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TECHNICAL MOTOBRICK WRENCHING In Remembrance of Inge K. => The Motobrick Workshop => Topic started by: frankenduck on December 22, 2012, 09:36:55 AM
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Sometimes at night in the woods or out in the boonies where it's very dark I have trouble knowing exactly where the dash switches are on my RS-faired bikes. My solution is to backlight the hazard and ABS switches - with LEDs of course. :yes
EDIT: Inserted link with updated information and missing pictures.
http://classickbikes.com/ckb.tech/0.ckb.tech.files/led.switch/led.switch.htm (http://classickbikes.com/ckb.tech/0.ckb.tech.files/led.switch/led.switch.htm)
The picture's a little fuzzy due to the low lighting but you get the idea:
(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk91/electro_handyman/Bike%20Tech/06_LED_backlit_switches.jpg)
For a few years BMW made the hazard switch with a little bulb in it that would flash in unison with the hazard lights. As a legacy of this all BMW switches of this style have a little socket for that bulb in them:
(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk91/electro_handyman/Bike%20Tech/3_socket.jpg)
The ABS and hazard switches both have translucent red graphic inserts in them so they make excellent candidates for backlighting with a red LED. Since I want the switches to just glow a little, not shine and be distracting, I chose to use 3mm diffused red 12V LEDs that can be purchased from websites like Mouser and Newark:
(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/lighting/ledswitch/2_3mm_led.jpg)
I drilled a small hole in each side of the little socket and inserted an LED:
(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/lighting/ledswitch/4_led_insterted.jpg)
(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk91/electro_handyman/Bike%20Tech/5_led_front.jpg)
Then I soldered wire to each terminal (the longer one is always positive on polarized LEDs), clipped off the excess LED terminal wires and took a blurry picture of it:
(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk91/electro_handyman/Bike%20Tech/6_solder.jpg)
The LED's terminal wires are fairly brittle and break easily if subjected to repeated bending to I filled up the lower back half of the switch with epoxy to keep them from bending and breaking:
(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk91/electro_handyman/Bike%20Tech/7_epoxy.jpg)
When I re-installed them on the bike I tapped into the parking light circuit to power them.
Project complete. :mbird
More information on dash switches can be found here: Frankenduck's Switch Rehabilitation Clinic (http://www.motobrick.com/index.php?topic=336.0)
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Dr. Duck, you're simply amazing. :2thumbup:
Do you ever get out of the workshop?
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Dr. Duck, you're simply amazing. :2thumbup:
Do you ever get out of the workshop?
Yes, when I'm posting on The Internet. :laugh
I've wanted to do this for quite some time. I'm down in CA visiting my dad now so I've got plenty of free time and a garage that actually gets above 60 degrees.
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Round 2: My K1100RS.
(The windscreen switch is for my garage door opener. I thought that was the most fitting graphic.)
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"And took a blurry picture of it." :giggles