DIY auxiliary power Leds lights

[Jean]

Hi all GS community

I have built an auxiliary light with 2 power Leds so as to be better seen by cars in the traffic.
The Leds can flash on and off and are very bright!

It works fine

See the electronic wiring I have designed. It costs less than 80 Euros.



Hope it will interest some of you

Jean

[marc]

For some reason the image isn't showing. I'm including it here as an attachment so it can be seen. Nice work.



// marc

[Props-n-blades]

Hi Jean,

I have 2 questions:

Where do you take 12 V (directly from the battery or from the tail-light wires)?
I see a switch in your diagram, is that a separate switch or is that the lighting switch on the motorcycle ?

[Jean]

In fact I have installed two switches : one to power on the regulator and one to select flash on and off or continuous light. They have been mounted on the Instrument Tidy Item Number : TAT-044-0563 from NIPPYNORMAN where I have also installed a plug. And power 12V comes from a cable with fuse directly connected to the Battery.

The main issue was to mount the 2 leds on the bike with a support I have built.

So when I am on the road I can choose between flah on and off or continuous light. It works fine and my friends ask me "how expensive?"

If I can I will post a picture, but it seems this site is not too simple to publish pictures.

So long Bikers

[Jeno2]

I already built a similar auxiliary brake light to my ’08 CAN BUS-ed GS. When the brake applied it flashes a couple of times than stays on. I myself hate to stare a flashing red light in front of me while waiting at an intersection for minutes, so I try to be kind.
I used parts from Radio Shack to etch the board and build the circuit.(I attach a part list with Cat #-s.) The whole cost of the electronic parts is about $20. It uses the brake signal from the bike. I taped into the gray-red-yellow dashed wire under the back seat area. In normal conditions it shows about +1.5V and when the brake applied it goes to +12.3V. Not to mess with the bike electric systems that signal connected to a reed relay (R=1050Ohm) through A 470Ohm resistor. The load it puts on the bike is about 1mA, but the about 9V is sufficient to pull and hold the relay. The 12v source comes from a fused line from the battery or a Centech panel.The IC is a 556 double timer. The first half of the timer creates the flashing signal as long as the second timer locks it up, grounding the reset line.(between pin4 and pin9) For the lights I bought a pair of 4”oblong red led light (Navigator NV-5095R, WW.pilotautomotive.com) from a car parts store.(about $14 each) They require about 120mA together. The base fixture is made of 5/8” thick poplar (5/8”x4”x6’, Home Depot) and a 0.065” thick aluminum plate, bent for the attachment. The wood is reinforced and sealed with a layer of epoxy resin. The lower bent flange of the aluminum plate goes under the rear luggage rack bolt and the tongue-like part protrudes into the luggage rack middle hole. The wood part also houses the electrical board in a rectangular hole (sealed on the plate side) on the back (actually front of the bike) side cover plate has a seal too, in a form of old rubber inner tube. Under the aluminum plate I grooved channels (with Dremel) into the wood for the LED wiring, going from under the light into the hole. I also grooved a channel into the wood for the three input wires (+12v, -12V, and the signal from the tap) I painted the whole assembly with aluminum color paint that is matching with the other bike parts around. I am not an electronic geek, although it seems working properly for me. But if you attempt to reproduce it, consult with someone more knowledgeable first, and do it for your own risk please. I do not assume any responsibility for it. On the other hand, if you need more info, let me know.
BTW you can built the reed relay part only for a steady light, or connect the pin #4 to +12v for a constant flasher.
Good Luck
Jeno

[Jeno2]

Wrong circuit diagram.
I shorted a capacitor nicely and put the wrong resistance value to R4.
Sorry
Jeno

[AdamWebber]

Very nice design. Have you considered using a microprocessor rather than using the 555 timers? You could eliminate most of your capacitors and resistors and program it to use a variety of different outputs depending upon your mood that day. I've wanted to build something for my bike utilizing a microprocessor but until now I haven't had any good ideas. Maybe turn signals with integrated tail lights that attach to the side bags.

[Jeno2]

Thank you Adam,
I have to admit I never considered using a microprocessor for the very simple reason that I have no idea how to. As a mater of fact my knowledge about electronics maxed out with the module I built. (That is why I so proud of it).
I am afraid if I ever want a brake light to show my mood, I just install a tail gun instead.(I was rear ended on each of my previous bikes)
Meanwhile I built another slimmer version for the housing, with the same electronics.
cheers

[AdamWebber]

That looks outstanding. I will definitely have to install lights like those on my bike. I do like the flashing appeal too. It really gets the attention of cell phone users. Have you had any problems with the lights on the Can-Bus system?

[Jeno2]

I think it is safe for the rest of the electrical system, since the reed relay in-line with a 470 Ohm resistor draws less then 1mA, while the original brake light does more then 100mA, the resulting extra load on the line is about 1%.