Wiring auxilliary lights for 1200GS - question from electrical numpty

[big_kitch]

I recently bought a pair of Hella Micro DEs from Les Wassall to fit to my GS as running lights (they will be fitted to H&B tank bars that I got for Christmas - she's perceptive my wife!). As well as the lights Les supplied a handlebar switch (which has two wires coming from it - one green and one orange).

I am no electrical genius and want to double check the wiring before I set to. I plan to put the relay under the seat and wire it as follows (I don't want them to come on with the dipped beam but for them to be switched independently):

30 - to battery positive (with 15A in line fuse)
85 - trigger supply (which I plan to take from the green wire with blue stripes on the diagnostic plug)
86 - ground
87 - positive to Micro DEs

What I am not sure about is where to wire in the switch Les supplied - should it be in line between terminal 87 of the relay and the positive side of the Micro DEs? Or somewhere else?

Have read many threads and looked at lots of people's walk throughs but can't find the answer...

Thanks in advance.

Nick

 

[BTBR]

Trigger supply feed.

 

[Thunder]

I recently bought a pair of Hella Micro DEs from Les Wassall to fit to my GS as running lights (they will be fitted to H&B tank bars that I got for Christmas - she's perceptive my wife!). As well as the lights Les supplied a handlebar switch (which has two wires coming from it - one green and one orange).

I am no electrical genius and want to double check the wiring before I set to. I plan to put the relay under the seat and wire it as follows (I don't want them to come on with the dipped beam but for them to be switched independently):

30 - to battery positive (with 15A in line fuse)
85 - trigger supply (which I plan to take from the green wire with blue stripes on the diagnostic plug)
86 - ground
87 - positive to Micro DEs

What I am not sure about is where to wire in the switch Les supplied - should it be in line between terminal 87 of the relay and the positive side of the Micro DEs? Or somewhere else?

Have read many threads and looked at lots of people's walk throughs but can't find the answer...

Thanks in advance.

Nick

Wire it accross the trigger for the relay which carries minimal current.

 

[gipsymagpie]

Yep

Definitely on trigger supply run. Works a treat. Have fun crimping (I hate it!).

 

[Les Wassall]

Sorted

 

[big_kitch]

Thanks to Les and others for the advice. This post-Christmas project is now finished and I thought I would post the details for future reference if anyone is undertaking something similar.

I have mounted a pair of Hella Micro DEs as running lights on the Hepco & Becker tank bars that my wife got me for Christmas. A couple of points on the fitting/mounting. The H&B bars (both engine & tank) are good quality and well priced. The upper mounting of the tank bars (U bolts connecting to part of the frame under the nose) are a real pig as it's really hard to get a spanner up there and then actually be able to turn it. In the end I hacksawed about 1 cm off the thread (there's way too much there and it just gets in the way). There are two pre-drilled holes on the bars for mounting lights but they are too small for the single bolt that Hella provides. I used two smaller bolts of my own with locking nuts, one through the centre hole in the Hella bracket and one through the inside hole (which I had to drill out a bit and then protect with Hammerite).

As for the electrical work, I decided to remove the tank (following the excellent instructions at http://www.r1200gs.info/howto/lights-2.html) to make it easier to run the wires. I was a bit nervous about it, but it was really easy. I mounted the relay under the tank on the front of the airbox using some double sided adhesive velcro.

I took the trigger supply from the front parking light as recommended by Les. I was going to take it from the dipped beam but he suggested the parking light so that you still have light from the Micro DEs if the dipped beam bulb blows. This was probably the hardest part. Getting the bulb carrier out was a right fiddle until I realised that you could use a long screwdriver from underneath the nose and lever it out that way. I connected to the striped wire (not the brown one) using a scotchblock connector and wrapped it in loads of electrical tape - hopefully it will stay dry... This was connected to the green wire from the handlebar switch that Les supplied. Then I made the following connections to the relay terminals:

30 - to battery positive (with 15A in line fuse)
85 - to orange wire from the handlebar switch
86 - ground (battery negative along with the ground wires from the Micro DEs)
87 - positive to Micro DEs

I wrapped all the wires into a mini loom with electrical tape and cable tied it to the existing loom and the frame, up under the nose.

Very pleased with the outcome and hopefully (a) I will be more visible to Volvo drivers and (b) I won't have to test the effectiveness of the H&B bars...!

Back on the bike tomorrow for the return to work and glad of my Keis heated vest!

Hope it helps someone in the future.

Cheers

Nick