cruise control install

[rickyboy]

Hi, I've just read through the instructions ....AGAIN.
I noticed that at the very end of the instructions in a section named

Addendum, things I've learned after using the CC for a few thousand miles

#5. says "Benny Buice wrote to tell me the LED in the servo wouldn't light when he applied his brakes and the CC wouldn't cancel when he applied brakes. A mystery indeed until Benny remembered he had LED brake lights. Here's the problem. The servo looks for the brake light pin to return to zero volts and LED's never return to zero. He put regular bulbs back in the sockets and the CC worked perfectly."

I have LED lights installed and I won't give up the those bright baby's for anything. Does anyone see a way around this issue? Perhaps another relay??????? I haven't started the wiring/elect. yet and only built the vacuum canister and gutted my side compartment.
Hey BD are you around here??? Can you help a guy out??
Thanks everyone for any suggestions that might remedy this for me.

[VulcanE]

I haven't started on my install yet either, and I read the same thing. Like you, I don't want to give up my LEDs either. I was thinking that MAYBE, a load equalizer on the brake light circuit would work. Any electrical experts have an opinion on this? RC and I would appreciate your input.

[cactusjack]

Hmmm, this is similar to an issue I had when building my trailer. My trailer is a 4 wire model with LED lights. I wanted to use a high-mount tail/brake light on the rear of the trailer shell. I bought a little module that was designed to connect to both R and L brake/turn wires, when they both went on (as in a braking situation), it was supposed to activate the brake circuit of the high-mount lamp. Well, it didn't work. I called the company and found out it was because I was using LED lights. Although it didn't state anywhere on the website or in the literature that it only worked with incandescent lights. Same principle as with the cruise control, I guess.

I can't think of a way around this. Maybe someone else can.

[nomad561]

This is just a suggestion,but I would think a normally closed relay that opens when you apply the brakes cancelling the CC would work in this case.
Wire the CC through the closed contacts and the brakes through the coil and you should have a fix.
Anyone that can verify this ?

[rickyboy]

Scott, what did you end up doing in your case?

Wandering Nomad/Rick,... thanks for the input. Hopefully we can keep this thread up top or current and someone will come along and verify your suggestion. Or make another one. I haven't as yet tried your suggestion. I probably won't get to finishing the wiring now,... till after Christmas.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by rickyboy ... #00722

Scott, what did you end up doing in your case?

Wandering Nomad/Rick,... thanks for the input. Hopefully we can keep this thread up top or current and someone will come along and verify your suggestion. Or make another one. I haven't as yet tried your suggestion. I probably won't get to finishing the wiring now,... till after Christmas.

I answered your email, but I'll also answer this here in case anyone else cares what I did. I really wanted to get the high-mount brake light working for safety reasons, so I simply ran a separate brake light circuit back to the light from the bike. I tapped into the brake light wire just in front of the Hoppy converter and spliced in a small connector. I then used the opposite side of the connector and ran a wire back through the trailer shell to the taillight. So when I plug the 4 wire connector into the Hoppy, I also have to connect the small brake connector iif I want the high-mount brake light to function. I did it this way so I can still use my 4 wire hookup on my truck to tow the trailer.

[lomax]

...hey guys! I sent an email to John (Gadget) asking for any input he might have regarding this issue. The following is what I asked.



Hi John
A few of us on the Kawanow Nomad site have purchased and plan to install the ccs100 cruise control on our bikes. Some are 1500's and some arre 1600's. On your site where the install instructions are, the last paragraph reads as follows.......

5. Benny Buice wrote to tell me the LED in the servo wouldn't light when he applied his brakes and the CC wouldn't cancel when he applied brakes. A mystery indeed until Benny remembered he had LED brake lights. Here's the problem. The servo looks for the brake light pin to return to zero volts and LED's never return to zero. He put regular bulbs back in the sockets and the CC worked perfectly.

........I myself have the Electrical Connections running light conversion kit installed which, as you know, uses the LED circle glued in the taillight lense. Others have different ways to utilize LED's at the rear of their bikes for brake lights. My question is, has anyone come up with a way to retain the LED's and still have the CC function as it should? Might there be a way to isolate the LED's so the the CC doesn't "see" them? Any info you could offer would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike



.............And his reply...

Hi Mike,

The problem occurs when 'only' LED's are used for brake lights. If you're using the same Electrical Connection LED system I used (LED's inside the turn signals) you're good to go. If there's a system I'm unaware of that replaces the incandescent bulbs with LED's then you'll probably have to put your incandescents back in. The other riders, same story. They can 'add' LED's to the system but based on feedback I've received they also have to use incandescents.

Cheers,
John


......So, there may be another way to isolate systems that have been completely converted to LED's that we are not aware of yet. I hope someone comes up with something new!!

[rickyboy]

Thanks for your efforts lomax. Bad news for me though. I have Custom Dynamics "set up" for run/brake/turn. I also changed out the main taillight to LED. There has to be a way around this. I'm going to check with a local electrical shop I deal with from time to time. If I find anything out I'll be back to spread the news.

[oldbikers]

Rickyboy I don't know what your trunk looks like but I have seen VulcanE's and I don't see why you can't run your leds in your tail/brake/turn signal and use the incandescents bulbs in your trunk even if you had to run a separate wire to the trunk brake light like cj did on his trailer and hook your cruise into that wire. Anybody see why that wouldn't work? And Cliff when you get yours done just ride over to my house and put mine in

[rickyboy]

Hummmm that might be a good idea !!! I don't presently have lights in/on the trunk but I might be able to mount a small brake light in it. I'll look into that. Thanks.

[cactusjack]

I went out at lunch today and rounded up the components needed to build the vacuum reservoir, except for the vacuum check valve. I'll pick that up tomorrow or Thursday.

One of my challenges is going to be where to mount the reservoir and the servo assembly. The LH side cover is no good because it's already full. Time to think outside the box.

[macmac]

I think you could mount a lamp under the seat off the brake light wire and never see it as a resistor, for under 5 bucks easy.. The CC would see and only the CC would see it.. The bad part is you might not know that lamp went blew one day.

What you need is a resistance that comes on when the bulb would come on.

I was thinking and WRONGLY THAT A VARRIABLE RESISTOR COULD BE INSTALLED. But that idea won't work. The thinking was to set it where the last smidgen the LEDS create becasue they create some, with be set so the CC does see it, but even as a test device the LEDS would be dimmed. So knowing the resistance still means putting a in line resistor in is useless.

If I was supposed to look smart this will certainly prove other wise..

The relay idea is a good one, but I don't personally know of any relay that works that way.
..........................
ON EDIT:

Does anyone with a CC also have a BACK OFF? That might work.

[VulcanE]

I discussed this with my Plant's electrical engineer today, and he said that it would be an easy fix. He started talking about volt-amps, Milli-amps, resistance, etc, etc............ and I had that "deer in the headlights look". He said he was tied up in a project right now, but when he had time he would do some calculations and come up with a solution. I don't know when he'll get around to it, but he knows what he's talking about. I'll keep prodding him on it until I get an answer though.
Soooooooo maybe, we'll have a solution before to long.

[rickyboy]

Thanks Vulcan E !
I'll be watching this thread for any news. I still have a couple of people who's brains I have to pick yet, also. I still think that oldbikers idea of an additional conventional stop light, and taping into it would work.

[VulcanE]

If all else fails, Oldbikers idea will work.
I was reading through the Installation Manual (the Audiovox one), and it states in the trouble shooting section (next to the last page)

Position...............wire color....................function
4..........................purple................. .....+12 VDC when brake pedal is pressed
.................................................. ..........0 VDC when brake pedal is released

According to that, all it's supposed to do is "read" whether or not there's voltage (12 VDC), So, maybe, were getting upset over nothing. BUT, If we do have to come up with some type of modification, one way or another, well GET-ER-DONE!