the optional connector?

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15 hours ago, Skids said:

14W per bulb so 28W in total.

 

Any idea of the exact location of the optional connector?

Hi Skids.

Picture of the OPTION (Rear) connector attached.

 

28w is approximately 2amps current draw, you could most likely power your lights directly from the Black/Yellow wire. This switched 12v source is from the ACC 10amp Fuse which also powers your Heated Grips (if you have them). You just need to be aware that you will be adding an extra 2amps to the Fuse, combine that with the use of the Heated Grips say on level 5 you might just get close to blowing the fuse, still, it could be worth a try.

So, if you use the Black/Yellow wire to power your lights you'll most likely have to cut it from the connector and add an in-line joiner or solder and sleeve your Spot Light power wire to it, OR better still if you could source the mating connector for the OPTION (Rear) plug. Hope I'm not speaking Latin here! :wacko:.

If you intend to use a relay I could do a drawing for you if required. Again, I'm not sure how similar the wiring is of the VFR800F (2014 model) compared to the VFR800X Crossrunner!

Also - How are you powering your Heated Jacket and the Givi fog lamps that you state are installed on the VFR800X? You need to be a little cautious of the amount of added electrical loads, you could end up overloading your Stator and/or the R/R.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

 

Option_Connector.jpg

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The heated jacket is direct to the battery as it came with leads for that. Heated grips are fitted, yes.

 

Had no issues on previous bike with all of these loads so hopefully....

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Still waiting to fit these lights but the 2017+ Crossrunner has a 12v DC socket fitted as standard in the LH fairing below the bars.

 

On the previous installation, the live wire was soldered to a switched live and the other wire from the lights went straight to an earth on the frame.

 

Rather than stripping and soldering to the switched live beneath the 12v DC socket, could I wire the lights to a male cigar plug and plug it into the socket? I don't use the socket for anything else but I'm not sure if the connection that went to earth previously can go to the socket???

 

Seriously don't want to blow a set of £300+ lights.

 

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58 minutes ago, Skids said:

Still waiting to fit these lights but the 2017+ Crossrunner has a 12v DC socket fitted as standard in the LH fairing below the bars.

 

On the previous installation, the live wire was soldered to a switched live and the other wire from the lights went straight to an earth on the frame.

 

Rather than stripping and soldering to the switched live beneath the 12v DC socket, could I wire the lights to a male cigar plug and plug it into the socket? I don't use the socket for anything else but I'm not sure if the connection that went to earth previously can go to the socket???

 

Seriously don't want to blow a set of £300+ lights.

 

Hi Skids.

If you have no other use for the 12v DC socket then you should have no issues wiring up a suitable plug (both power and earth) to suite the 12v DC socket. Seeing you are only drawing approximately 2amps would think this is not an issue. I wonder if your owners booklet specifies the power or current rating for the 12v DC socket? There's no need to worry regards " blowing a set of £300 lights" you can't damage them by connecting them to the 12v DC socket, it's just a case of being sure the socket can supply the load. Worst case scenario is you blow a fuse.

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52 minutes ago, Grum said:

Hi Skids.

If you have no other use for the 12v DC socket then you should have no issues wiring up a suitable plug (both power and earth) to suite the 12v DC socket. Seeing you are only drawing approximately 2amps would think this is not an issue. I wonder if your owners booklet specifies the power or current rating for the 12v DC socket? There's no need to worry regards " blowing a set of £300 lights" you can't damage them by connecting them to the 12v DC socket, it's just a case of being sure the socket can supply the load. Worst case scenario is you blow a fuse.

Grum

 

So just to confirm: I can connect the live/fused wire from the lights to the red wire on the male plug and the other wire from the lights to the remaining wire on the male plug? 

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6 minutes ago, Skids said:

Grum

 

So just to confirm: I can connect the live/fused wire from the lights to the red wire on the male plug and the other wire from the lights to the remaining wire on the male plug? 

Yep. The center connection in your plug is the positive so yes the positive 12v wire for your lights needs to connect to the center connection. The ground wire simply connects to the other connection in the plug.

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1 minute ago, Grum said:

Yep. The center connection in your plug is the positive so yes the positive 12v wire for your lights needs to connect to the center connection. The ground wire simply connects to the other connection in the plug.

You Sir, are a star. Thanks.

 

Mrs Skids & I will be spending a few days in Melbourne next March. Happy to buy you a large beer! :beer:

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5 minutes ago, Skids said:

You Sir, are a star. Thanks.

 

Mrs Skids & I will be spending a few days in Melbourne next March. Happy to buy you a large beer! :beer:

Assume you will be using a plug similar to this. The center is the positive and the outer contacts are the negative. PM regards your March visit, take you up on that beer :beer:

image.jpeg

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2 hours later....

 

 IMAG0776.thumb.jpg.ca2955b0a44da6fbb133340744662846.jpgIMAG0777.thumb.jpg.b5e52a52a6553a3bcf497ebf2b1b3beb.jpg

 

Managed to remove a lot of excess wiring loom and the On/Off switch too.

 

Thanks again Grum.

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Skids, this inquiring rider wants to know if you notice an increase in your conspicuity as a result of your added lighting.

 

I installed LED driving lights (wide & short distance) to my forks. They, along with the LED headlights, seem to attract a lot of attention both from on-coming traffic and from vehicles ahead of me traveling in the same direction. I make sure the fork lights are focused so they will not hit on-coming traffic in the eyes. And I get no one flashing their high beams at me.  

 

Spring2018Lights.thumb.JPG.7a4cf38e3bf840f1fe387f3a71ac313c.JPG

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24 minutes ago, MaxSwell said:

Skids, this inquiring rider wants to know if you notice an increase in your conspicuity as a result of your added lighting.

 

I installed LED driving lights (wide & short distance) to my forks. They, along with the LED headlights, seem to attract a lot of attention both from on-coming traffic and from vehicles ahead of me traveling in the same direction. I make sure the fork lights are focused so they will not hit on-coming traffic in the eyes. And I get no one flashing their high beams at me.  

 

 

Absolutely. I've been commuting for 2 weeks without them since I sold my old Cr and noticed a big difference, especially when filtering/lane splitting. Wouldn't want to be without them. Plus they fill a gap in the headlamp coverage too.

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57b839031f320_10(2).thumb.jpg.65c911537075a40f69b9ffa86c9ce24b.jpg.547b8a3080afc88b040d5c5cdcd11964.jpg

 

Add a fluo orange Schuberth C3

Add a fluo yellow rainsuit

 

 

And still the oncoming car took a left turn in front of me.

 

YMMV

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11 hours ago, Skids said:

2 hours later....

 

 IMAG0776.thumb.jpg.ca2955b0a44da6fbb133340744662846.jpgIMAG0777.thumb.jpg.b5e52a52a6553a3bcf497ebf2b1b3beb.jpg

 

Managed to remove a lot of excess wiring loom and the On/Off switch too.

 

Thanks again Grum.

Hi Skids.

Thats a great install, very neat and an excellent light show. The titanium colour of your bike looks very nice indeed.

 

My only concern, and it's a long term one, is that the "cigar type" plug is not the best at keeping out moisture. With rain or washing your bike you could end up with water ingress into your 12v DC outlet causing corrosion and potential damage to your 12v outlet. Perhaps a good coating of dielectric grease around the circumference of the plug might help weather seal it. What's your thought?

 

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7 hours ago, Grum said:

Hi Skids.

Thats a great install, very neat and an excellent light show. The titanium colour of your bike looks very nice indeed.

 

My only concern, and it's a long term one, is that the "cigar type" plug is not the best at keeping out moisture. With rain or washing your bike you could end up with water ingress into your 12v DC outlet causing corrosion and potential damage to your 12v outlet. Perhaps a good coating of dielectric grease around the circumference of the plug might help weather seal it. What's your thought?

 

Sounds like a good idea, thanks.

 

The bike colour is actually matt black. Not my first choice, I'd have preferred the white again, but beggars can't be choosers.

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