Trailer lights

[macmac]

I would do this to the "T"
http://www.gadgetjq.com/trailer.htm

On 05 and up all the wires come to one place for this. That is the box under the rear fender.

It's a wise idea to open the sand clogged drain hole a bit too with a drill, so sand can get out a little better.

You can see the box, just by laying down on your back. A lift would help a little, but you don't really need it.

The 1500 has no box.... You would tie in at the fuse box or under the seat to the harness direct.

A hoppy converter is just about a mush have for a trailer with American Lighting, to a Euro wiring which the bikes are.

It is possible to get around that wiring the trailer to be Euro, but it is far from wise. The conveter is induced current, and if the trailer dead shorts, the bike's chargings isn't in line, so it won't fry.

[Bull Durham]

And this Hoppy module is the same, whether I run standard lights or LED? I would like to eventually go LED and add a number of other lights to the trailer and possibly to a trunk.

[Bull Durham]

Budman,

PM sent

[Kawhead]

Originally Posted by macmac

It is possible to get around that wiring the trailer to be Euro, but it is far from wise. The conveter is induced current, and if the trailer dead shorts, the bike's chargings isn't in line, so it won't fry.

That's the best reason to get the converter. You don't want to be on the road side, on vacation, with an electrical problem. ::)

[macmac]

I don't have much experience with LED's. My take is that if they need resistors they just do and if they don't then they have resistors built in the unit.

Whether or not the Hppy sees that is a mystery. The Hoppy see's the signal for which ever lamps you select to use, turn/brake asnd creates induced current to run that lamp.

The coil on the bike does the same thing to make spark on the bike.

A coil has no physical connection to the primary wiring a bit. The primary side sends a signal, which is collapsed over the 2ndary wiring which is the plug cable and plug and you get a negitive charge spark at around 60,000 volts jumping a gap to -12 volts. (negitive to negitive)

You can dead shot the spark cable and not fry the coil see?

[Bull Durham]

Mac,

I don't even know what language you were just talking in.................. So whatever you said, I'll agree with you.

[macmac]

Gee I only got 2 typos in that mess. So it must be you need to know what induced current is eh?

One way you can sort of see it is to place a mess of steel filings on a paper, then move a magnet near the under side of the paper, so the filings bunch up in a pattern and then take the magnet away.

When you do the filings will sort of relax. Now if you could do that really fast over and over, and instead of using a magnet used 12 volts, and the filings were a long copper wire wound around a iron bar, you would make current.

A coil to make spark has 2 little wires. One in a non direct way comes from the battery, and goes to the pick up, and carried just 12 volts into the coil. Inside the coil that same wire goes round and round hundreds of times before that same wire comes out the (-) side of the coil to the pick up. The pick up sees a magnet switch on the flywheel (part of the rotor on the alt in the case of a Nomad.

There is no wire at all touching the 2ndary windings, which are in fact wrapped thousands of times around that central iron bar.

There is a electrical magnetic field much like what you see on the paper, and each time the field collapses a far higher voltage is induced.. That creates the spark.

Some alternators sort of work this way too. These are called brushless, and have no moving part but for the rotor which is a iron moving wheel with slots cut in it.

Inside is a elecrical field coil made of may windings of copper wire, and 3 more wires. One comes from the battery and is battery volatge, another is ground, the last is a field wire, at 1/2 battery voltage. When the key is ON and the rotor is spnning the magnetic field passes thru the slots which are moving at engine rpm. So the effect is on off on off on off on off for so many slots at engine rpm.

The field pattern is on off on off over the stator, which is a ring of copper wires outside the rotor. No wores from the inner field coil touch any part of the stator, and the stator is fixed and does not move.

The end result is AC current is made at more than double battery voltage. The regulator/ rectifer has one way valves for current, and these are called diodes. Current can only pass one way, so 1/2 the current can't pass and is sent to ground, and is 'heat sinked away.

Only one side of the current passes to the battery, and is called DC current or direct current.

This is also induced voltage.

[Bull Durham]

More, Poppa, More!!! One more story, then I promise to go to bed! Please Poppa! Please!

(nice way of explaining it, thanks)

[macmac]

Try that magnet bit on yer SO, and see if that induces anything

BTW, your post counts says your a little new around here, which means you might not know I am 'certifiable' in the worst of meanings.. Everyone else knows this fact, doncha boys?

Here let me make this really easy...... This is really me... really it is!

[Bull Durham]

Well Mac,

don't know about worst of meanings, but I gotta say, with that black lipstick on your face, I'll certify you "Shore got a purty mouth"

What do you think, CJ?

:-)

[macmac]

Oh man ya shulda seen the little frenchy Blonde that made up that face! Oh Man every one in the unit was smoking about the time she took for that paint. And so was my wife!

But I didn't mind any, why I didn't even feel the cold...... LOL

Cj knows I am very certifiable. I think he once tried to comit me.

[Bull Durham]

Originally Posted by Blueraven

Under the seat. Disconnect the quick connects and put in a jumper wire between them with the new connections. Then you don't have to break the wire, solder or destroy the old wiring. If you want to remove the trailer hookup, then you can easily and with out a trace of it even being installed.

Blue Raven,

What exactly is the "jumper wire" you talk about? I like your idea. Do you have any pics?

[macmac]

Originally Posted by Bull Durham

Blue Raven,

What exactly is the "jumper wire" you talk about? I like your idea. Do you have any pics?

Bull his bike is a 1500, which is wired a little different than a 1600.

I don't recall any quick disconnects on the 1500 under the seat but the 1600 hasn't any even if the 15 does.

On the 16 under the lic plate holder area under the rr fender is a box/cover and all the wires you need to run a Hoppy are there.

'IF' Blue Raven is wired that way with no hoppy, he is risking his charging system.

Also since he lives in CDN, it makes me wonder if any trailers there are in the American wired pattern, instead of Euro wired as our bikes are, but probably not our trailers.

For a fact the 16 has a box under the fender the 15 hasn't got.

There are several other wiring difference the 1600 are different with as well, one is the 15 has 2 tail light bulds and the 16 has just one.

[Bull Durham]

Mac,

I found this on a site, do you think it is correct, for the wiring on the bike for colors?


Right is gray
Left is green
Tail light is red
Brake light is blue
and ground is black and yellow

I like where CajunRider put his Hoppy, under the coolant, is that where'd you put yours? I'm going to put in a longer wire on the fuse to the batter wire, as I don't want to have to go under my seat just to change a fuse alongside the road, if need be.

I see earlier post, you talk about a 'box' under the fender. I'm going to go out and look in a bit, but how are you accessing it? You doing all your Hoppy splices into the wires in there?

[macmac]

The wiring colors are correct. I have a hoppy and hitch not yet installed, but when I do I will probably run the long hoppy wires to the box, and locate the box in the tool left side cover, then run the wires right back in the fender loops welded on the left side of the fender.

Another alternate is to mount the hoppy on the trailer, and build a 4 flat wiring harness from the bike.

In order to do that you need a 4 flat extra, which is a 4 flat connector with about a 2 foot long pig tail. That way the hoppy in on the trailer and you plug the bike in to it that way.

It's just another way to do the same thing. With this way there will be 2 wires you make up with the 4 flat one to power, the other to ground. I probably wouldn't do it that way, but guys do.

Another way I might do it is mount the hoppy in the box. If I did that I would try to get a old fashion ciggy but case made in 2 parts of plastic and seal the hoppy converter box inside that case.

The box has a drain hole which IMO is too small, I drilled mine out, since the box is more of a shield than a box proper. I forget how many bolts/nuts hold the box on I think just 2, but there might be more. If i recall the socket sixe was 10 mm.

To access it I just lay on a sheet of card board and look up.