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HIDs - Switches? We don' need no steenking switches!

14K views 97 replies 26 participants last post by  ScottyUK 
#1 · (Edited)
I have edited this to reflect changes I made after this was originally posted. The modifications include the addition of a second relay, some heavier gauge wire and a fuse & holder. The reason for this is to prevent voltage drop at the ballast and to prevent the delicate start button contacts from having to carry the headlamp current.

Okay folks, for those of you who, like me, don't want the HID ballast cycling twice while starting up, but can't find a Euro-spec thottle-side set of bar switches that can be bought for less than the price of your left testicle, I have a solution. I just finished doing this on my bird and it works perfectly!

*Warning* This involves cutting and soldering to your wiring harness and is not for the inept or faint at heart. Jean-Claude, this means you. :) I am unable to upload pics at the moment, so I will have to try to do this without visual aids.

Alright, the list of materials for this mod is pretty short. All this really takes is a few feet of 18ga wire, enough red 12ga and black 12ga wire to reach from the nosecone area to the battery, some male and female spade connectors, heat shrink tubing, a 5-pin relay (his is simply a relay that will have a "normally closed" pin, usually marked 87a or 87q, as well as the usual "normally open" pin, marked 87), and a 4-pin relay. I won't teach anyone to solder as Smurf has already done a marvelous job of that in his Acumen DV8 install thread.

Okay, here it is. Install your bulb and mount your ballast if you haven't already done so. I found that mine quite nicely tucked in behind the instrument panel and a couple of tie straps hold it there perfectly. My kit included a totally useless rubber grommet (which the instructions referred to as "rubber gourmet" in an obvious reference to JClaude's cooking) which did nothing except make the wires difficult to manage so I removed it.

Now you will need use your handy dandy Haynes manual to identify the wires in the harness that supplies the instrument cluster. The one you're after is the oil pressure switch wire (on my '02 this is blue w/red). This is going to trigger the relay coil. You need to splice into this with a length of the 18 gauge wire, decide where to mount the relay (somewhere that the original headlamp wiring will reach as you will need these to feed the 4-pin relay). Solder a female spade connector to each of these and attatch them to the coil terminals of the relay (pins 85 and 86). This will "open" the switch in the relay when the key is turned on and the oil pressure lamp is lit.

I found it easier to remove the spade connectors from the OEM headlamp plug. This can be accomplished by using a small pair of needle nose pliers to squeeze the barb in the side of the connector. The plug into the 4-pin relay, blue w/white to pin 85, green to pin 86. The black wire from the ballast should be extended with the #12 black wire and run to the negative battery terminal. The red wire from the ballast goes to the 5-pin relay. You will need to remove the male connector it came with and solder on a female connector. This goes to pin 87a (or 87q), not pin 87. Pin 30 on the 5-pin relay gets a jumper (using the red #12 and a couple of female spade connectors) to pin 87 on the 4-pin relay. Pin 30 on the 4-pin relay goes to the battery, via more of the red #12 wire and the fuse holder.

The HID will not be energized until the engine is running and the oil pressure warning lamp has extinguished.

So, in summary:

Materials:

  • 18ga wire (2 colours, if desired)
  • 12ga wire (some red, some black)
  • female spade connectors to fit each size of wire
  • 4-pin automotive relay
  • 5-pin automotive relay
  • in-line fuse holder, 12ga
  • 20a fuse
  • shrink tube
  • electrical tape
  • tie straps
Relay Pinouts:

4-pin

  • Pin 85: Low beam +12v (blue w/white in my case)
  • Pin 86: Low beam -12v (green)
  • Pin 87: pin 30 of the 5-pin relay (using red 12ga wire)
  • Pin 30: +12v battery terminal, via in-line fuse holder (using red 12ga wire)
5-pin

  • Pin 85: Needs +12 V (Jumper from pin 30)
  • Pin 86: Oil pressure switch - goes to ground when switch is actuated (blue w/red)
  • Pin 87a: Ballast +12v lead (red)
  • Pin 30: Pin 87 of the 4-pin relay
The black -12v lead from the ballast should be soldered to a length of 12ga black wire and run to the -12v battery terminal. Text Diagram Line Font Design
 
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#2 ·
I wouldn't do anything which involves professional skills to my bird,i already try to fix a equalizer on my car when i was a kid until it had started to makes a strange smoke underneath the carpet:smilebig:.Yes i am just a chef and not afraid to tell that i don't know much about wireing and stuff but hey what can i do?We all have a speciality, mine is not to play with my wire:p
Nice writting tho i didn't understand half or your lingo.You still manage to say my name twice are proposing me or something?:inlove:
 
#4 ·
I don't get it. I start my Bird, the lights come on, I warm her up, I ride away. Why do I need a switch?
 
#7 ·
CB, the reason for this is to prevent the HID ballast from firing twice in succession. When you turn the key on the ballast fires, then when you press the starter button the ballast is de-energized until you release the starter button and the ballast fires again. Ballasts like to be on or off, and repeated cycling is hard on them and will shorten their lifespan. That is why you need a switch.
 
#5 ·
Brilliant Shewie. I have some sensitive electronics that doesn't like the voltage spikes when the starter motor kicks in. I'll connect these electronics according to your write-up, that should solve the problem..! Good thinking! :)
 
#6 ·
I actually owe Lois a nod here as it was his suggestion to use the oil pressure switch circuit as a trigger. This will work to control other stuff as well, but if you want to keep it off until you release the starter button you will need to add a second relay to the mix and use the headlamp circuit to energize the coil. Otherwise, the devices you are controlling will be energized as soon as the oil pressure switch opens, which is a second or two before the engine fires sometimes.
 
#8 ·
OK, now I get it. Cheers
 
#9 ·
This is a link Tony put me onto. Honda Products thanks Tony. I have ordered the relay delay. Wish me luck on the install :rolleyes:
Same idea as Shewie, but maybe less work, or complicated for people like me with zero wiring skills. I also believe there will be about a 15 second delay as apposed to around 1 second till the oil light goes out (how long Shewie?) You did say you were going to come up with something........wow, my hat goes off to you :clap:
 
#14 ·
Nice! Thanks for putting the link up after I did all this.:p Good luck on the install! You're right about the delay being short - the HID ignites as soon as the engine fires and the starter button is released, providing the oil lamp has extinguished by then, which it always has.
 
#13 ·
Obviously being in the UK I had the right hand switch gear with the lights built in, but, since I fitted a shorter action throttle I had to ditch that and move to a Fireblade start button / kill switch assembly and to get around the "lights always on" problem I put a small rocker switch up in the curve of the fairing (near where your hand almost meets the screen when you turn hard left). The wiring connects to the regular light switch wiring behind the instruments and looks fairly neat.
Obviously not nearly as slick as Shewie's setup but, I still have the lights off option when the engine is running, plus if I want to return the bike to stock I can just reconnect the normal switches.
 
#21 ·
I was afraid that you two would have split, i'm so happy that you still get along, come on guys give each other a kiss :kiss:.Always fighting with each other but when comes the time to stand shoulder to shoulder,the old gay couple face adversity together.so cute...


ps Lois...I do not deny that Shewie made a grest work ,but still think he's a ***
pps Shewie....you're a smart ***
 
#23 ·
Whichever would interupt the power supply.
If it was run through the starter relay, then the start button would work. However, if run throught the oil sense line, the only way to cycle the power would be to stop and restart the bike.


Lois
 
#24 ·
I ran it through both so the light gets no power until after the starter button is released. In answer to your question, Nutter, yes you can flick the starter button to re-trigger the ballast.
 
#25 ·
THANK YOU!!! i actually never thought of that... ive had only a couple of incidences where my lights wouldn't turn on (all during the night time go figure) so i would just completely shut off the bike release the keys then start her back up again... and again... and again... but now i know i can just flick the starter button and the lights will temp shut off and come back on....
 
#28 ·
How did this thread go from HIDs to flicking buttons? My girlfriend has just become very interested.
 
#29 ·
Send her over and I will demonstrate in person.
 
#35 ·
Shewie.

Great idea but have I got it correct. If with your set up I'm riding along at night and if for some reason my oil light comes on my lights go out. Scary situation. Not only my motor is probably stuffed but I certainly will be. :eek:
Your low beam will be de-energized, yes. BUT, your high beam is not included in this circuit and will continue to function as normally, so if your scenario were to occur, you can simply flip the high beam on and ride home.
 
#38 ·
Shewie. Is there any difference in kits, ie. for car or bike? As I see it a H7 bulb is the the same whether in car or bike kit. Most of the kits seem to be 35watt but I have seen others advertiseing ratings of 50 and 55watt hids. Do hids run cooler or hotter than normal bulb? How much more brighter would you think one of the more powerful kits may be compared to the 35w hid kit?
 
#40 ·
Shewie. Is there any difference in kits, ie. for car or bike? As I see it a H7 bulb is the the same whether in car or bike kit. Most of the kits seem to be 35watt but I have seen others advertiseing ratings of 50 and 55watt hids. Do hids run cooler or hotter than normal bulb? How much more brighter would you think one of the more powerful kits may be compared to the 35w hid kit?
don't get mixed up w/ "hid" xenon bulbs... those arn't actually true HID... true HID will run "close" to 200 bucks depending on who you go through, they may have come down a little bit since i bought mine about 5 years ago.... just do your research, and remember, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is. and check out what colour temp you want, you can go from blue, crystal white, or purple and just about everything in between. Different colours work for different people, i like the crystal white since it reflects off of signs better for my eyes. Or you could get blue or purple just to match the scheme of your bike... also be forewarned that if you do not have projection lamps (which the bird doesn't) they ARE ILLEGAL.... at least in the US since they are so bright.
As for the actual temperature of the bulb itself im "assuming" it puts out less heat since the light is generated in a small "bubble" inside of the lamp... but then again im not gonna stick my finger on either/or just to find out, but i do know they are not hotter if so not by much then normal bulbs.
all in all I LOVE HID's... i have them in my car and the bird, the hardest part installing them on the bird would be finding a spot to put the ballasts, which mine are installed under the trim below the hand grips

just my 2 cents :p
 
#42 ·
That's great, swazi! Why don't you post a how to with some pics for anyone else thinking about buying it?
 
#44 ·
Great, thanks for that. What does he ship for the connections?
 
#45 ·
As far as I have found out, there are HID which is a 20,000+ volt system which "ignites" the xenon inside a small bulb.

And then there are those that claim to be Xenon bulbs which are actually just a 12 volt halogen bulb with a lifespan of maybe 12 months.

And yes, what DW says about HID being illegal is technically correct. If you upset a copper to much, he may just write you up for your headlights as well.
im just talking about the ones claiming to be HID's but are just the xenon bulbs... my buddy did that because he didn't do his homework... ended up w/ a normal stupid bulb that was yellow.... TRUE HID HAS to have a ballast/igniter of some sort... its not just a bulb....
 
#47 · (Edited)
Thanks for the reply guys. I did some more research and found some good info here.
[ Importdriver.com.au ] HID headlights bulbs and kits -FAQ

Regarding colour temperature 4200k is apparently what is fitted to vehicles as standard (only expensive high end vehicles) in Europe. Its interesting according to the above sites charts to see that as the bulbs age they tend to shift towards blue or get bluer with age. So to be less obvious with hids it would be wise to stick to around 4200k as high colour temp ones are more obvious with their blue light.
Also the difference in clour temp a 4200k has 3200 lumens as compared to a 6000k having 3000 lumens, so the bluer they are the less light output they have.

A standard halogen bulb H7 55watt has 1500 lumens therefore hids they are over twice as bright.

Now here is the really good part I like. As its an arc type set up there is no filament or thin wire to break in the bulb. So they are excelent for off road bumpy vehicle use (or slaming it down after a wheelie) Bulb life I saw quoted somewhere was 300 hrs for Halogen and 3500 hrs for hid. Virtually the liftime of the vehicle. So no more bulb changes.
I think its one of those must have items to get for your bike.
Cheers.
 
#48 ·
Now here is the really good part I like. As its an arc type set up there is no filament or thin wire to break in the bulb. So they are excelent for off road bumpy vehicle use (or slaming it down after a wheelie) Bulb life I saw quoted somewhere was 300 hrs for Halogen and 3500 hrs for hid. Virtually the liftime of the vehicle. So no more bulb changes.
I think its one of those must have items to get for your bike.
Cheers.
one down fall tho... the lights last for flippin ever... but the ballasts will only last about 2x the life of a normal bulb... ballasts arn't too expensive about 30 bucks each so i guess they pay for 4 pairs of normal bulbs...
but like flipy said the output is twice as much so your getting your monies worth...
 
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