[Blindstitch]

I'm finally to the last half of this bag of worms and I'm wondering how to hook up trailer wiring to the bike.



What have some of you done. I see a unit out there that might be the answer but I'm not sure.



http://www.farmandfleet.com/product...lref=/catalog/find.aspx?t=taillight+converter

 

[Harry]

When I did my bike I joined my trailer plug wiring to the wires under the seat.

It's easy enough to find the indicator, tail and stoplight wires just near the connectors.

I bared the wires, soldered the new wires to them and then covered them with insulation tape.

 

[Blindstitch]

I was told that the cx lighting might not have the juice to correctly work the lights.

 

[Harry]

Yes, I suppose that might be a problem.

I used LED's on my trailer which draw so little amps that they didn't even slow the indicators at all.

I don't know if globes will be a problem or not.

 

[Panther]

I use an adapter that I get from walmart. does the same thing, but cost about $14.



I don't think your signal flasher will "see" the lights after the adapter.

not sure though. I would just get a couple of LED lights from somewhere.

 

[Interstater]

Don,

Though it might be nice to better isolate the trailer electrical from the bike's electrical, when I did my GoldWing trailer I didn't bother with the converter box to get the separate turn and brake light signals, I just ran a second small one-wire plug alongside the standard 4-wire plug. It worked for me because I had added extra lights on the rear of the trailer box, so the lights I used as brake lights on the trailer could also be separate from the turn signals.



I think that if you only have the one pair of lights on the trailer and they have to be running, brake, and turn signal, then you will need the converter box.



In addition to the stock light assemblies on the trailer frame that came with 1157 dual element bulbs, I also added a pair of 4" round light assemblies with dual element bulbs to the rear of the trailer box. I had it wired so that the lights on the box were running and brake lights, while the stock units on the frame were brake lights and turn signals. People behind me could really tell when I hit the brakes!



With the trailer connected the turn signals flashed a little faster because of the higher load, but it wasn't bad. A guy could always pop in a heavy duty flasher to slow them back down if he felt it needed it.



All of the wiring on the bike that I needed to tie into was under the seat, and when the trailer wasn't connected the plugs on the bike could be stuffed up inside the license plate holder. Everything was all bundled and taped up nice. I ran it this way for years and it was fine.



I think your CX will have adequate juice to run the lights, its not like your brake and turn lights are on all the time



Joe

 

[DavidfromWisconsin]

You always want to use a converter assembly on a bike. The turn signal switch can very easily burned out with standard bulbs with all the extra current running through it.



It is much cheaper to buy the unit rather than replacing the switch several times.



On some of the newer bikes you can burn out the entire wiring harness by hooking up directly.



Also, most trailers are not wired for the European light assemblies and you can easily take care of that problem with a converter.

 

[Blindstitch]

After stopping up to Daves today I picked up the hopkins 48845. He had one in his wiring drawer to show me and it makes sense.



http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.c...ndard_converters/tail_light_converter_12.html



He also showed me how his rig is set up. Lots of good info there. Maybe to much at the moment.



Here's a picture of his rig.

 

[Interstater]

You always want to use a converter assembly on a bike. The turn signal switch can very easily burned out with standard bulbs with all the extra current running through it.

The current goes up by 1/3, right? Maybe the CX or BMW turn signal switches aren't as heavy duty as the old Gold Wing switch, for I ran years and thousands of miles without a converter with no issues. The system was flawless.

 

[Blindstitch]

Ok here's one. I wired a pig tail to the converter I got and tried to test it on the trailer here in the apartment. Either it's really smart or broke because when I tried to power it from a 12 volt battery only the running lights lit.



I used a test light to test it and got nothing. I used a multimeter and I guess the resistance is something like 6 compared to 0 on the running lights.



It does mention on the package that



Each Unit Can Power 2.1 AMPS



What do you suppose that means.

I followed up by testing the wires on the trailer again and they work fine.

 

[DavidfromWisconsin]

Ok here's one. I wired a pig tail to the converter I got and tried to test it on the trailer here in the apartment. Either it's really smart or broke because when I tried to power it from a 12 volt battery only the running lights lit.



I used a test light to test it and got nothing. I used a multimeter and I guess the resistance is something like 6 compared to 0 on the running lights.



It does mention on the package that



Each Unit Can Power 2.1 AMPS



What do you suppose that means.

I followed up by testing the wires on the trailer again and they work fine.

Don,



When you did that test, did you have 12v to the unit and 12v to the turn signal wire ore just 12v to the signal wire?



Remember the unit is nothing but a relay that uses power directly from the battery so there is no strain on turn signal switch and flasher can.



The 2.1 amps will light a lot of lights, so don't worry about that aspect.

 

[Blindstitch]

I tried both. When I run 12.5 volts from a battery through the system I only get 7.6 from the brake, left and right turn signals. I imagine I really need to get it hooked up to the bike to know what I'm not seeing. Maybe one of these days before work.

 

[Blindstitch]

Well here's some more fun. I figured I might have been missing something so I just wired the converter up to the bike to be sure. Well if I switch the turn signals on it doesn't look like they are flashing but when I hook up my led test light I can clearly see it working. If I disconnect the running lights I can see the filament flash. Barely. Connect everything back up and if I have the turn signals on and pull the brake lever I get a good flash out of it. A bit fast but a good one. If the signals are off and I pull the brake it lights right up. So the problem is the 7.6 volts coming through the turn signals with not enough power to light it up.



Any ideas?

 

[WisconsinCX]

Hmmm, interesting. Convert your bike to 24 volts?

Shoulda just bought that Wing

 

[Blindstitch]

But would that wing have the same problem or worse?

 

[Blindstitch]

Well here's my test rig. I figured I had those two extra lights, license plate bracket and pigtail sitting there.



After plugging it in and warming the bike up I can see that the lights are there and flashing but not bright at all. In fact if I was anywhere farther than 10 feet away and squinting I wouldn't see them. But when I pull the brake lever the turn signals show up as bright as they should be.

I ran extra grounds and still nothing different than the first time I plugged it in.

 

[Panther]

I think you may have a defective unit.



$13 at walmart you can get the kind I use.

it is built into the plug, makes it about 3" long.

 

[Blindstitch]

I think you may have a defective unit.



$13 at walmart you can get the kind I use.

it is built into the plug, makes it about 3" long.

What unit do you have?

 

[WisconsinCX]

But would that wing have the same problem or worse?

No, Gramps, because you wouldn't have need for a trailer.

I was watching Sons of Anarchy last night...Those guys were hanging out at their club house discussing how to pull a trailer and still command some level of respect.

But it wasn't working for them either.

Maybe something along the lines of this might work....It's old and underpowered just like a CX

But much better in the rain.

 

[Blindstitch]

No, Gramps, because you wouldn't have need for a trailer.

I was watching Sons of Anarchy last night...Those guys were hanging out at their club house discussing how to pull a trailer and still command some level of respect.

But it wasn't working for them either.

Maybe something along the lines of this might work....It's old and underpowered just like a CX

But much better in the rain.

Melody would love one.



I have a feeling if we had a goldwing we might still need a trailer. Depends on how big the saddlebags are. I saw one at slimey that had bags that must have been 10+ inches wide and 24+ long. Or maybe there is a friend somewhere that can get a goldwing and lend it to me for a few weekends. Maybe something like the guard. 1 weekend a month 2 weeks a year.