Gerbing Permanent Controller Install DIY

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"Hot" side completed

 

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Same thing with the ground.

No need to identify the wire, just have a piece of shrink-tubing in place prior to the crimp installation.

 

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The more you add to your fuse panel, the messier it gets.

It is good practice to clean it up at the time of any new farkle install.

Here the grounds and power are organized.

On the left hand side (towards headlight) is the positive side, towards the gas tank are the negative (ground) sides. This is totally dependent on the type of fuse panel you have and where/how you located it.

 

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Mounting the Controller

Power and Ground completed.

Let's mount the controller.....

 

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The circled area will be the location where the adjustable controller will be mounted.

I selected this area because it is a short and quick reach to the controller.

 

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The adjustable controller.

Note the nut, washer, washer, nut set up - this is explained in the instuctions.

Note that the knurled knob pulls off with light pressure but retains well on the adjustment shaft

 

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As the wires on the LED were moved around I noted that there was a small gap of the wire to the conformal coating on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

To ensure weather protection I dropped a little bit of super glue to seal the openings.

 

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This is a how I set up the alignment to drill the hole for the adjustment shaft and the hole for the LED.

There are many different ways to approach this and shown in the following sequence is what I did.

 

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In the location of where I wanted to put the controller adjuster I encountered an issue that the mounting pin of the panel was directly below the hole to be drilled.

To address that the pin location was identified and a new location hole was selected.

 

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Shown is the new location

 

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There is no science to the next part - to align the hole drilling for the LED, I used a straight edge and I aligned it with the + cross-hair (yellow arrow) of where to drill the shaft hole and then drew the line.

Then I got on the bike to see if it was lined up - it wasn't - so I drew the corrected one you see below and proceeded to drill the hole.

 

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If you plan on mouting the controller in the same general area as i did below is shown where the mounting post for the panel is in relation to where you are drilling.

Something to be aware of - consider it a soft caution.

 

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Note - the Side Panel goes for about $780.00 be sure you want to do this.

After you start drilling there is no going back.

Some tips for drilling:

• the instructions call out the sizes you need (9/32" for the shaft and 7/64" for the LED) or in metric-speak 7.25mm/2.77mm respectively
• Don't start with those - start with smaller pilot holes and work your way up.
• Use an electric drill as you have more control on speed (at least I do on mine)
• Drill from the finished paint side - this will leave a cleaner hole and minize paint flacking by the outer edges of the drill point
• Slow speed, even pressure - if you have sharp bits it will go quick
• try to have a drill size that is one level below what is stated in the instructions - you will then be able to gauge how much drill opening you have left.
• Last but not least - go slow, evenly and take your time

Commitment Time!!

 

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Installation of the shaft/PCB/LED

 

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This shows a ziptie that was added to the panel post support, helping to provide support for the PCB. A 3/16" hole must be drilled in the support for the ziptie. Do NOT overtighten the ziptie!

 

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Additional cable routing and support.

NOTE - the cable tie down shown are available at any electrical hobby shop - Radio Shack, electical section in Lowe's or HD

 

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Finished product....

Works well and it is easily viewed and accessed from the driver's position.

The only issue with visibilty is when the sun is shining on it but you can easily provide some shade with your hand to see the flashing frequency.