Even more LEDs

OK, so here’s a quick guide to how I fitted some LED tail
lights into the hard panniers on my M800 (to replace the puny orangey ordinary
bulbs they shipped with).


GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING!!!! I have no electrical training
– or even real skill! I’m just sharing what I did – wrong or right – so others
can either pick up some hints, or do a sharp intake of breath and say “Oooooh –
you didn’t want to do it like that!”


Step 1: Assemble your bits & pieces (that’s not a
euphemism!)

• LED strip
  
• Wire
  
• Grommets
  
• Spade connectors and insulating covers
  
• Posi Tap connectors (new discovery – bit like
  scotchlok but even better).
  

Step 2. Remove pillion seat (single bolt). A bit of
wrestling slides it backwards off the bike, to reveal 2 more allen bolts, which
remove the rider seat. PS…. I find allen keys can be a bit fiddly – much prefer
an insert which goes in a socket set bar like this:



Step 3. You now have access to the rear wiring loom. I used
Posi Tap connectors to tap into the neutral (colour black) and another to tap
into the main live feed to all the rear lights (brown from memory). [looks a bit red in the pic!] I also made up 2 each of black & red 'tails' with spade connectors on and fed these into the Posi Taps....


So we now have 2 spare lives
and 2 spare neutrals which are switched on, rather than permanently
wired into the battery.


Step 4. Preparing the LED strip. The strip can be cut every
3 LEDs. There is a cut line, then a tiny + and – to solder new wires onto. I took
a chance on 9 LEDs per strip and gave it
the snip.



Step 5. I removed the reflectors from inside the panniers,
and positioned the LED strip with its adhesive tape backing. They can barely be
seen when switched off – even without the clear lens -which is good.



Step 5. I drilled an 8mm hole in the inside face of the
pannier about 3” down, and inserted a grommet. I then put the reflectors back
in place, and routed the wire out through the grommet.


STOP PRESS: originally I’d bought some black & red auto
cable from Maplins. SCHOOLBOY ERROR – would have looked shit where it went
through the panniers out into the big bad world, then up into the loom. So I
cannibalised an old mobile phone charger – nice beefy outer sheath and 2
delicate (but beefy enough) cables inside. [It had an “AWG” guage printed on it
(American Wire Guage). The very helpful bloke at the LED supplier did a mental
calc involving milliamps, and said it was plenty beefy enough to carry the
minimal load of 9 LEDs[baffles the hell out of me].


Step 6: I soldered the other half of the spade connectors
onto the cables once they were all routed, and it was a simple matter of
plugging in the 4 connectors to light it up! Now if I need to remove my
panniers, the cables can be unplugged, and will come away fixed to the
panniers.


And here’s the end result ….. I think 9 LEDs each side was
just about right.

And at night....

Thanks for reading
mal :)

Good write up and job Mal, same panniers as me but i've never wired mine up coz i thought they'd look crap with the original bulbs, might give that a go though.

If you want a play, you're very welcome to the spare LED strip I've got left over... probably enough for 6 LEDs per side. If you want it, just text me your address to 07939 592961, ann I'll post them off to you.

Good write up,and job well done.They look sound m8 and you will be seen a lot better at night.

lookin good are they just running lights or running and brake lights ?

Nah, just tail lights. Now I'm a bit more familair with the whole process, I could always tweek it later to add brake lights..... but my knowledge of elecvtrics is patchy - all I would know how to do is add say 3 more LED's which pick up a live from the brake light feed. Maybe there's another way with some kind of controller which would light some or all of the LED's - but I wouldn't know how!!!

Excellent job done and write up Mal, that looks great

dont sell your self short mal saying its patchy its a job done you did it your self and it works and looks good and has added to the safty factor when out on your bike (be safe be seen)

Thanks all.

bigmal wrote:

Nah, just tail lights. Now I'm a bit more familair with the whole process, I could always tweek it later to add brake lights..... but my knowledge of elecvtrics is patchy - all I would know how to do is add say 3 more LED's which pick up a live from the brake light feed. Maybe there's another way with some kind of controller which would light some or all of the LED's - but I wouldn't know how!!!

No Mal, you are right ... if you want to add brake lights then the only practical way to do it in additional to tail lights would be to add another circuit of LEDs fed from the brake light circuit.

Good job that mate, they look great ... and such a simple mod too !

Excellent job Mal & brilliant write up done as well.
Brilliant idea to add the extra LED's for the brake lights