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Canbus blues

dpmonk

P Monk
since my 09 gs was totaled by Harvy, I have bought a 2011 R1200RT. I installed a Givi 56 liter trunk on it with led light kit. Cannot get the leds to light up.
I was surprised to see only one wire going to the tail light and brake light. Actually appears to be one hot wire and one ground to each of two bulbs. Not wanting to cut or splice wires, used a spade connection splitter to connect wiring to the led's in the trunk. I only read 3 volts at the givi lid. All I really want the lights to do is be on as extra running lights and would appreciate any suggestions. Am thinking I should find a wire such as one for an accessory plug to use to power the lights.
 
Are they possibly just dim? I put a 5 LED array on one of my bikes and it only lit up dimly. I wired a second one in series and then had 10 bright LEDs.
 
It's not the CAN bus, but the way the tail and brake lights are controlled. The same filament is used for both functions. As a tail light the bulbs receive a pulse modulated signal; 12 volts on, 12 volts off, etc. The average voltage depends on the on/off ratio, but will be less than 12 volts, resulting in a dim bulb. When the brakes are applied the bulbs receive a steady 12 volts and light up at their brightest.
 
It's not the CAN bus, but the way the tail and brake lights are controlled. The same filament is used for both functions. As a tail light the bulbs receive a pulse modulated signal; 12 volts on, 12 volts off, etc. The average voltage depends on the on/off ratio, but will be less than 12 volts, resulting in a dim bulb. When the brakes are applied the bulbs receive a steady 12 volts and light up at their brightest.
Definitely not the CANbus since it is a Controller Area Network and thus a communications medium and not anything that powers tail light bulbs!

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk
 
not canbus

thanks for the explanation Karl. I didn't know how a single filament bulb could be both running and brake light. So the tail light is not the place to provide electricity to the led's unless they can also operate on the on/off cycle like the incandescent bulb does? I obviously am more in my element working on my airhead.
 
Here is how I wired Admore LED kit to Givi Topbox

Like many others I have used the rear power socket for the single Brake/Tail light switched power source for additional Givi Top Box lighting in my 2008 R1200RT.

Comparing information from my Haynes Manual and the Admore Kit I have put this connection map together; I used Grey (Gry) for grey instead of Slate for that colour name:

Light -------------------- RT Wire --------- Admore
Rear Left Turn Signal-------Vio/Red/Yel------ Yel
Brake/Tail Lights----------- Gry/Blk/Yel------ Red
Rear Right Turn Signal----- Vio/Brn/Wht----- Grn
Battery Negative----------- Brn--------------- Blk (called Ground)
Ignition 12V Switched------ Vio--------------- Blu*

Admore states that:
*Blue wire must be connected to continuous (switched) 12V to operate the embedded mini controller. For motorcycles with a single brake/tail light wire, connect the Blue wire to a 12V source switched with the ignition. Connect the Red wire to the single brake/tail wire.

Notes
Applying the brakes sends a continuous 12V to the LED to cause it to operate at full brightness. When no brakes are applied, the bike's ZFE controller sends a Pulse Width Modulated signal to the lamp... 12V for about 3 milliseconds, then no power for about 9 mS. This repeats endlessly, resulting in the lamp glowing at partial brightness.
 
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For running lights only, you could power the trunk lights directly from the rear accessory outlet wiring. This would light the LEDs at full brightness, but might remain on for 30 seconds or so after you turn the ignition off.

Personally, I worry about not being seen, so I'd prefer to use the trunk lights as brake lights. Skene sells their brake light controllers as separate components. One of the IQ-260 models would let you connect the GIVI LED lights with various programmable options, including attention-getting flicker, flashing, and activation on deceleration without braking.
 
Other options on my 07RT in the rear are alarm if not being used or diagnostic plug.[/QUOTE

Yep, Diag Plug pin 6 (red wire) is good battery 12v source. Accessory Socket pin 7 (violet) is Switched Ignition 12v. If you have a one of the popular fuse boxes installed then you already would have a permanent source for 12v switched or not. These colours and pins are valid for 2009 bikes as well per Haynes. As one adds lights, horns, GPS, etc. a fuse box becomes more valuable to clean up and simplify things.
 
led's not working

ordered accessory fuse block today and will work on the led's again when it arrives. I am thinking adding volo lights or admore lights for more brake lighting. the instructions from Givi are pathetic and I really don't like all those non positive connections. I installed admore lights on my GS and will list them and the Jesse bags on the Marketplace soon.
 
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