Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet Iron Barrel => Topic started by: geoffbaker on March 28, 2008, 04:52:13 pm

Title: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on March 28, 2008, 04:52:13 pm
My 2000 military came with a number of electrical problems, all of which were fixed by cleaning all the contacts and connectors and grounds, and replacing the battery, condenser and points.

To reduce load on the system I converted all lights to LEDs (except the headlamp, of course).

I also added a couple of accessory circuits, to power my cell phone/gps and to power a cylinder head temp meter.

The resulting mass of wires in the left side toolbox annoyed me (and the fact that I now had three fuses distributed around the bike, instead of one) and I decided to clean it up.

I purchased a modern ATO/ATC fuse block to hold four fuses (the plastic modern ones, not the old glass tubes) and I rewired everything to fit. Then I installed two circuit breakers, instead of fuses... so I no longer need to worry about blowing fuses, at all!

Here's a picture:

(http://www.desertdivers.com/bullet/breakers.jpg)

The breakers are on the left (the box on the upper right is an amplifier for the cylinder head temperature meter).
I already wrote about converting my tail light/brake light to an LED system which is significantly brighter than the old one, and draws about 1/70th the power... and I also converted all the pilot, ammeter, indicator and speedo lamps to long lasting, brighter LEDs.

This week, I finally converted all my turn signal lamps. I replaced the front round oem signal units with smaller, better looking "arrows"; and the rear lamps I kept but I replaced the bulb with a 36 LED square, with an additional high power amber bulb firing out at near right angles to the bike, to improve my "visibility" to others on the road, including people passing on either side. Then I added an electronic flasher, and the result, all around, is greater visibility and less drain on the system. The only thing I dislke is that there is no clicking sound when the signals are on; but the flashing indicator on the speedo is far brighter than before (a BA9 6-LED bulb replaced the old 2w bulb) so that gets my attention about as well as the clicking noise.

Here's a picture:

(http://www.desertdivers.com/bullet/lamp.jpg)
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: deejay on March 28, 2008, 05:22:06 pm
NICE! I like the idea of running LEDs. I will be running a smaller sealed battery since I have done away with the electric start. The thought of drawing less power is intriguing to me. That photo of your blinker almost hurts my eyes its so bright  ;D

Do the LEDs just pop right in to replace the old bulbs?
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on March 28, 2008, 05:57:21 pm
The LED I used was a 36array amber LED which is wired to an 1156 socket, so yes, it just drops in. However, I added a single 6LED bulb with a high output central LED beam to the side, and I soldered that to the 36LED array, then hotglued both into the internal housing (which I cut away on the side to allow for the side firing LED).

Hot glue and solder... all ya need  ;D

But I'm equally pleased with the "cleaning up" of the toolbox and the circuit breakers... I no longer need to carry fuses around!
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: Bankerdanny on March 28, 2008, 06:22:15 pm
"The only thing I dislke is that there is no clicking sound when the signals are on."

You could hear the clicking? Between my helmet, the exhaust, and the valves I can barely hear the horn.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on March 28, 2008, 07:08:38 pm
true enough, bankerdanny!
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on March 28, 2008, 11:58:28 pm
Nice job Geoff!

Have you a link to the resettable tiddly 'fuses'?
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on March 29, 2008, 12:03:47 am
http://www.wiringproducts.com/index1.html (http://www.wiringproducts.com/index1.html)

I purchased the type 3 breakers which are manually resettable (button on top).  Total cost for breakers and fusebox, under $20.

I'm still left with one 3amp atc fuse for the cylinder temp meter as they don't make breakers less than 5amp anyway.

But having blown several fuses in the past month, I'm glad to no longer have to worry about carrying extra fuses!

Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on March 29, 2008, 05:13:13 pm
These appear similar in lower amperage 'blow' ratings!!

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=493&doy=29m3 (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=493&doy=29m3)

Wonder if they are OK?
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on March 29, 2008, 07:19:57 pm
too small; atc fusebox size is 19mm wide; these are 12mm wide. I'll keep looking!.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: Leonard on March 29, 2008, 08:18:59 pm
  I guess I've been lucky with my '04 Sixty-5.  When it was new (Aug '05) it stopped running because the fuse came apart, didn't blow just came apart.  I shoved it back together and rode it home.  I thought about replacing it with a modern style but had some of the old ones so used it and haven't replaced it since (12k plus miles).  I do carry a spare.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on March 29, 2008, 09:34:45 pm
Geoff.
If they are resettable or auto reset as these are then I guess you don't need a fusebox as such at all. Soldered directly across where the fuse went with heatshrink on the terminals gives less corrosion liability as no blades in metal to metal contact (or cylinder fuse contact) so even more reliable?
Just wondering...........................  :)
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on March 29, 2008, 10:06:23 pm
I suppose that's true. I like the fusebox because it grouped all the stuff together, got rid of lots of extra wiring, and makes it easy to see what is wrong and where!

Without a fusebox, you might be sorting through a heap of wires looking for each circuit breaker or fuse (I had two in the toolbox and one that I'd stuffed in under the seat because the wire wasn't long enough.)

Now I just look at the box and can instantly see what has happened. And it's neat and clean.

Lastly, I suppose a circuit breaker can break, too. Then you would have to find it and unsolder it and cut off the shrinkwrap...
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: baird4444 on March 29, 2008, 11:01:02 pm
  I guess I've been lucky with my '04 Sixty-5.  When it was new (Aug '05) it stopped running because the fuse came apart, didn't blow just came apart.  I shoved it back together and rode it home.  I thought about replacing it with a modern style but had some of the old ones so used it and haven't replaced it since (12k plus miles).  I do carry a spare.
Leonard-   I had the same thing in my 2003. That's not a fuse...
it'sa glass tube with a wire in it with metal caps. Try replacing it with
a real American made fuse...   I'll bet you have brighter lights!!
 that Indian fuse is acting as a resistor!! 
Try it   -  Mike
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: Leonard on March 30, 2008, 03:50:14 pm
Leonard-   I had the same thing in my 2003. That's not a fuse...
it'sa glass tube with a wire in it with metal caps. Try replacing it with
a real American made fuse...   I'll bet you have brighter lights!!
 that Indian fuse is acting as a resistor!! 
Try it   -  Mike
[/quote]

  I'll have to look into that when I get home (in Virginia now).  It sure looked like a fuse.  Anyway I replaced it with a gin-u-wine Buss fuse.  I forget the amps.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 07, 2008, 11:50:30 pm
These appear similar in lower amperage 'blow' ratings!!

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=493&doy=29m3 (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=493&doy=29m3)
 
Wonder if they are OK?

Just a followup, LSM; I bought one of these thinking maybe I could get it to work.
No problem! I just took a 3amp fuse, put it in the vise, cut the top of it lff, and then soldered this 3A resettable circuit breaker to the legs.

Works great! I tested it by putting it in the accessory circuit fuse junction (normally a 15amp) and then plugged in a 12v tire pump and a 12v converter hooked to a 500W light... it would run for a couple of seconds, cut out, and then come back on a few seconds later...

So now I have a bike with no fuses, and instead am running on three resettable circuitbreakers.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on April 08, 2008, 07:33:40 pm
Cheers Geoff for the update!

I will get some then now you have OK'd them!!!!!  ;D
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 08, 2008, 08:13:55 pm
I would recommend using some sort of fuse box, LSM; if you just solder it in it will be hard work later if it breaks...

Now, on to my next project. I'm thinking about some 15w 900 lumen lamps for the front of the bike...:D
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on April 09, 2008, 10:07:10 pm
Bought a couple of these 3 amp resettable ones myself today.
I'll 'get-around-to-fitting-them' this w/e if weather is half decent!!!!
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 11, 2008, 06:01:00 pm
(http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/gallery/565_11_04_08_11_56_25.jpg)

Here's a picture of the cylinder head temperature meter in operation... well, the bike isn't running so it's just displaying the outdoor temp! When running, she's gotten as high as 385 F so far...
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on April 11, 2008, 08:48:52 pm
Neat Geoff.
Now I know why I cut my choke lever down to a smaller size though!!!!!  :D
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on April 20, 2008, 10:17:03 am
I got a couple of the 10 amp resettable ones too now Geoff so we'll see what they are like!!!
LSM
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: meilaushi on April 20, 2008, 01:53:26 pm
My 2000 military came with a number of electrical problems, all of which were fixed by cleaning all the contacts and connectors and grounds, and replacing the battery, condenser and points.

To reduce load on the system I converted all lights to LEDs (except the headlamp, of course).

I also added a couple of accessory circuits, to power my cell phone/gps and to power a cylinder head temp meter.

I purchased a modern ATO/ATC fuse block to hold four fuses (the plastic modern ones, not the old glass tubes) and I rewired everything to fit. Then I installed two circuit breakers, instead of fuses... so I no longer need to worry about blowing fuses, at all!
If you don't mind my asking, where did you locate a cylinder head temperature meter?  And where did you find your ATO/ATC fuse block and the circuit breakers you mention?
They look like a very beneficial set of additions (not to mention the great LEDs that provide better visibility!
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 20, 2008, 07:55:15 pm
I bought the 3amp circuit breaker from maplin in the UK because I couldn't find one here in the US. I bought the fuse block and the other circuit breakers from an online supplier, wiringproducts.com. The cyl head temp meter was from Dakota Digital ($117, discontinued model).

The cyl temp sensor is under the spark plug. The meter itself I made a metal box  for(insulated) and mounted next to the air filter box.

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/gallery/565_11_04_08_11_56_25.jpg
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: jeep44 on April 21, 2008, 02:42:47 am
I'm planning to do the taillight LED conversion like you did soon, and I wrote down the arrays you used. I'm not too clear on what to use to replace the two pilot lights in the headlight housing with,though. What bulb did you use?
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 21, 2008, 04:43:59 pm
You can use any BA9 LED bulb of the socket variety. (BA9 = 9mm diameter = old T3-1/4 or 1/4 inch diameter type). You can use single LED or 4LED or in some cases 6LED BA9 bulbs. I recommend the multiple LED; they are brighter than original, very handy esp for neutral light in bright sunlight!

Warning: ammeter bulb is smaller BA7.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/BA9S6_specs.htm (http://www.superbrightleds.com/BA9S6_specs.htm)

Good luck!
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on April 22, 2008, 03:24:31 pm
I used this one in my marker/sidelights to great effect IMHO.

http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/wide-angled-high-power-bulb-xenon-white-p-1645.html (http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/wide-angled-high-power-bulb-xenon-white-p-1645.html)
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: JordanMix on April 22, 2008, 04:25:31 pm
Could someone just verify that this is the correct set up for a stock 1999 500 bullet? I have an awful time trying to see my warning/notification lights.

Would it be better to buy the colored LEDs for the warning lights or to buy the plain white and just let the colored lenses that is currently on the bike do the coloring?

Warring light cluster:

Neutral finder - BA9s-G4 Green LED bulb
High beam - BA9s-B4 Blue LED bulb
Turn signal - BA9s-R4 Red LED bulb

Spedo - BA9s-W4 White LED bulb
Ammeter- BA7s LED bulb 12VDC BA7s Single Contact Midget Flange
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: JordanMix on April 22, 2008, 04:45:59 pm
what is the solution for replacing the standard tail/break light with a LED cluster? Since the stock bulb light has two stages, 1 for the tail light that is on all the time and then a second for a break light.

Geoff, what flasher part number did you purchase for the upgraded flasher? I am going to go LED across the board on my bike since I have read this post. I see that use upgraded to a LED flasher, there are 8 choices on the website.

Also, do you happen to know what size the two small pilot lights are located above the headlamp on either side?

Thanks for the great idea and help.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 22, 2008, 06:40:19 pm
JordanMix, your setup sounds correct.

Pilot Lights are standard BA9s. LSM reports good results with a very bright LED unit for those at

http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/wide-angled-high-power-bulb-xenon-white-p-1645.html (http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/wide-angled-high-power-bulb-xenon-white-p-1645.html)

I just used 6LED whites. They are brighter than stock and look good (not too directional) But maybe my next upgrade will be to a pair of LSM's bulbs.. they look extremely bright!

Flasher unit is: CF12ANL-01. Works great and can handle 10A so you can run a million or so LED's off this unit :). Downside... no clicking noise. But I recommend an LED electronic flasher over using the standard flasher plus resistors... whenever you add resistance, you are just increasing the current draw in the circuit, which takes you back to the old problem, the RE alternator can only handle so much load.

The "experts" recommend using the same LED color as whatever the lamp lens color is... so amber for amber, white for white, etc. A light in the same spectrum as the lens will pass as much if not more light than a white light that is technically brighter, for this reason. So you are *probably* better off with a blue light for your neutral finder... but I couldn't be bothered, and just bought standard whites and a couple of extras... that way I have interchangeable spares for all my display bulbs. They are plenty bright and a big improvement over stock.

However, as LEDs get brighter (the super high efficiency units) the amount of heat they generate rises exponentially... a Luxeon 5w tail light has its own heat sink as a result. I recommend avoiding the ultra-high efficieny ones; I ended up returning all of them as the electronics are touchy, they can be shortcircuited (and destroyed) easily and they overheat. So what worked for me was a large array of the 5mm regular LED's in the tail lights and turn signals (72 in the taillight, 36 in the turn signals). They generate zero heat, are very very durable (the whole thing is encased in a plastic dip) are very bright in large numbers, and you can switch polarity or shortcircuit the connection without damaging them in any way.

One thing to be careful of when buying multiLED BA9s and 1156s and 1157s... If you buy a multiLED bulb unit with too many LED's they may not fit in the stock housing. I purchased some 57 LED 1156 bulbs for turn signals, and they are too TALL to fit in the housing. So read the dimensions carefully.

Lastly - your first question - to replace a brake/tail light with an LED cluster, just make sure that it is an 1157, two-stage LED cluster, with a low and a high intensity circuit. That way it will run off your standard bulb holder and work in exactly the same way as your existing bulb. So you want a dual element or dual intensity 1157 bulb for your taillight/brake housing. You can buy a 3 or 5w luxeon 1157 bulb (1157-xLX3 - 76/270ma - 30/85 Lumens or 1157-xLX5 - 62/335ma - 20/134 Lumens) and drop it right in. I tried that and none of them worked properly (because in my taillight housing, the metal "tongues" that connect to the bulb are somewhat loose, and shortcircuited the bulbs). Other 15, 21 and 36 LED bulbs tested by others were not as bright as stock. So instead I ended up making my own, using two 36LED dual-intensity bulbs (1157-PCB-R36 Red LED lamps) and chose the wide, not the narrow angle bulb. Then I soldered the two bulbs to a single 1157 connection, adding a single downfiring white WLED-WHP LED Wedge Base Bulb. I chose the wedge simply because it has two exposed wires for connectors, which you can easily solder to. (With this bulb, however, you MUST get the polarity right, so test before final soldering) Then I hotglued it all together, backed with some white plastic stock to keep it square in the taillight housing. This all may sound complicated, but actually took only half an hour and has worked perfectcly ever since. It's MUCH brighter than stock and draws far less power.

P.S., superbrightleds.com states you can join PCB-W36's  together (although it voids the warranty). YOU CANNOT join the PCB-CWHP9 high power units the same way, as there is circuitry in the 1157 base.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: JordanMix on April 22, 2008, 07:47:36 pm
Thank you for the very detailed reply. This is my next modification, I really would like to increase my visibility and increase my ability to see my indication light cluster.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: geoffbaker on April 22, 2008, 09:17:15 pm
(http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/gallery/565_08_04_08_9_58_46.jpg)

I'm a bit paranoid about my visibility... I've got an extra light bar that has both running and brake lights on my bike as well, as you can see from the photo.

I'm currently adding some cheap LED's to the backs of my mirrors for additional turn signal lights.
Title: Re: Electrical mods completed!
Post by: LotusSevenMan on April 22, 2008, 10:44:54 pm
Geoff.
Now go and sit down. You are suffering from LED-itis which is taking you over.  ;D

Good job done!!!