Marzini
12-31-2007, 04:43 PM
This is for vintage 6 volt enduros converted to 12 volt charge/lighting system. If yours still has a 6 volt system, refer to the thread "Converting Vintage Dualsport 6>12 volts". After doing this conversion you will be able to upgrade your lighting system to a 60/55 watt H4 bulb and a 23w halogen running light for day use by using relays. Relays are needed because the OEM wires can't handle the amperage draw of halogen bulbs.
The parts I used for this upgrade were installed on a 1976 XT 500:
#2010 Bluesea power post w/ #10 stud available from fisheriessupply.com
Six fuse ATO fuseblock w/ ignition switched relay from electricalconnection.com
(2) relay kits, 14+10 ga. butt and ring terminals and shrink tube from madelectrical.com
Wipac Quadoptic 5.75" lens/reflector for H4 bulbs from norbsa02.freeuk.com
23 watt halogen pilot bulb from norbsa02
LED bulbs for instrument lighting, signal lights and tail/brake light from norbsa02
60/55 watt halogen H4 motorcycle bulb, primary wire and connectors from Napa
1. Disconnect the battery ground wire.
2. Unwrap the wiring harness to find the following wires (consult wiring diagram):
a. The yellow wire coming from the light switch, it will go to the new fuseblock.
b. The white wire that comes back from the light switch, it will now become a ground wire for the pilot bulb. Cut it at tank/seat area where it meets the magneto's white wire
and extend it to a chassis ground post mounted between the two battery box bolts.
c. The yellow/white wire comes from the light switch and enters the main harness inside the headlight shell coming out from a big plastic plug. Either cut it and extend it about a foot or pull it forward, through the harness sheath (trailing two red 14 ga. wires and a ground wire long enough to reach past the battery post into the headlight shell).
3. Install the battery positive junction power post near the battery under the seat.
4. Locate the ignition switched relay/harness conveniently near the power post.
5. Install the new fuseblock in front of the battery (I relocated the flasher solenoid).
6. Move the red wire that went to the battery to the power post (7.5A inline fuse) and create a new 10 gauge wire to connect the battery's (+)lug to the power post.
7. Connect the #30 relay power input wire to the power post (10A inline fuse).
8. Connect the #87 relay power output wire to the fuseblock's power feed wire.
9. The ignition switched relay's black wire goes to the chassis ground post.
10. Connect the skinny blue relay trigger wire to the OEM ignition switched brown wire that went to the flasher solenoid (This wire turns on the relay when the key is ON).
11. Connect an extended brown wire from the flasher solenoid to fuseblock (3A fuse).
12. Connect the yellow wire from light switch to fuseblock (3A fuse).
13. Connect the red 14 gauge wires you ran to the headlight to the fuseblock with a 5 amp fuse for each wire. Connect the ground wire to the headlight at the (–)post.
14. Neatly organize the mess behind the headlight so all the wires are as high and to the back of the headlight shell as possible and position the two relays: One at about 2 o'clock and one at about 7 o'clock (facing the shell). Remove the relay's mounting tabs or they won't fit inside (it's that tight).
15. The two #30 relay wires each go to one red 14 gauge wire from the fuseblock.
16. Connect the two relay ground wires to the ground wire extended from the (-)post.
17. The upper relay's trigger wire goes to the green lead coming from the dimmer switch and that relay's #87 wire goes to the green wire at the bulb socket (low beam).
18. The lower relay trigger wire goes to the yellow lead coming from the dimmer switch (the one with the black band) and that relay's #87 wire goes to the yellow wire at the bulb socket (high beam).
19. The high beam relay's 87a wire (the blue one in the center of the relay harness) goes to one of the pilot bulb socket's connections).
20. The yellow/white wire from the big plastic plug goes to the pilot bulb socket's other terminal.
21. The low beam relay's 87a wire is not used and may be removed or insulated.
22. Label the relays so you know which one goes to high and low beam.
23. Replace all other bulbs with LEDs (instrument, signal and tail/brake bulbs). All available wattage must be reserved for the halogens (…and maybe heated grips).
24. Create a 10 gauge grounding cable to ground the battery's (-)lug to the chassis ground post.
25. The Wipac headlight unit is very high quality, but may require clearancing of the inside circumference of the stock headlight shell's chrome retaining ring to fit properly. I also used a thin rubber "o"-ring gasket between the lens and the retainer ring.
26. If you aren't using signal lights, the smaller 3-fuse ATO fuseblock will work.
This wiring scheme allows you to control the operation of the pilot bulb without an additional switch (as if it weren't already a miracle to have shoehorned the two automotive relays inside the tiny original 5.75" diameter headlight shell).
Here's how it works:
When the light switch is OFF, the pilot bulb turns on because it is getting positive current through the high beam relay's normally closed terminal, and is grounded through the light switch (yellow/white is connected to ground through the white wire when the light switch is OFF).
When the light switch is ON, the pilot bulb turns off because now yellow/white is getting positive current through it's connection to yellow, instead of being grounded through white. On the other side of the pilot bulb, it's either getting an open circuit through the relay in high beam or positive current through the relay in low beam. So either way, the pilot bulb's ground is lifted when the light switch is ON.
Now you know why we had to install the ignition switched power distribution relay~ otherwise there would be no way to turn off either the pilot bulb when the light switch is off, or the H4 bulb when the light switch is on. So, the only way to ride without lights is to pull the pilot bulb to be sneaky.
Dirtbag
The parts I used for this upgrade were installed on a 1976 XT 500:
#2010 Bluesea power post w/ #10 stud available from fisheriessupply.com
Six fuse ATO fuseblock w/ ignition switched relay from electricalconnection.com
(2) relay kits, 14+10 ga. butt and ring terminals and shrink tube from madelectrical.com
Wipac Quadoptic 5.75" lens/reflector for H4 bulbs from norbsa02.freeuk.com
23 watt halogen pilot bulb from norbsa02
LED bulbs for instrument lighting, signal lights and tail/brake light from norbsa02
60/55 watt halogen H4 motorcycle bulb, primary wire and connectors from Napa
1. Disconnect the battery ground wire.
2. Unwrap the wiring harness to find the following wires (consult wiring diagram):
a. The yellow wire coming from the light switch, it will go to the new fuseblock.
b. The white wire that comes back from the light switch, it will now become a ground wire for the pilot bulb. Cut it at tank/seat area where it meets the magneto's white wire
and extend it to a chassis ground post mounted between the two battery box bolts.
c. The yellow/white wire comes from the light switch and enters the main harness inside the headlight shell coming out from a big plastic plug. Either cut it and extend it about a foot or pull it forward, through the harness sheath (trailing two red 14 ga. wires and a ground wire long enough to reach past the battery post into the headlight shell).
3. Install the battery positive junction power post near the battery under the seat.
4. Locate the ignition switched relay/harness conveniently near the power post.
5. Install the new fuseblock in front of the battery (I relocated the flasher solenoid).
6. Move the red wire that went to the battery to the power post (7.5A inline fuse) and create a new 10 gauge wire to connect the battery's (+)lug to the power post.
7. Connect the #30 relay power input wire to the power post (10A inline fuse).
8. Connect the #87 relay power output wire to the fuseblock's power feed wire.
9. The ignition switched relay's black wire goes to the chassis ground post.
10. Connect the skinny blue relay trigger wire to the OEM ignition switched brown wire that went to the flasher solenoid (This wire turns on the relay when the key is ON).
11. Connect an extended brown wire from the flasher solenoid to fuseblock (3A fuse).
12. Connect the yellow wire from light switch to fuseblock (3A fuse).
13. Connect the red 14 gauge wires you ran to the headlight to the fuseblock with a 5 amp fuse for each wire. Connect the ground wire to the headlight at the (–)post.
14. Neatly organize the mess behind the headlight so all the wires are as high and to the back of the headlight shell as possible and position the two relays: One at about 2 o'clock and one at about 7 o'clock (facing the shell). Remove the relay's mounting tabs or they won't fit inside (it's that tight).
15. The two #30 relay wires each go to one red 14 gauge wire from the fuseblock.
16. Connect the two relay ground wires to the ground wire extended from the (-)post.
17. The upper relay's trigger wire goes to the green lead coming from the dimmer switch and that relay's #87 wire goes to the green wire at the bulb socket (low beam).
18. The lower relay trigger wire goes to the yellow lead coming from the dimmer switch (the one with the black band) and that relay's #87 wire goes to the yellow wire at the bulb socket (high beam).
19. The high beam relay's 87a wire (the blue one in the center of the relay harness) goes to one of the pilot bulb socket's connections).
20. The yellow/white wire from the big plastic plug goes to the pilot bulb socket's other terminal.
21. The low beam relay's 87a wire is not used and may be removed or insulated.
22. Label the relays so you know which one goes to high and low beam.
23. Replace all other bulbs with LEDs (instrument, signal and tail/brake bulbs). All available wattage must be reserved for the halogens (…and maybe heated grips).
24. Create a 10 gauge grounding cable to ground the battery's (-)lug to the chassis ground post.
25. The Wipac headlight unit is very high quality, but may require clearancing of the inside circumference of the stock headlight shell's chrome retaining ring to fit properly. I also used a thin rubber "o"-ring gasket between the lens and the retainer ring.
26. If you aren't using signal lights, the smaller 3-fuse ATO fuseblock will work.
This wiring scheme allows you to control the operation of the pilot bulb without an additional switch (as if it weren't already a miracle to have shoehorned the two automotive relays inside the tiny original 5.75" diameter headlight shell).
Here's how it works:
When the light switch is OFF, the pilot bulb turns on because it is getting positive current through the high beam relay's normally closed terminal, and is grounded through the light switch (yellow/white is connected to ground through the white wire when the light switch is OFF).
When the light switch is ON, the pilot bulb turns off because now yellow/white is getting positive current through it's connection to yellow, instead of being grounded through white. On the other side of the pilot bulb, it's either getting an open circuit through the relay in high beam or positive current through the relay in low beam. So either way, the pilot bulb's ground is lifted when the light switch is ON.
Now you know why we had to install the ignition switched power distribution relay~ otherwise there would be no way to turn off either the pilot bulb when the light switch is off, or the H4 bulb when the light switch is on. So, the only way to ride without lights is to pull the pilot bulb to be sneaky.
Dirtbag