First, let me thank everyone for the suggestions on LED suppliers, and links to others who have done similar.
Let me start off with some finished photos.
Power off:
Running Lights:
Brakes Applied:
This is what I came up with.
I bought 2 packs of Alpena Flex LED's, RED, 24" (2 - 12" strips) for $19.99 each. I found them both at Advance Auto Parts, and Autozone. These are weather proof LEDs's sealed inside a thick layer of flexible silicone.
I drilled 3 holes for the wiring to enter the case. The center row is centered both vertically and horizontally between the center lens mounting holes. It has 3 sections (9 LED's total)
The LED strips can be cut ONLY where the scissors are shown, basically in 3 LED sections. The only cut I made and jumpered was for the turns. I use a 6 LED section, made a cut and jumpered another 3 LED section on each side. Make sure when you cut and splice that you keep the polarity (+/-) correct! The reason for the cut was the strip could not make the bend to fit the case in a single section. I covered the exposed solder pads with silicone RTV before installing the lenses. Note: when you have to expose the 2 copper pads to make your solder connections, take your time to remove the silicone so you don't damage the solder pads.
The left and right brake sections are a total of 12 LED's each side.
The LED strips come with 3M double sided tape already installed. I used masking tape to hold them in place, then put the lens in place and adjusted as needed then once a location was found I used the provided double sided tape for final placement. Use rubbing alcohol to clean the case anywhere you are sticking a row of LED's!
I centered this row of 9 LED's (that show through the 4 round lenses) both vertically and horizontally between the original center lens screw holes.
I did all my splicing under the document cover in the lid. I found a screw and a cable clamp to fit the hole already in the base of the case so I could zip tie the cable out of the way as it enters the case. You can see the cord grip installed in the lower right corner. I drilled a few holes in the lid and used zip ties for cable routing.
I use the SW Motech Alu-rack and I chose this location to drill and install the cord grip and route my cable to keep my exposed wiring to the bike minimal in length.
For extra brightness, I added two rows of 9 LEDS inside the center lens as well.
A quick check to see them working.
Here is how I wired them. I have the Backoff XP for the 5 flash-steady pattern. Here is how I installed the Backoff XP. I feel it is a great benefit for safety. If you don't have a flasher, just ignore it shown in the schematic and the blue wire continues through to the tail light. I also have an extra row of LED's at the license plate.
Radio Shack stocks several connectors. As Kimel has pointed out in post #4 below, these "Radio Shack connectors" are not weather proof connectors. I have my connector under the seat, so I have to remove the seat to take off the case. If you put your connector out in the elements, you will need to use a weatherproof connector. A 4 wire trailer connector or similar would work.
Relay I used:
This install was time consuming and more on the difficult side but the work to me was worth it and I am very pleased with the outcome. From start to finish, I probably have about 12 hours in this job, but about a third of that was design and parts finding expeditions.
Here is a parts list of the main components I used:
22AWG Wire or larger
Relay PN DS2E-S-DC12V Digikey PN 255-1063-ND
Resistor 750 Ohm Digikey PN CF14JT750RCT-ND (CAN USE ANY 750 OHM RESISTOR)
Cord Grip Digikey PN 288-1178-ND (measure your wire bundle this fits diameters .12 - .31)
Radio Shack PN's 274-224 & 274-234 (or any other 4 wire connectors including 4 wire trailer plug)
You will need soldering tools and materials as you would any other wiring project.
If you are adding up the total number of LED's used, I had 1 piece of 3 LED's left over when I finished.
This project should fall into the $60-$80 range depending on what components you may or may not have lying around.
:goodluck:
Let me start off with some finished photos.
Power off:
Running Lights:
Brakes Applied:
This is what I came up with.
I bought 2 packs of Alpena Flex LED's, RED, 24" (2 - 12" strips) for $19.99 each. I found them both at Advance Auto Parts, and Autozone. These are weather proof LEDs's sealed inside a thick layer of flexible silicone.
I drilled 3 holes for the wiring to enter the case. The center row is centered both vertically and horizontally between the center lens mounting holes. It has 3 sections (9 LED's total)
The LED strips can be cut ONLY where the scissors are shown, basically in 3 LED sections. The only cut I made and jumpered was for the turns. I use a 6 LED section, made a cut and jumpered another 3 LED section on each side. Make sure when you cut and splice that you keep the polarity (+/-) correct! The reason for the cut was the strip could not make the bend to fit the case in a single section. I covered the exposed solder pads with silicone RTV before installing the lenses. Note: when you have to expose the 2 copper pads to make your solder connections, take your time to remove the silicone so you don't damage the solder pads.
The left and right brake sections are a total of 12 LED's each side.
The LED strips come with 3M double sided tape already installed. I used masking tape to hold them in place, then put the lens in place and adjusted as needed then once a location was found I used the provided double sided tape for final placement. Use rubbing alcohol to clean the case anywhere you are sticking a row of LED's!
I centered this row of 9 LED's (that show through the 4 round lenses) both vertically and horizontally between the original center lens screw holes.
I did all my splicing under the document cover in the lid. I found a screw and a cable clamp to fit the hole already in the base of the case so I could zip tie the cable out of the way as it enters the case. You can see the cord grip installed in the lower right corner. I drilled a few holes in the lid and used zip ties for cable routing.
I use the SW Motech Alu-rack and I chose this location to drill and install the cord grip and route my cable to keep my exposed wiring to the bike minimal in length.
For extra brightness, I added two rows of 9 LEDS inside the center lens as well.
A quick check to see them working.
Here is how I wired them. I have the Backoff XP for the 5 flash-steady pattern. Here is how I installed the Backoff XP. I feel it is a great benefit for safety. If you don't have a flasher, just ignore it shown in the schematic and the blue wire continues through to the tail light. I also have an extra row of LED's at the license plate.
Radio Shack stocks several connectors. As Kimel has pointed out in post #4 below, these "Radio Shack connectors" are not weather proof connectors. I have my connector under the seat, so I have to remove the seat to take off the case. If you put your connector out in the elements, you will need to use a weatherproof connector. A 4 wire trailer connector or similar would work.
Relay I used:
This install was time consuming and more on the difficult side but the work to me was worth it and I am very pleased with the outcome. From start to finish, I probably have about 12 hours in this job, but about a third of that was design and parts finding expeditions.
Here is a parts list of the main components I used:
22AWG Wire or larger
Relay PN DS2E-S-DC12V Digikey PN 255-1063-ND
Resistor 750 Ohm Digikey PN CF14JT750RCT-ND (CAN USE ANY 750 OHM RESISTOR)
Cord Grip Digikey PN 288-1178-ND (measure your wire bundle this fits diameters .12 - .31)
Radio Shack PN's 274-224 & 274-234 (or any other 4 wire connectors including 4 wire trailer plug)
You will need soldering tools and materials as you would any other wiring project.
If you are adding up the total number of LED's used, I had 1 piece of 3 LED's left over when I finished.
This project should fall into the $60-$80 range depending on what components you may or may not have lying around.
:goodluck: