Whats the best way to wire Fog Lights?

[YellowJacket!]

I have been thinking about all the riders that have been recently hit by cars or had close calls and ways to make myself more visible.  I found a pair of driving/fog lights at Advanced Autoparts for $16.99.  I figured "what the heck, I'll give'em a try."  They are 12 volt, 55 watt per set and came with mounting brackets.  They look like eyeballs and are about 2 1/2" wide.  My plan is to mount them under the chin of my Shark Fairing and make the "triangle of lights" that was mentioned to improve visibility.
They came with ample wiring to do the job.  My question is: where is the best place to splice them into?  I thought of the headlight circuit but thought that may overheat.  I also searched and found mention of the orange wire on the RR being for accessories.
So, what is the best way to wire these up?

Thanks,

David

[Lucky]

if you haver the fuse box with the extra position, use that, if not any switched point after the key switch is acceptable since i assume it comes with a switch  if not & instead comes with a relay (because leagally, in most states (not sure about here) you can't run it with low beams.

you want it off for cranking, & if activated with a relay, then most likely they will come on with cranking if you wire them up per the instructions. you do not want this, you want to save all your juice for the starter, & the headlights go off while cranking, so the fog lights would come on....

--Lucky

[YellowJacket!]

Hi Lucky,

They came with a lighted switch but no relay.  Since they came with a switch, I guess I can connect directly to the battery as long as I remeber to turn them off.

What about the extra R/R wire? Can I connect to that instead of the battery?

David

[h2olawyer]

Actually, fog lights must turn off when the high beams are on.  Driving lights on only with high beams & auxilliary lights on with either.

I'll let you guys figure out the wiring.  May go get myself a set tomorrow.

H₂O

[Mutt]

Play it on the safe side. Use a relay. The wiring harness you save may be your own!

Mutt  :)

[QBS]

Definately use a relay or relays, period.  Power the relay from an ignition switched source.  Tapping into the tail light circuit (there is an unused female connector available where that circuit runs longside the rear fender)would give you no power when cranking, and power at all other times that the ignition is switched on.  This would kill the aux lights when cranking, if they were on.

AN IDEA FOR YOU...With the creative use of relays it is possible to use the hi/low beam switch on the handbar to be able to go from just low beam only, directly to both high and aux beams together.  Or... have normal operation.  Going sraight from low beam to Max Light could be very helpful in a traffic situation when approaching an intersection and wanting to  be seen by other vehicles.  A lighted switch (light on when function is operational) could be used to defeat this function so that normal hi/low beam operation would be available.

An Important Detail: Some(not all) circuits on the V are controlled with switched grounds, not switched hots.  Off hand, I'm not sure which they are.  Consult the wireing diagram for additional details.  Don't always assume that the hot wire in the circuit you are contemplating using is switched.  The ground might be the switched wire.  I think the horn operates this way, there may be others.

[YellowJacket!]

Correction:  I have been saying "fog lights" which are usually yellow/amber.  The ones I have are driving lights and are clear.  As soon as I get my camera back from my daughter, I'll post some pics.

David

[MotorPlow]

Dave,
This is what I did for aux lights on my vision:
http://motorplow.blogspot.com/2006/05/another-switch-on-dash.html

And this is how I wired them:
http://motorplow.blogspot.com/2006/07/finally-some-ride-time.html

It all works great, however the lights could be brighter. The relay and distribution block works exceptionally well.

~Motorplow

[YellowJacket!]

Thanks for the input, links and pics Chris!   ;D

David

[h2olawyer]

I just purchased a set of cheap driving lights today & will be installing them Monday.  Will also be changing the headlight wiring so I can run dual relays for it & a third relay for the driving lights.  Want the drivers on regardless of whether the high beams or low beams are on, but with the ability to manually turn them off as well.  They are 55 watts so they are not going to draw lots of leo attention - especially in the daytime.  I do hope they increase my visibility to others.  That's the main reason for the addition.

Adding headlight relays allows for larger diameter wiring to run to the headlight, thereby increasing their efficiency.  To do it properly, you add a relay for for the low beam & a second one for the high beam.  Also supposed to take a big strain off the wimpy wiring harness & handlebar switch.  Will also be adding a power strip like the one Motorplow put under his seat.  http://motorplow.blogspot.com/2006/07/finally-some-ride-time.html   Mine's going to be located under the dash so I don't have to run so many wires back under the tank.  May be a bit more difficult to access but the shorter, easier wire runs will compensate for that.

Hope the stator & R/R can take the addition of 2 more 55 watt lights . . .   ::)

H₂O

[h2olawyer]

Got the driving light project completed Monday evening.  Brought power from the battery to a fuse block attached to the fairing frame.  Also used a terminal block so I could have a ready source for grounds.  I now have the ability to add 6 new fused circuits to the bike.  So far, 2 are used.  One for the driving lights & one for the power port that supplies power to the helmet camera.  I cut up & rebuilt the wiring harness that came with the driving lights so I don't have any extra wire loops tied out of the way.  There was no relay with the light set & they're currently installed without one.  Since they're on an entirely separate wiring harness from the factory one, I'm not too worried about frying it.  The relay will be added in when I hook it up to the ignition key switch.

As a winter project, I will change the system a bit so I can have the fuse block controlled with the ignition key.  For now, it is direct wired, done that way for the sake of saving time.  Will also hook the volt gauge to that system.  It is all attached with 12 gauge wire so it should handle most any accessory I want to add.  Considering heated grips & maybe hookups for heated clothing as well.  The winter project will also include installation of a headlight modulator & wiring in relays for both the high & low beams.  There's a pre-made kit that does both the relays & modulation.  Found out about it on WebBikeWorld.com.  Looks like a nice, clean, easy install.

Those el-cheapo driving lights are quite bright.  I have them aimed quite a bit lower than my low beam.  They're mainly meant to increase my visibility since I am not out riding often after dark.  They will be nice when that does happen, though.  Not bad for total cost under $50 for everything - fuse block, terminal strip, driving lights, wire, connectors, fuses, etc.

Ride Safe!

H₂O