Givi V46 LED Installation

Since no-one seems to offer a kit to provide lighting behind the reflective panels on the back of the V46, (Yes, I know Admore and Givi both offer something for the four little dots), I decided to try and fudge something together on my own.

I remembered to take some pictures this time around, (and plenty of them), and posted them here. Pictures are pretty large, hence the reason for posting on the blog and not directly on here.

Cost was about $60 and a couple of hours of my time, although I might be tempted to order some more LED's for a more uniform brightness. Neighbor who followed me home last night commented "Man, those brake lights are bright", which I take to mean they are doing their job.

Just some food for thought for anyone else thinking of doing this mod.

Wild72 said:

Since no-one seems to offer a kit to provide lighting behind the reflective panels on the back of the V46, (Yes, I know Admore and Givi both offer something for the four little dots), I decided to try and fudge something together on my own.

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Excellent write-up!

Thats pretty awesome! I'm an electrical idiot when it comes to resistors/diodes etc, do you have any pics of how you wired that up to the rear brake light wires? Also what wires did you use in the headphone cord? I know there is a positive and negative for each ear, how do you connect those up? Thanks!

Very nice work. Ihave not seen those LED strips before. I can think of a lot of uses for them.

I have only one minor suggestion, it looks like the place you mounted your plug may cause a problem if you forget to unplug it before you pull the trunk off.

automag928 said:

Thats pretty awesome! I'm an electrical idiot when it comes to resistors/diodes etc, do you have any pics of how you wired that up to the rear brake light wires? Also what wires did you use in the headphone cord? I know there is a positive and negative for each ear, how do you connect those up? Thanks!

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The wiring diagram shows how they are connected to both the rear brake and the tail light wiring. The loom runs along he left side under the rear seat. I cut into the loom and soldered the diodes onto the yellow and blue wires. There is also a black wire in the loom, which I used for the ground. Everything was heat shrinked, then taped back up. Would look factory if I had used black tape, instead of the white that was all I had. That's about the only thing I didn't take a photo of.

(I'm thinking about possibly adding in some more LED's for turn signals, so I'll be sure and take some pics of that splicing).

As for the headphone cord, the one I used (El Cheapo), only had two conducotrs and a shield. Shield was used as the ground, and the red wire, which went to the tip on the plug, carries the 12V. The resistor betwen the diodes is what varies the voltage, and therefore the brightness, of the LED's.

Geezer said:

it looks like the place you mounted your plug may cause a problem if you forget to unplug it before you pull the trunk off.

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No one could possibly be that dumb, could they???

I remember when I first started using the Autocom, and the number of times I tried to step away from the bike while still connected.

I left plenty of slack on the wire which is tucked up under the rear seat, and it can be easily pulled out without removing the seat, and hopefully I will see it before it breaks, or rips the splice apart. I rarely ride without the trunk these days, as it is the only place where I can carry my laptop, so it shouldn't be a huge issue for me.

I am contemplating using something like a two-way radio charging cradle, robbing the contacts and somehow mounting that arrangement to the underside of the trunk, for a completely plug and play setup, but I haven't worked out how it would remain weatherproof when the trunk is not installed.

I realize that this is not the perfect setup, but I am hoping that it inspires someone with more knowledge and skils than me to come up with an even better arrangement. I appreciate the positive feedback so far, and as always am open to suggestions on how it could be improved.

Pete