[Nick D]

I got a little time this weekend to work on the bike - plus I finally got a motorcycle jack - so I moved forward a bit with my streetfighter/standard conversion. I had to drop the forks almost out of the triples to get my mounting brackets on, which was so much easier than I thought it would be. The jack solved that problem.

The headlight itself is an exact match to the factory harness plug, so I'm good there, I just need to get a new bulb since this one is burnt out. I quick-wired the signals and they work fine, although I need to get a time based relay to even things out.

I've got gauges off the same bike as the headlight and bucket, but I've got a bit of fabbing and rewiring to do before they're on and ready. I'm pretty stoked that things are coming together, though.

I also removed all the decals from the side and rear plastics, although the adhesive on some of it is a real B* to get off. One side was no problem but the other side is taking forever and the Goo Gone isn't really touching it. I may try some heat on it unless I find a better idea first. I got bored with scraping so I went to sanding some of it. Hopefully that won't take too much longer to pull together.

The light, installed but not fully wired yet (I still need to fine tune the direction of the lights, too):

Closer shot:

The plastics in progress:

Some rims I was contemplating cleaning up and putting on the Ninja, but that'll be much later:

Random goodness while out on the Vulcan:

 

[jlmay]

looks good, I always liked that style of headlight, and it works well with the EX.
Love the Vulcan too.

 

[Frog]

Pretty good look you got there Nick

Aren't you worried about the blinkers being this far from each other or are those a new concept of frame sliders

 

[surge2k]

While we are on topic on these types of headlights, what are the wire colors of the headlight?

I think the 3 of the 4 wires are labeled: Brights, Ground, Positive.

Whats the other?

 

[Frog]

surge2k => The yellow one is the high beam indicator on top (the blue dot) you can leave it unplugged without any other consequences than not using it. The stock one on the dashboard will keep on working.

You are lucky, I had to figure it by comparing the insides to the stock connector

 

[Nick D]

looks good, I always liked that style of headlight, and it works well with the EX.
Love the Vulcan too.

Thanks, twice.

Pretty good look you got there Nick

Aren't you worried about the blinkers being this far from each other or are those a new concept of frame sliders

Thanks. The first thing I thought when I got these on was, "Well, I know what's taking the hit if I lay it down." Lucky for me I've got two sets of these blinkers, so if I screw them up I have replacements. I'm already looking at just swapping them out, though. Those are the blinkers that came on the donor bike, btw. The other set I have are off another bike, but both were Suzukis. I've got some really small lights on the KZ that I think would work great, and since I haven't rewired that ordeal yet they're not getting used anyway. Right now I'm just trying to get her on the road, though, so I'll take what I can get on the lighting .

While we are on topic on these types of headlights, what are the wire colors of the headlight?

I think the 3 of the 4 wires are labeled: Brights, Ground, Positive.

Whats the other?

4 wires? My bulb and my connector only share three connections (which would make Positive = low?). I can check the colors later, though, either through the harness itself or my wiring diagram.

My next obstacle is the gauges. I need to find a Suzuki wiring diagram for it so I can do a little investigating. Oddly, the Suzuki guages (off an '80 or '81 GS450LS) will plug directly into the EX wiring harness. I thought about just plugging it in and seeing what happens, but the GS has a cable driven tach and I don't know what in the gauges would be getting THAT signal .

 

[Frog]

My next obstacle is the gauges. I need to find a Suzuki wiring diagram for it so I can do a little investigating. Oddly, the Suzuki guages (off an '80 or '81 GS450LS) will plug directly into the EX wiring harness. I thought about just plugging it in and seeing what happens, but the GS has a cable driven tach and I don't know what in the gauges would be getting THAT signal .

Very interesting stuff, might it just be a unconnected pin ? The plastics connector might be the same but no metal pin would be in there ? Lemme know

 

[Nick D]

I'll check that tonight. Didn't think about that.

 

[Nick D]

Would you happen to know if everything gauge-wise is 12v? I'm thinking about just putting a 12v signal through the gauges and see what lights up (after I check continuity to see where to put it). In the name of keeping things simple I'd think the whole bike is the same voltage, but I've also seen weirder things.

 

[Frog]

Having everything 12v would be the easiest and the less complicated, but my experience with bikes in general is quite limited so don't take my word for it, perhaps someone that's been working on those for the last 20 years could chime in and confirm ?

 

[surge2k]

Thanks for your responses, could you pull out that wiring diagram? I got some pictures to show you, my lightbulb seems really dim. Maybe the wires are connected wrong.



[attachment deleted by admin]

 

[Frog]

They are connected wrong.. I'll need to check it later on.. I'm at work atm :-\

Basically, you don't connect the yellow one or you connect it to the same wire that powers your high beam <= The yellow connected to one of the wires coming from the light, not to the bike..

Good looking machine you've got 8)

Do you still have the original connector you pulled of the stock light ?

All you need to do is to make sure the wires goes to the same place.. I.E. : If the red/blue was on top, then connect the red/blue to the wire that goes to the top <= I am referring here at the 3 prong connector of a H4 light.. 1 on top, 1 on each side. Take the light out of it's socket : undo the bolt under your new headlight take the metal circle out and pull everything out. Careful not to drop it, I had to get another glass/reflector...

 

[Nick D]

Okay, I looked at my bike, and then I studied the diagram. Both are consistent. It's got 3 wires going to the bulb - a red with a black stripe (high beam, connects to both the bulb and the indicator lamp on the dash according to the diagram - I can't see the actual connection), a red with a yellow stripe (low beam), and a black with a yellow stripe (ground throughout the bike).

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If you hold the bulb in your hand and look at the back you'll see something like the above (if it shows up properly - you should have a horizontal spade on top and vertical spades on the sides). The left side should be the black/yellow (ground). The top is red/yellow (low beam) and the right side will be the red/black (high beam). You can look into the face of the bulb at the filaments if you want to be sure which is the ground. Two of the filament ends should exit next to each other (or at least they do on mine), and that'll be your ground.

Looking at your picture - the fact that the black/yellow (ground) and red/blue (high beam) wires are involved makes sense, but I can't find the green/white on the schematic and the only gray nearby is the right turn signal wire. It's possible you have the low beam attached to a weaker circuit and are getting a dim output. It's also possible that the bulb just isn't as bright, so if everything seems wired properly (since I can't see what's going on outside that picture) it might be fine. I'm leaning toward it needing a little rewiring, though. Hope that helps.

 

[Frog]

It's also possible that the bulb just isn't as bright

Tried both, they look pretty darn close


Superb explanation there Nick D

 

[Nick D]

I went through all the wiring on the other gauges and it seems pretty simple. If nothing else I can just rewire the connector and be golden, but it might get pretty involved depending on the Ninja wiring (I haven't gotten into that yet). The Suzuki gauges have two connectors, same as the Ninja. But one of the Suz connectors is for a gear indicator - it's got 6 mini lights and that's all one of the connectors is for. The other Suz connector is for the idiot lights (oil, neutral, high beam, and turn (one light for both signals). The backlighting on the Suz was completely separate (the gauges were completely separate from the idiot lights, it's just held together with the mounting bracket).

Right now I've got little wiring diagrams drawn all through my notebook trying to make a quick guide . I'm also looking into adding a gear position indicator to the Ninja. A local forum has a way to do it, but the bike needs to have a position indicator already installed (like newer Suzukis). Since this GS has the indicator lights I'm trying to figure out what else I need to make it work.

Also still have to make a plan on the tach since it's cable driven, possibly swap the internals from a cheapo gauge from an auto store or just swap gauges and use the bracket. I'll straighten it out eventually.

Superb explanation there Nick D

Thanks!

 

[Frog]

surge2k => If you've got the same connector as I'm holding here, and Nick D was giving his indications from sitting on the bike (left = clutch lever side) here is how to connect your wires.

black/yellow = green wire = left = ground
red/yellow = white wire = top = low beam
red/black *= blue one = right = high beam

* plug the yellow wire there if you want the indicator, although the headlight it will work without it and if you are planning to use the stock dash I wouldn't connect it

Have fun and keep us posted

 

[Nick D]

Nick D was giving his indications from sitting on the bike (left = clutch lever side)

Yep. I took the bulb out and held it in my hand glass side down, basically just like looking at it from sitting on the bike. We're on the same page.

 

[surge2k]

Thanks to you guys, I think I found out where I messed up. Somehow I'm connected to the turn signal input. You may ask why....its because when I crashed my headlight was ruined on the ground, and I threw it in the trash on the spot!

I'll give it a shot after I get home today and let you know how it worked. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Nick D]

No problemo, we're always glad to help. I thought it looked like a signal wire was tied in there somehow. That's one way to get a modulating headlight, I suppose .

 

[Nick D]

On a side note, are the pics not working for you guys, or is it just me? I'm looking for a new host now, I think imageox has given up the ghost (or at least aggravated me enough that I'm looking to change). Photobucket is looking pretty good.