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Race Dog
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2013
- Messages
- 589
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Flamingo Vlei, Table View, Cape Town
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS Adventure
I bought LED Spot lights (1000 LUM) from Flying brick and had them wired to my BMW 800 GS and the BMW 1200 GSA. They work great. However there are a few do’s and don’ts as I have discovered. So below my findings:
1) Use a relay between the lights and the wiring bus to ensure correct voltages. (To be explained later)
2) The Wiring harness will be used as the feed for the lights and not directly on the battery with a toggle switch, I just feel this works better as it automatically switches off after 1 minute. And automatically switches on when the ignition is turned.
3) Obtain a “Yellow Universal Plug” from your BMW Motorrad dealer (R150-00), it has three wires namely positive, negative and then one for a remote. If you do not use this plug it could void your warrantee, also please consult with your Dealer prior to any work that you might do yourself.
BMW 1200 GSA:
• Just below the Headlight, underneath the beak you will find an “Auxiliary” plug, unplug the cover and insert the universal plug.
• Ensure none of the three wires are touching each other or the frame, switch the ignition on and with a multi meter identify the negative and positive wire. The third wire is for a remote which you can roll up and tie back.
• Take your 4 pin relay and wire as follows:
o 30 – A separate wire with inline fuse to (positive) battery,
o 85 – To (Positive) Yellow Plug.
o 86 – Earth, 2 x Negative wires from spots plus the negative from the Yellow Plug.
o 87 – To (Positive) both spots.
• Test and tidy up.
• If you see smoke, run!!
BMW 800 GS:
• Remove the centre cover to expose the Battery, the “Auxiliary” plug can be found on the front side of the battery.
• As per above.
Why a relay should be used:
Not to get to technical but in everyday terms, The wiring bus switches off after one minute once the ignition has been turned off. If a “source” is connected drawing more than 0.04 amps, the circuit does not switch off. But with a relay it allows the bus to switch off with both spots connected. If a relay is not used on the 1200 both spots will remain on after the one minute, and if only one spot is connected it will go off after one minute. So use a relay!!!
Yes it does work on the 800 without a relay, but rather install one, it’s safer.
To actually mount the spots to the bikes, please see below:
1200:
I used re-location brackets to move the “Expensive” BMW Spots to a safer location above the crash bars, then utilised the standard mounting brackets to secure the “Not so expensive” brackets. So no additional brackets or engineering needed.
800:
Bought a set of specially designed brackets from Chris and secured it to the crash bars. I replaced the bolts and nuts supplied with the brackets with 5 mm stainless steel torx bolts, spring washers and lock nuts. This way even after having a side stand incident the spots were perfectly aligned in place.
Please note, it is your decision to work on your bike or to take it to an authorized dealer, I will not be held responsible for any damage caused by this article.
1) Use a relay between the lights and the wiring bus to ensure correct voltages. (To be explained later)
2) The Wiring harness will be used as the feed for the lights and not directly on the battery with a toggle switch, I just feel this works better as it automatically switches off after 1 minute. And automatically switches on when the ignition is turned.
3) Obtain a “Yellow Universal Plug” from your BMW Motorrad dealer (R150-00), it has three wires namely positive, negative and then one for a remote. If you do not use this plug it could void your warrantee, also please consult with your Dealer prior to any work that you might do yourself.
BMW 1200 GSA:
• Just below the Headlight, underneath the beak you will find an “Auxiliary” plug, unplug the cover and insert the universal plug.
• Ensure none of the three wires are touching each other or the frame, switch the ignition on and with a multi meter identify the negative and positive wire. The third wire is for a remote which you can roll up and tie back.
• Take your 4 pin relay and wire as follows:
o 30 – A separate wire with inline fuse to (positive) battery,
o 85 – To (Positive) Yellow Plug.
o 86 – Earth, 2 x Negative wires from spots plus the negative from the Yellow Plug.
o 87 – To (Positive) both spots.
• Test and tidy up.
• If you see smoke, run!!
BMW 800 GS:
• Remove the centre cover to expose the Battery, the “Auxiliary” plug can be found on the front side of the battery.
• As per above.
Why a relay should be used:
Not to get to technical but in everyday terms, The wiring bus switches off after one minute once the ignition has been turned off. If a “source” is connected drawing more than 0.04 amps, the circuit does not switch off. But with a relay it allows the bus to switch off with both spots connected. If a relay is not used on the 1200 both spots will remain on after the one minute, and if only one spot is connected it will go off after one minute. So use a relay!!!
Yes it does work on the 800 without a relay, but rather install one, it’s safer.
To actually mount the spots to the bikes, please see below:
1200:
I used re-location brackets to move the “Expensive” BMW Spots to a safer location above the crash bars, then utilised the standard mounting brackets to secure the “Not so expensive” brackets. So no additional brackets or engineering needed.
800:
Bought a set of specially designed brackets from Chris and secured it to the crash bars. I replaced the bolts and nuts supplied with the brackets with 5 mm stainless steel torx bolts, spring washers and lock nuts. This way even after having a side stand incident the spots were perfectly aligned in place.
Please note, it is your decision to work on your bike or to take it to an authorized dealer, I will not be held responsible for any damage caused by this article.
