How To Install A Kisan Signalminder Vtec

[Guest Montrealer]

Pictoral Easy how to step-by-step guide for installing the Kisan signalMinder SM-3 turn signal canceler for 2002 VFR VTEC

Sorry if it takes so long to download...Click on photos to see enlarge version

Instructions on how to install the Kisan signalMinder.

Note: ?The removals of the fairings are not covered in this guide as it would take too damned long to create it! ?Check your owner/shop manual or bribe your mechanic friend to do it. ?In this instructions, all the work was done with the front faring in place, but it might be easier if you remove it. ?

Okay, here we go...

From the front of the bike, unplug the turn signal relay that is between the high and low beam relays. ?Make sure you press the release that is at the bottom of the relay, I didn?t and the holding pin snapped off. ?Oh well, at least it wasn?t going back on the bike. ?Gotta be more careful. ?In this photo, the relay has already been removed.

Install the signalMinder to the turn signal connector. ?Since there wasn?t much headroom for the unit, had to fold it forward. ?I put in a glob of silicone caulking around the plug to keep out the moisture. ?

Now plug in the optional connector for the running light option, which will also activate the 4-way and wig-wag modes, into the signalMinder if you want to. Otherwise, that's all there is to installing this unit. ?When you connect this option, the microcontroller detects it and enables right and left channels instead using the center channel. ?This way, each side is independently controlled while the center channel simply becomes a switch detect source. ?If connecting this option, which is included in the package by the way, continue on with the rest of the guide.

There are three wires from the connector for options. ?The red wire is for the brake input option. ?The other two are for running lights/hazard option. ?The white wire is to be connected to the right turn signal and the black one to the left turn signal.

See those three small ring connectors for the Scotch-Loks? ?They make your job a whole lot easier and quicker. ?But if you want 20 years reliability, ditch them and go with the soldering method like I did. ?Also the soldered connections take up less space than with the Scotch-Loks.

The next 13 pictures show the step by step connections for the left turn signal for running light option

Unplug the front left turn signal connector from behind where the bulb is located.

Cut the orange/white wire which is for the Honda front running lights mod and tape or cover the end with a heat shrink tube to prevent shorting. ?You want to disable this wire since the signalMinder uses PWM* to control the intensity of the bulb. It only needs one element, which is the high filament of the dual contact bulb. Therefore it's better to disconnect the low filament of just the front amber running lights. The rear bulbs for the turn signal are single filament type.

* PWM stands for Pulse-Width-Modulation. It's a technique to digitally drive a load with adjustable output.

The photo above show the orange wire with the insulation removed.

The steps for the right turn signal are the same as that for the left side except for the color of the wires. ?FYI, the orange wire is for the left side turn signal lamps while the light blue one is for the right side. ?In the front, the orange/white and light blue/white wires are for the front running lights which must be disconnected to avoid overheating the housing and possibly melt the lens.

For the red brake input wire which is connected to the green/yellow wire, it would have been easiest just to run it to the back of the bike where the brake light connector is but I didn't want to have to snake it all the way there. ?I choose a shorter path for it, routing it along with the white wire in the same protective plastic spiral wrapping as you can see from the previous photo to the right side. The location of the following three pictures is on the right side where the main wire harness is just above the right radiator. ?

NOTE: ?There is another similar yellow/green wire closer to the front (on a light gray connector under the ECM), but do NOT use it since it is not the same one. ?This wire is for the tachometer.

The caption above should have read 'Remove 5/8" insulation from the green/yellow wire...'

Now, you can now cover up your bike and enjoy the freedom and safety![/ALIGN]

[HispanicSlammer]

Is this a signal minder or a head light modulator?  my signal minder was a simple plug into the old socket type of thing I am not sure whats going on here, why is that wire getting spliced?  for the brake light interuption? I assume your not done adding comments?

[Guest Montrealer]

Miguel,

Sorry about that. ?Yes, I still haven't finished the guide yet. ?Ran into a little problem with something else in the meantime so the post got delayed a bit. ?Don't worry, it'll be finished soon!

Regarding your questions:

>Is this a signal minder or a head light modulator? ?my signal minder was a simple plug into the old socket type of thing I am not sure whats going on here

It IS a signalMinder and like yours, it is also a plug in module to replace the turn signal relay.

In the first two pics, you may have noticed the three wires poking out the top of the signalMinder unit. ?The red wire is for the brake light interuption which you know as you have installed it on your bike. ?

The white and black wires are for the running light option which mean that all four turn signals are always on at a reduced intensity to be more noticable to other drivers. ?And they also allow them to be use as a hazard light (all four lights will flash on and off at the same time).

?One wire is connected to the left turn signal wire and the other is to the right turn signal wire. ?Now, since most Honda bikes have dual contact bulbs for the front turn signals, you must disconnect the second wire on each side otherwise they will overheat and could melt the lens and plastic housing. ?

This is the reason why you see the middle wire has been cut.

?The pics you have seen for now show me working on the connection to the left side flasher.

If you are still confused, please be patient. ?I try to do my best to give clear infomation.

Brendan

[vfroger]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does a "signal minder" do besides what you listed in your last post? And FWIW, many states forbid (by law) the operation of the rear turn signals as running lamps; but I've never heard of anyone being cited for it.

Just curious. I'm not familiar with this device.

Roger

[ULEWZ]

Here is the scoop:

? SM-3 unit is designed as a plug-in replacement for most Hondas, including: ST1100, Valkyrie, Valkyrie Interstate, Shadow, VFR and Suzuki bikes.

? SM-3 uses a computer chip to cancel the turn signals- no relays. signalMinder has three selectable timeouts; 15, 30, or 45 seconds.

? By attaching the two optional turn signal wires, you can convert ALL the turn signals to running lights. Using the dip switches you can select the running light intensity to be 1/2 or 1/3 brightness.

? If the two signal wires have been installed signalMinder has a hazard light option built in. When you activate the RIGHT turn signal three times in succession all the turn signals will flash like a hazard light.

? There's also an input pin for brake switch. If you supply 12 volts from the brake switch of the bike, the counter will suspend until the brakes are released. This feature allows an override for those times when you are waiting at the signals to make a turn and do not want the time-out to cancel the flashing.

This feature is OPTIONAL - your choice to connect.

[HispanicSlammer]

OH ok your unit is different than mine I thought it was somthing else.

What the signal minder does is when you turn on your signal to go left or right, you have to cancel it manually to get it to shut off. If your like me you will leave it blinking for miles! The minder shuts it off after a programmed amount of time like 10 sec or 1 min, so you dont look like a jerk riding down the freeway with your merge blinker on the whole way to work! ?I have one of the first ones, what I dont like about mine is that if the signal minder turns off the signal because I forgot to, I still have to use the button like I was canceling the signal manuall to get it to blink again, hopefully they adressed this with your unit.

They also have a brake light interupter so that when you are at a stop light signaling to turn, as long as the brake is set it wont cancel, for those really long stop lights.

I hope you bought it off the website because the group gets a 10% discount for all Kisan products.  Their shop is only a mile from where I live!

[Guest Montrealer]

Excellent, thanks ULEWZ for answering the question.

I have one of the first ones, what I dont like about mine is that if the signal minder turns off the signal because I forgot to, I still have to use the button like I was canceling the signal manuall to get it to blink again, hopefully they adressed this with your unit.

I understand your annoyance. ?When I tried it without connecting the running light wires, after the side that has stopped flashing, it would be completely off while the other front side would be in running light. ?So in the front, you would have one side where the light is on while the other side is off! ?By connecting the running light wires of the signal minder, they essentially replace the factory front running lights so there is no need to press the turn signal switch to reset it.

so you dont look like a jerk riding down the freeway with your merge blinker on the whole way to work!

Same here! ?:D

And FWIW, many states forbid (by law) the operation of the rear turn signals as running lamps.

Okay, the difference between factory and signalMinder running light mode

The 02/03 VTEC come stock with front running lights only while the signalMinder can use all four turn signals as running lamps. ?I have to see if it can just use the front turn signals only in order to meet some states law. ?One reason for replacing the factory setting with the signalMinder for front only is that if you enable the running light option, the bulbs will revert to low intensity mode after the time-out. ?It cannot reset the mechanical latch of the handle-bar switch.

More pics are to come today!

Cheers,

Brendan

[HispanicSlammer]

My unit still cancels the signal but in order to turn on my blinker again you have to manually cancel it,  I understand that you have a running light override however when the unit cancles your signal can you just switch the signal on to get to blink again or do you have to push it in first (manually cancle it)

My unit would freeze up in fog too, just one long light!

[Guest Montrealer]

My unit still cancels the signal but in order to turn on my blinker again you have to manually cancel it, ?I understand that you have a running light override however when the unit cancles your signal can you just switch the signal on to get to blink again or do you have to push it in first (manually cancle it)

Miguel,

Sorry, I had misunderstood your previous post. ?Okay, the characteristic you have mentioned regarding manually canceling is still there. ?However, I believe the advantage of safety it provides outweigh the inconvenience of resetting the switch. ?For example, in heavy fogs where visibility is limited, having all four turn signal lamps flash as hazard lights make me more noticeable to other drivers.

There is one other thing I should mention. ?The very first day I got my VFR which was my first bike, had the infamous battery drain due to the high beams on and stalling in the middle of a busy three lane street and unable to restart it. ?So what did I do? ?I instinctively reached for the imaginary hazard light button. ?"What the f*ck do you mean they don't come with them?!" ?It was that day I learnt bikes don't usually come with them although they should!

By the way, it also has a test mode where the lamps flash in a wig-wag sequence which is pretty cool!

My unit would freeze up in fog too, just one long light!

What do you mean when your unit would freeze up? ?That the light just stay on due to condensation?

Brendan

[HispanicSlammer]

Yea while I was in San Fran the fog would make it beep funny and the turn signal would light up constantly, as soon as the weather would clear up it would work agian, it does it when I wash the bike too.

I still would rather have it than not I might take it apart and sqeeze some epoxy on the circuits so it does not short with mositure.

[HispanicSlammer]

I popped your write up on the news page!

[HispanicSlammer]

I got an email from Andy at Kiasan tech I will share with you.

Hi Miguel:

signalMinder has been upgraded completely.

microprocessor control

running light conversion built-in

running light intensity programmable for two levels

4-way flash function

Test mode (wig-wag) function

Brake input for extended time-outs

Brendan, who did the write-up, does have the new version - except that it's

in a plastic enclosure. The current version is packaged in an aluminum

extrusion and had (2) additional RJ-11 ports for driving our vectraLIGHT

product.

Anyway, to answer the beeper question:

It's possible that humidity may cause the transistor, which controls the

beeper, to stay on. The best way check out your unit is to unplug it and

keep it in a warm, dry place for about 24 hours. There's a very small, tiny

hole on one side of the plastic enclosure for vent. Keep that hole pointed

up. Once dried out, you can put a tape over that hole and use it.

Stop by sometime during lunch or something. Don't be a stranger.

Andy

**********

Hello,

My name is Miguel Mayo I came into the shop on Lake Plaza drive last summer and purchased a Signal Minder I just live a mile away. I am webmaster at http://www.vfrdiscussion.com one of my members has recently installed a signal minder, pathblazer and trailblazer on his 2002 VFR and did a nice write up on the installation with pictures, visit the website to see it. Maybe you remember me?

I wonder if the product has been upgraded since I purchased this one for my 98 VFR.  I was in San Francisco last summer for the races at Laguna Seca and encountered a strange problem with the unit.  It is very foggy there and whenever I would turn on the signal the unit would not beep but rather give one long continuous light! as soon as I moved to a drier area it would work again.

I wonder if there is a simple remedy to prevent this? I thought of taking it out of the plastic casing and putting epoxy over the circuits?  I have had it over a year now.

Also whenever the unit shuts off a signal you have to push the turn signal button in as if you were manually canceling it in order to get it to blink for the next turn.  Has that been changed?

Thanks Miguel Mayo

[DougFromIndy]

*****10/22/08 hey, this is a really old thread but give me credit for using the search function....

I want to add a Kisan signalminder (not a headlight modulator) to my 03 VFR 6th gen....I understand the product has been upgraded also..has anyone done a recent install on this on a 6th gen? kisan signalminder...exactly what i have been looking for, thanks Doug ***

[alwaysaware]

Am I the only one here that cant view the photos? :biggrin:

[Tightwad]

no, this thread is 5 years old...image shack or other images often don't last longer than 1 year.

[rbertalotto]

Yes, I installed a Signal Minder on my 04 (every bike I own has one)

Very easy install with the new, updated product. But if you have a problem, the Kisan folks are amazing with customer service.

[leo]

Could you please upload the pictures again as there is nothing there. It will be great help for all of us that we want to be safe but we do not know how to do this.

Thanks a lot,

Leo