dashboard din socket to power spotlights?

[Deleted account 191119001]

why is it a bodge if its safe and doable?

Or maybe pass the lights cable under the seat, makes it more safer and easier to get at, look at MF video 5 mins 36 into video, he shows what wire to splice and how, to get the lights to go off with the canbus, and have an on and off switch, I hope you get the idea....

 

[Mr Bean]

look at MF video 5 mins 36 into video, he shows what wire to splice and how, to get the lights to go off with the canbus

I didn't know scotchlocks were still used - horrible things.

 

[Buckingham]

I didn't know scotchlocks were still used - horrible things.

+1 Would have been much better and neater as a soldered joint. Scotchlok are an insulation-displacement-connector (IDC) - IDCs are used all the time in the telecoms industry with no issues, but they are not great in a vibration-prone vehicle environment.

 

[Buckingham]

Any recommendations for good quality aux lights at a sensible price ?

I know Denali are great, but prices seem excessive.

There are loads of these on Amazon from China, but in my experience they are of doubtful quality.......

The Hella micro DE are good, but they're halogen - they convert well to HiD but I'd prefer LED for the low heat & current drain.

 

[stonehenge]

Any recommendations for good quality aux lights at a sensible price ?

I know Denali are great, but prices seem excessive.

There are loads of these on Amazon from China, but in my experience they are of doubtful quality.......

The Hella micro DE are good, but they're halogen - they convert well to HiD but I'd prefer LED for the low heat & current drain.

Rigid Industries Ignite - very small with 1Amp draw each lamp but send out a good amount of light. They output two amounts, being a DRL and full on light. Can be bought as Flood or Spot (I got flood). I paid £150 which includes all cables and waterproof switch. Very high quality and highly recommended:

https://www.rigidindustriesshop.co.uk/products/ignite-bike-kit-flood?variant=15515167719473

 

[Buckingham]

Thanks Stonehenge (A303 what a nightmare)

 

[knutk]

The Hexezcan seems like a very expensive way if all you want is to switch a pair of extra lights. I'd be looking at an Autoswitch instead, controlled from the high beam switch / headlamp flasher.
Not done this on my LC yet, but that's the plan and this worked well on my previous canbus BMWs & I can't see any reason why it would not work on the LC.

There is a catch.

The first generation of CAN bus bikes used conventional switches, where the hot lead +5V of the switch was hooked up to ZFE and when you activate the switch it is connected to ground, ie ZFE input goes from high to low. Also the lightbulbs where on most of the bikes driven by 12V output, supplied and controlled by the ZFE, so you could easy tap into the bulb circuit, while it was best to stay away from the switches…


The LC uses LIN bus between switch gear and ZFE. This means there are electronics inside the switchgear that reads the switches and transmits serial data to ZFE. (LIN bus is a simpler protocol used for communication between A and B only)

The headlight unit is also controlled by serial data unless there are non-LEDs on the bike. Taillight is pulsed, perhaps a switch may be triggered by tapping into the cables may work.

I am with fred, sniffing the CAN bus signals is the best way to go, but also more expensive. However, if you screw up tapping in at the wrong cable, the sniffing into CAN bus will be almost free as compared to a screwup.

 

[MrMcNamara]

You could go even cheaper and just use an automotive relay. Just need to find a trigger

Waterproof relay, trigger wire from tap into rear tail light feed, works for me powering two substantial LED units on permanently (dipped) for the last few years no issues

 

[Buckingham]

There is a catch.

The first generation of CAN bus bikes used conventional switches, where the hot lead +5V of the switch was hooked up to ZFE and when you activate the switch it is connected to ground, ie ZFE input goes from high to low. Also the lightbulbs where on most of the bikes driven by 12V output, supplied and controlled by the ZFE, so you could easy tap into the bulb circuit, while it was best to stay away from the switches…


The LC uses LIN bus between switch gear and ZFE. This means there are electronics inside the switchgear that reads the switches and transmits serial data to ZFE. (LIN bus is a simpler protocol used for communication between A and B only)

The headlight unit is also controlled by serial data unless there are non-LEDs on the bike. Taillight is pulsed, perhaps a switch may be triggered by tapping into the cables may work.

I am with fred, sniffing the CAN bus signals is the best way to go, but also more expensive. However, if you screw up tapping in at the wrong cable, the sniffing into CAN bus will be almost free as compared to a screwup.

Thanks for the interesting response, so are you saying the LED headlamp is itself an active device on the bus, rather than just being switched by 12v from the ZFE ?

 

[Mr Bean]

I've spliced and soldered in to one of the positive feeds to the two fuses on my previous two LC's to provide a switched feed a Fuzeblock.

If my 1250 didn't have a factory alarm I'd still use it - unfortunately, the space that the alarm sits is the neatest place for it so I bought Ez-Can.

 

[knutk]

Thanks for the interesting response, so are you saying the LED headlamp is itself an active device on the bus, rather than just being switched by 12v from the ZFE ?

That is correct.