AdMore lights on a GiVi E55 Maxia

[MBMyer]

When I stepped down from touring on a GL1800 to simply commuting on the NSS300, I knew I would (nevertheless) want more storage space and attachment points for strapping cargo to the pillion. I chose a GiVi Maxia E55 bag with the brake light kit, passenger backrest, and luggage rack. The rack serves only as a place to hook bungee cords, etc. Everything has worked as expected except for the lights. They quit in short order.

Turned out, the problem with the lights was just the set screws that held the wires in place. They vibrate open and the thin-as-hair wired fall out. A little locktight solved that problem.

But the reflectors into which the lights are mounted are held in place with two little screws each, and vibration takes its toll. First, the left reflector cracked, let water in, discolored the white zone, and ruined the LEDs. Then, the right reflector simply fell off in traffic a few weeks ago, taking its LEDs with it.

I ordered new reflectors and searched the forum archives for better light kits. AdMore seemed to have the vote, so ordered their kit for the E55 Maxia.

There were problems. I have overcome them all, but it took from the 20th of last month (when the kit arrived) until today. One of the problems was GiVi’s, all the vibration destroying the reflectors. The other problems (LEDs not actually fitting into the mounting holes in the reflectors and the wiring harness not actually passing electricity from the bike to the lights) were AdMore’s. In order of fix, I made the LEDs fit and stay in place, then I mounted the reflectors more securely, then I made the wiring harness work. Today, I have brake lights and turn signals built into the Maxia E55 bag.

First, AdMore admits that there may be trouble fitting the LEDs into their holes, so they provide some 3M mounting tape to help. The LED arrays are mounted on a flexible circuit board that has to be bent into a stair-step shape to get the lights into their holes. I knew that the 3M tape would not be a permanent fix, but thought it would help in the short term while I did my weirdness. I cut strips to hold bits of the arrays’ bends to the back side of the plastic inside the reflectors. A few of the LEDS still wanted to pop out, so I used a bit of superglue to hold them more securely. Then I got out some epoxy putty, rolled it up into clay, and pressed it onto the back of the arrays to make them hold their shapes. I set it all aside and waited a day for the putty to cure.

Then, I got an old 12v adapter, fixed old bell wire into it to use as a temporary power supply, and tested the lights in place. They all worked.

So, I got out a tube of marine grade clear silicone, checked the mounting of the reflectors+LEDs, pulled them loose, slathered a bunch onto the back of the epoxy putty so as to secure it to the E55 case inside its hole, and ran a good bead along the edges of the reflector to make a nice seal and vibration damper. (Yes, I left some breathing gaps at the bottoms of the reflectors.) Then I affixed the reflectors to the bag using the two screws each supplied by GiVi. Then I walked away for a couple of days to let the silicone cure.

Then I got out my rigged 12v power supply and checked that the lights worked from where they clip into the wiring harness inside the bag. No problem. I then clipped the bag part of the wiring harness onto the lights, got out my Ohm meter, and checked to see which of the 5 pins on the harness connected to which bits of the LED arrays.

I should probably explain here that AdMore recognizes that GiVi bags are meant to be removed from the bike, so the wiring harness is split into two parts; one stays with the bag, the other part stays with the bike. A 5-pin quick-disconnect connector makes the connection between the two halves. The male half of the 5-pin mounts through the bag and comes with a little rubber gasket. There is a strong possibility that I used more silicone.

With the little key in the connector as a reference, count around the five pins in clockwise order.
1 right side red lights
2 ground
3 left side red lights
4 right side yellow lights
5 left side yellow lights

With everything inside the bag buttoned up, I got out my rigged 12v power supply and made certain that everything from the male 5-pin connector to the lights worked. It did.

I got out my Forza wiring diagram and the instructions for the AdMore wiring harness. Using Posi-Tap connectors (I already have some, but AdMore included more in the kit; much better than vampire taps, y’all, but not as good as solder) I made my connections.
AdMore Red to Forza Bl/Br
Admore Bl to Forza G/Y
Admore G to Forza LB
Admore Y to Forza O
Admore B to Forza G

I connected two halves of the 5-pin and tested the lights. Nothing.

I disconnected the two halves of the 5-pin and got out my multimeter, set it for low DCV, and probed the Posi-Taps with the AdMore harness in place. Tail light and brake light ran constant 12v when the circuit was activated. Both turn signals ran intermittent 12v when activated. And every wire was connected where it was supposed to be.

I ran all four steps of AdMore’s trouble-shooting guide. Still no joy. My conclusion: the circuit board in the middle of the wiring harness (bike side of the 5-pin, not bag side) was not passing voltage. My solution: simplify the harness, which I did today.

So, today, I took the bike half of the wiring harness off the bike, cut the circuit board out of the harness, did my pin-out to see which wires to solder to which (the wires running from the female 5-pin to the circuit board are different colors from those running from the circuit board to the Posi-Tap connections), soldered and heat-shrank each connection, slid a larger heat-shrink over the whole splice, and buttoned it up. I had connected the 5-pin together and after each solder made certain that running voltage to end of AdMore’s now-modified harness lit up the correct lights. In my harness, the splices went thus:
5-pin side R/Bk and R to Tap side Blue
5-pin side Y/Bk to Tap side Green
5-pin side Y to Tap side Y
5-pin side Bk to Tap side Bk

I now have a removable bag with functioning brake light and turn signals. No tail light, but I can live with that.

That should hold me for a while.


Hope your Divine Mercy Sunday is going well.

Michael

[davenowherejones]

I have a 2014 Forza 300 with the big ass GIVI top case also.

I looked at the led's and figured out they were a waste of time. Too small to be worth bothering with.

If you can't see my fat ass scooter then some little LED's probably won't make much of a difference.

Just for kicks I did put an ADMORE 6 inch combo strip above my rear license plate. I have no idea if it is worth the effort. I never follow myself. It is not very bright in the real world. Looked brighter in the store.

[canthai]

Am lucky where I live.
LED shops everywhere. Can make whatever you want in house.

[Mel46]

I know that this is the Forza site but on my PCX tailbox I added led lights that have now been installed for years without problems. However, when I originally purchased my Givi box I had also purchased their light kit. It connected by way of some kind of magnet once the box locked into place. It was horrible. When I hit bumps in the road it would disconnect. I finally pulled the connectors, ran wires through the hole in the tail rack I had drilled for the magnetic contacts, and used a waterproof secure connector that can be disconnected when removing the box. It leaves a small wire "tail" on the box when you remove it, but otherwise it works great and allowed me to add even more small led lights to the box when I wanted to. (Use automotive trim tape to secure extra led strips to the case or tail rack. It is meant to hold under extreme conditions. Amazon sells it. https://smile.amazon.com/3M-3614-15/dp/ ... 336&sr=8-2. )

Oh, and here is a helpful tip for use during an electrical install on bikes. The system is a 12 volt system but a 9 volt battery will work to test the wiring as you go. It is easier to handle and does not require any special equipment. Buy one of those 9 volt battery snap on connectors or take one from a broken toy. Use alligator clips on the attached wires to make it easier to connect the battery to the circuit you are testing. To make sure the battery and it's contacts are working correctly, have a misc. led strip light for testing purposes. I have mine attached to the box I keep my wire, lights, wire cutters, etc in. It goes where they go.

[you you]

I know that this is the Forza site but on my PCX tailbox I added led lights that have now been installed for years without problems. However, when I originally purchased my Givi box I had also purchased their light kit. It connected by way of some kind of magnet once the box locked into place. It was horrible. When I hit bumps in the road it would disconnect. I finally pulled the connectors, ran wires through the hole in the tail rack I had drilled for the magnetic contacts, and used a waterproof secure connector that can be disconnected when removing the box. It leaves a small wire "tail" on the box when you remove it, but otherwise it works great and allowed me to add even more small led lights to the box when I wanted to. (Use automotive trim tape to secure extra led strips to the case or tail rack. It is meant to hold under extreme conditions. Amazon sells it. https://smile.amazon.com/3M-3614-15/dp/ ... 336&sr=8-2. )

Oh, and here is a helpful tip for use during an electrical install on bikes. The system is a 12 volt system but a 9 volt battery will work to test the wiring as you go. It is easier to handle and does not require any special equipment. Buy one of those 9 volt battery snap on connectors or take one from a broken toy. Use alligator clips on the attached wires to make it easier to connect the battery to the circuit you are testing. To make sure the battery and it's contacts are working correctly, have a misc. led strip light for testing purposes. I have mine attached to the box I keep my wire, lights, wire cutters, etc in. It goes where they go.

9v battery tip is a good one

[MBMyer]

Well, the Admore 5-pin connector lasted just under a year. The plastic turned brittle & cracked, so it would disconnect itself at random times. And the two pins that passed current to the left side quit doing so. Even if I managed to get the connector to stay connected, only the right-side lights worked.

So, I ordered a marine-duty connector that arrived on Thursday, and today I made myself a couple of new harnesses.

The way I use my Maxia-mounted LEDs, all I need is a four-pin connector (Ground, Both Reds (brake only, not running lights), Left Amber, Right Amber). But what I could get in a hurry was a five-pin connector, so I kept the Left and Right Reds separate right up until the connection into the Forza wiring harness.

Lots of solder and heat-shrink tubing. Now waiting for the first batch of silicone caulk to cure before piling on more.

Many thanks to Mel46 for his 9v battery suggestion. All along the way, I tested by just holding the bare wires for how far along I had gotten to the posts of a 9v battery. So much easier than running an extension cord to an old 12v adaptor.

BTW, guys, if you happen to have any old bell wire hanging around from former phone installations, that stuff has four single-strand copper conductors that work great in a 12v system. If you don't have that available, look for old CAT 5e outdoor cable, which has four twisted pairs of single-strand copper. Eight conductors already harnessed and ready for you to put connectors onto the ends. Solder & heat-shrink are dead simple. Even an idiot like me can do it.

Pax et bonum,
Michael
who has only managed to put 15K on the clock in seven years