Phil's 2014 (neww) DARTH Mods

[Phil]

I have a friend that is an electrical engineer with a specialty in battery management systems. His patented system is used at cell sites around the world and go so far as to predict which battery or cell will fail and when. It is a phenomenal tool. You can read more here... www.btechinc.com

This is not a BTECH solution . But this is a similar solution minus a bit of battery science. This guy measures not only voltage (lots of products do that) but it tells you the status of a battery's condition. The forward charging current, the discharge current (like when I run all of the LEDs with the engine off), and time left on the battery in discharge. To do all of this, and leave an electrical system intact, you need one of the things in the middle above the battery- a smart shunt resistor. It is in series with the ground as you can see. The smarts measures the current across the shunt, yet the shunt has ZERO effect on the starting and operation of the bike.

The grey wire connects the shunt to the meter in the dash (pic later). All of it mounts nicely above the battery. The solution is the BMV700 from Victron Energy-- http://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors/bmv700/
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Here's a view of the meter in one of it's 8-10 metering modes-

[Phil]

Roger, you may be one of the few that will notice that in the pic, it is wired wrong. I fixed it before bed time. Can you tell what's wrong?

[nikki.ullis]

Phil i'm telling my other half on you. My gobo purchase in the next few days is ALL YOUR FAULT! LOL!

I almost got my LEDs installed how I want them, came on the forums to see if you had anymore good ideas.
you never disappoint sir!

[Phil]

Phil i'm telling my other half on you. My gobo purchase in the next few days is ALL YOUR FAULT! LOL!

I almost got my LEDs installed how I want them, came on the forums to see if you had anymore good ideas.
you never disappoint sir!

Happy to be your excuse

[MarkLawson]

Phil, I must have found what was wrong because when I looked at the picture, I kept repeating to myself,

"That's just WRONG...That's just WRONG...That's just WRONG..."

[Phil]

You are giving me way too much credit Phil.
I don't have a clue and yes I did stare at it for quite a while.
Wiring is an art form best not overthought.

My education is in cypher codes so if you want to break into the Dish Network I'm your guy
If you want your LEDs to light, better find someone who can tell an anode from a cathode.


As long as the red wires are connected so they are carrying positive current and the black wires look like they are negative juicers it looks copacetic to me.

HA!!! We need to hang out more Roger!
The answer is that there are still two negative device wires attached to the battery, bypassing the shunt. In FACT, one of those two is the negative side of the added Fuzeblock that feeds all of the LEDs! So, the shunt would never see the LED load.

BYW- I posted on FB, IF YOU ARE THINKING OF PUTTING THIS THING ON A 2014, DO NOT MOUNT IT WHERE I SHOW IT!!! I had measured and looked a lot, but when I was fitting the frunk back in place, it ends up that the shunt sticks out about 1/2" too far. I'm going to move it to one of 3 alternate places that fits best and that is safe (electrically). I've already moved it, and the frunk now fits, but I want to try a couple of things. I'll re-do the pics.

[Phil]

Phil, I must have found what was wrong because when I looked at the picture, I kept repeating to myself,

"That's just WRONG...That's just WRONG...That's just WRONG..."

Oh Mark.......

[Phil]

Oops. I measured and looked, and it didn't fit when fitting the frunk back on. So... Plan B.

Here are the pics and some notes.......

the family shot-


A close up of the shunt in place. It is mechanically stable, but I added industrial Velcro to add stabilization. It is velcro'd to the metal battery clamp. BTW- there is no fear having the bare lugs. This is the negative side of the battery that is at the same potential as the frame. As an installation note, you will need to open up the hole in the lug on the right, in the pic. This is the one that comes with the bike and is connected to the frame. I used a reamer to make it fit the very large bolt that you see on the shunt. Test it often as you ream it out for fit. Reason- the needed hole is JUST a little smaller than the lug!



Closeup of the connection from the battery to the 'input' of the shunt.



Closeup of the 'output' of the shunt. Notice the addition of the braid sheath over the ground. This is for safety only, in case of an accident. It will help keep the positive and the negative wires from coming in contact. On a normal every day use, it will be 100% fine.






Here you can see the meter in place and operating.


This is a view with the frunk back on and the battery access hatch off. You can see the bottom of hte shunt. Once it is all in place and setup, there's really no need to access it. I just wanted you to see where it landed.

[gromitdaddy]

Hi,

If I may ask what is this on top of your dash? Been looking through the posts, but see nothing.

[Phil]

image.jpg

Hi,

If I may ask what is this on top of your dash? Been looking through the posts, but see nothing.

The pic above is the device... I had to do some mod to it to mount it with the RAM system. It's ok, but now that I have the spectacular meter that does SO much, I wanted a different solution. This one is on the way.....

image.jpg

[Phil]

Lights... Lights... Lights....

image.jpg

[Ben Burped]

you sir are an inspiration to my love of LEDS...you are also the bane of my other half's bank accounts existence..lol

I started a few weeks ago on the LEDS for my bike. Unfortunately she has been a clever girl and has been very difficult for me. I am not a good soldering person so i went with butt connectors. Now my back lights dont display red bc i think the connector didn't get a good contact. Now to tear the bike back apart and redo all the wiring and learn to solder better. Also had issues with LED strips sticking where i wanted them so i used hot glue...mostly worked....except that one strip to light up the radiator fan which promptly melted after a 30 minute ride.

There are wonderful products made by 3M and others that tap your existing wiring harness without cutting, stripping, soldering, and God forbid, putting black tape on your wiring harness.

[nikki.ullis]

Oh I've learned a lot since starting this project. I've taught myself how to solder the wires together, I did give up an have a company solder wire leads to my strips and have jst connectors and then bought those connectors to solder onto my "wire bus harness " which runs down both sides of the bike and the connectors allow each plastic panel to be removed and the jst connectors unplugged so they come away cleanly. I also striped the over spray off the back side of the panels where the leds were going, used 120 grit sand paper to slightly rough up the surface and 3m adhesive promoter. Those leds aren't coming off ever again
Now if I could solve my controller issues I'd be good. Remote doesn't like to send signal to the controller or the controller doesn't like hearing it. Replaced batteries in remote didn't help, next step is shortening power leads from battery to controller and see if that helps.

[Jedye]

Stunning! I'm a huge fan of LEDs and your theme rocks!

Of course, my avatar doesn't really care for it though.

[Phil]

Oh I've learned a lot since starting this project. I've taught myself how to solder the wires together, I did give up an have a company solder wire leads to my strips and have jst connectors and then bought those connectors to solder onto my "wire bus harness " which runs down both sides of the bike and the connectors allow each plastic panel to be removed and the jst connectors unplugged so they come away cleanly. I also striped the over spray off the back side of the panels where the leds were going, used 120 grit sand paper to slightly rough up the surface and 3m adhesive promoter. Those leds aren't coming off ever again
Now if I could solve my controller issues I'd be good. Remote doesn't like to send signal to the controller or the controller doesn't like hearing it. Replaced batteries in remote didn't help, next step is shortening power leads from battery to controller and see if that helps.

Hummm.... Some of the remotes HAVE been known to be DOA. I know that you know to eliminate as many variables as possible. If it is easy, pull the controller... Hook it straight to a 12v battery, connect a couple of LEDs to the controller, then try the remote. That's as simple as it gets. If it fails... Take it from there....

[Phil]

Ok... Last mod done today. I wanted a 52mm round clock/thermometer combo to go in the hole where the fuel gauge is. But alas.... I cannot find one. So... I found a rectangular one. I mounted it in a small plastic project box and away we go.....

[Phil]

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...E8FB5B2B61.mp4

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...0A229D86E0.mp4

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...43861F7B33.mp4

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...C56223EC9C.mp4

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...B1B03EAAB5.mp4

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...9BD72A13E5.mp4

[Phil]

I had a PM asking about what type connectors I use for all of the lights. The answer is- is depends

It depends on the electrical load, the stress the connector will undergo, and a few other things.

There are SEVERAL things happening on the frunk.

1. RGB lights matching the Zone2 upper level LEDs
2. Turn Signals in the air scoops
3. White DRLS in the air scoops
4. Lighted SpyderIchthus emblem in the front middle of the lid
5. Lights in the interior of the frunk
6. High Beam 'light the sides of the highway' assist LEDs.

To do all of that, I added several connectors so the lights could remain on the frunk if it is removed.

This is the frunk side of the connectors-


This is the bike side--


And this is with the two mated and ready to go--


The grey square one that says RGB is a Deutsch type connector-- http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_90hp4yfikv_b

They are rugged and highly water and dirt proof. It takes a bit to figure out how to assemble them, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy.

The one that looks more like a 4 pin trailer connector is just that. I used it for the higher current that the high beam assist lights draw. It is a bit of overkill, but I'm set for and future super burn your retinas lights

[revjvegas]

I've had a few emails and FB PMs with questions. I'm traveling so I don't have all of the answers with me......

But from the questions, I decided to go ahead and post a pic that previously I said I didn't want to post. I'm not really happy at the organization as you see it in the pic. It was in process, and I'm leaving room for one more controller. AND, I made them where they each are removable for maintenance. The larger unit in the lower left is the WiFi hot spot device. With it, I can use the iPhone app to controll the lights within about a 300' radius. The hotspot is USB powered so I installed a 12vdc - 5vdc USB power converter (hardwired). It has a spare USB 2amp outlet so I've set it up for the future.

Here's all of the LED controllers....


All of the wires enter and exit from the upper left of the saddlebag. I drilled about a 3/4" hole there.It's exposure to wet is very low. This shot does give a good view of the while LED illuminating the bag.

Thanks Phil!
Project has begun...
IMG_1788.jpg

[M109Dreamer]

Man I would need to see your Spyder in person and take tons of pics. I would love to be able to do half of what you have done to our Spyder. Some of your stuff is way over my head. Look great!

[Phil]

Thanks Phil!
Project has begun...
IMG_1788.jpg

LOVE it RevJVegas!! I'd love to see it in person if you find your way north on 59

[Phil]

Man I would need to see your Spyder in person and take tons of pics. I would love to be able to do half of what you have done to our Spyder. Some of your stuff is way over my head. Look great!

Thanks so much! Darth and Psycho (old Darth) will be at Spyderfest 2015!

[M109Dreamer]

Thanks so much! Darth and Psycho (old Darth) will be at Spyderfest 2015!

We have always wanted to go to SF but its a bit far. Would require quite a few days off to make it there and back. One day I hope.

[revjvegas]

LOVE it RevJVegas!! I'd love to see it in person if you find your way north on 59

Had to rush to put all the plastic back on so we could take it to LA for Thanksgiving.
I'll be putting her back up on the rack after xmas so I can finish what I started...adding the RGB, driving LED's etc. But it worked great with the existing single color LED's I have on it now. I really like how the isolator works; now there's no worry of killing the starter battery.
Need to get it wrapped up in time for the Spyder's on the Bayou event in March, and also make it to SF in April.

I'll let you know once I get to a "done" point , then maybe we should see about getting a few of the other H-town ryders together for an evening Sonic run or something.

[Phil]

I'll let you know once I get to a "done" point , then maybe we should see about getting a few of the other H-town ryders together for an evening Sonic run or something.

Sounds excellent! Looking forward to it!!