Power pick up for bikevis bullets

[yoz0807]

I purchased a set of the bikevis bullets and finally got round to fitting them tonight. http://www.bikevis.com/motorcycle-led-running-lights.html

After having had a look around various websites (this one included) it appears that virtually everyone is picking up the feed for these inside the headlamp cluster. This entails drilling a hole in the 'sealed' cover to pass the wires through. I don't really like the idea of this as it is a potential water ingress point and I hate misty head lamps.

There is a multi-plug in the centre of the light cluster that feeds all the wires in. I have bared a small section of the brown and yellow wires and soldered a link wire on to them then re-taped the loom. Looks dead neat and no holes

My question is .... why does no one else pick up here? Is there a reason that I should not do this?

 

[REM]

I hope there is no good reason - as I am just about to tap in at the same point to dipped and main beam feeds. I have been considering using posi-taps but dont like the idea of the feed heading off at right angles to the direction it needs to go. So I am encouraged that you have soldered.

 

[yoz0807]

I am not keen on scotchloc or posi-tap type things due to corrosion causing poor electrical connections over time, plus the bulk of the things. A good solder joint is the way to go

Just make sure you feed the wires through the little rubber boot first so that the joint is in the right direction, I forgot !!

 

[Smythson]

No idea about how / why people tapping wires by drilling headlight cluster (except HID install where it's common) but on low draw applications maybe use the sat nav plug on top of the battery? I think a lot of people avoid cutting into the harness so bike can be returned to stock. Thus fuzeblocks and relays etc.

That said, soldered and properly sealed joints will last as long at the rest of the harness.

Best,

S


PS I got some pozitaps with my DRLs - albeit i went fuzeblock/relay route not impressed by these - not gonna be nearly as robust as soldering.

 

[hughguzzi]

on my 1150 I connected into the spade connectors for the side light, I hope bikevis have improved the quality of led's they use because I had 3 failed sets in 18 months where water ingressed through the 'lens'. They were good about replacing them but since I opened them up and fitted some quality leds they have been brighter and lasted 2 years so far !!!

 

[mark71]

I have tapped in just as you describe and it has been ok for a couple of years, as an electrician it was always be my preferred route but please do a soldered joint and not a scotch block.

Mark

 

[yoz0807]

Thanks for the replies, I could see no reason not to but nice to hear other people agree.
I hope that bikevis have improved their quality too !!

 

[GS Biker]

I have a pair on my 800, connected to the can bus that also powers my GPS, been like this for over a couple years now. Also has a couple fail but touch wood, latest pair still going strong after a year and a half.

 

[Straydog]

I have a pair on my 800, connected to the can bus that also powers my GPS, been like this for over a couple years now. Also has a couple fail but touch wood, latest pair still going strong after a year and a half.

Same here on swmbo's f800 works well

 

[REM]

on low draw applications maybe use the sat nav plug on top of the battery

I assume Yoz's application is slightly different from mine - tapping into brown and yellow suggests that he is powering his Bikevis lamps directly from the dipped beam +ve and -ve feeds.

I am connecting to a switched +ve (lo beam or elswhere) and the switched high beam +ve to get two different feeds to two relays.

Doesn't the plug on the top of the battery have a timed OFF function? IF so I am not sure it is a good take off for spot light relay feeds - best to have OFF with ignition OFF.

I also think that if you tap into the dipped beam +ve you get a delayed ON until the engine has started. Not such a big deal if they are low powered LEDs but mine are 5A 30W

 

[Straydog]

On swmbo's her led bullets which draw 3 parts of f!all run off the can us for the GPS.
Her spots run off a wired relay with a trigger off the high beam being fed through the breather hole on the headlight assembly and are wired directly to the battery via a switch circuit.

 

[StumpyFingers]

I fitted mine to the auxilary fuse box, it takes the switching power from the canbus. I have mine under the foglight mounting bracket, with two five LED lamps, one on each handgaurd.

 

[yoz0807]

Yes I am powering the bullets from the switched low beam. Main reason is that I wanted them to come on with the dipped beam lamps. It does mean that they only come on when the engine is running like the headlamp. I didn't really take the current draw into consideration when choosing where to pick up the feed (other than its the square root of c*ck all so doesnt really matter) , it just seemed like the logical place to grab the feed

 

[Neiljohnuk]

My BikeViz DRL's, and LED spots come off the socket feed next to the ignition lock, the LED spots go off when the can-bus shuts down ~20 minutes, useful at night!
The spots are on the engine bars, aimed low to illuminate the front wheel and road/track surface ~15 feet in front of the bike. The DRL's are the cree 4 led type with indicator repeater function, to remain legal they have lighting gel's so no flashing white lights, and are dimmed by switching the can-bus line to the headlight on terminal.

 

[trailguru]

I'll be taking a feed off the headlight to trip a relay after engine start and I'll interrupt the feed with a waterproof connector. That way it can all be unplugged and left for the next owner to use when I sell the bike on.

 

[GS TRV]

I'll be taking a feed off the headlight to trip a relay after engine start and I'll interrupt the feed with a waterproof connector. That way it can all be unplugged and left for the next owner to use when I sell the bike on.

he's maybe solved it by now

 

[trailguru]

I fitted a pair of DLRs and took the feed for a relay switch off dipped beam (yellow) wire just before it enters the headlight cluster. I soldered (as always), covered the bare connection with liquid insulating tape, then wrapped it in self-vulcanising tape for good measure. Worth watching a few YouTube vids on how to tap into existing wiring. Very few electricians would suggest using Scotchblocs.