New bike with LED accents and no switch?

[BYEOFCR]

I just took ownership of an 08 Busa last week and in my Saturday morning clean up I discovered that the bike has been set up for LED accent lighting from the front fender all the way back to the tail. The problem I am having is that there is not switch to be seen anywhere. In trying to figure this out I have also pulled the seats off to see if the lights were originally hard wired to the battery. Well, with checking the battery it looks to me like the LEDs are indeed still wired to the battery and the 3amp fuse is good as well.Without completely tearing the bike apart I noticed that the power and ground wires that are coming off f the battery are going to a black box approximately 4"x2"x1" but the box is attached to the outside of the storage compartment between the tail plastic and the storage container in the tail. In seeing the box and still not finding a switch anywhere I am guessing that the LEDs are controlled via remote, of which I do not have. So, my question is does anyone else know if my theory of the LEDs being remote controlled might be true, and along with that what is the best way to go about figuring out who makes the remote so I can get a replacement, since the dealer that I bought the bike from did not have a second key or a remote for said LEDs. Any help that can be given on the subject is appreciated.

 

[BigRod1300]

THat box....is prob the remote relay. SO you have no key fob for it? You can remove that box and install a switch.

 

[Synista]

Check to see if there's a company name on the box and if so; search it online!

 

[BYEOFCR]

I went back to see if I could locate a company name and without breaking the tail down to get to the box I can't see any brand name on the box.

As for removing the box and wiring a switch in its place, can I do that without having to worry about damaging the LEDs? I was thinking that the box might also be a step down for the power going to the LEDs.

Either way, it looks like I will have to pull the tail apart tomorrow.:huh2:

 

[BigRod1300]

You can :
A. Get a new remote relay with Key Fobs... ( $ 50-100 ) ?
B. Remove it and install a switch. The hot and ground from bat is the power. Out of the box you will see your hot and ground wires going to the LEDs. Ground the LED to the In box ground. THe LED hots to a switch, switch to inline fuse, then to HOT from battery. YOu can run the hot from battery longer if needed to place you switch where you want it.

Pulling the tail is easy..takes me under 5 min. THought I have done it several times now.

 

[BYEOFCR]

Yeah, I am sure that it can not be too difficult to pull the tail section apart, I just dread the initial tear down for the off chance that I have problems getting something to go back correctly. I am thinking that a switch will be my best bet right now because I think that I will eventually upgrade the LEDs to extra lights because I am not sure that the small 4 light LED pods will be bright enough for me. If all goes well I will know just how bright the LEDs are by this time tomorrow.

 

[BYEOFCR]

So, I got up early and tore the tail section apart to try to figure out what is going on with these LEDs. Well upon further inspection after getting the tail apart, which was a very easy task I might add, I discover that there is not just one controller box, but two. The second box is smaller and is on the left side of the rear storage compartment. The smaller box looks like it might be some sort of converter because it has a power and ground in and a power and ground out, all of which were not connected to anything as I could see the ends of the wires, other than the main power leading to the box. After spending a fair amount of time looking for the other ends that these three wires should have been attached to I have pretty much given up and considering how easy it was to remove the rear tail section of the bike I now think that I am going to completely pull the existing LED mess off of the bike and go with something bigger and brighter.

Anyone got any good suggestions for the most durable, brightest kit out there?

 

[DEMMYM]

Lets just hope all those boxes arent a remote start and the seller plans on giving you a visit in the middle of the night.

 

[BYEOFCR]

That has also crossed my mind, especially since I only got one key for the bike. The good thing is that Someone would have a super hard time getting into my garage in order to get to the bike and the other good thing is that I bought the bike from a dealer and not from the previous owner. From what the dealer told me the bike originally came from somewhere up North, so I doubt that I will be visited by the previous owner... unless the dealer decides to come get it with the spare key. Either way, the control box is now completely disconnected from anything just because I am not 100% sure exactly what it is controlling.

 

[illuminati]

I make LED kits that are, what I think, the brightest out there. I have different control modules that can flash, strobe, pulse, fade and stay on steadily. The price is $300 installed with a remote, it's also GUARANTEED for life. If you want the remote that does all the above mentioned options it's an extra $60.

Send me a PM and let me know. Acouple of members have seen my bike in person and have seen my LED kit.

 

[pOrk]

Just get LED strips, and stay away from the key fob style remotes as they burn through batteries and look dumb imo. Hidden toggle / button switch is the way to go. Check out LEDs - underbody kits, cathodes, flexible LED strips, dome lights for led strip installation tips, and search google for best prices. 300 installed is not a terrible price, but not installed its very steep.

 

[BYEOFCR]

Illuminati- $300 installed is not a bad price, but the problem is that you are a little too far away from me here in GA. Do you sell your LED kit separate?

pOrk-Are you talking about the key fob battery or the bike battery wearing out? I have had a variety of remote start and car alarm key fobs and most of the time the remote battery life has not been an issue. If it is the bike's battery I am not sure how remote vs. toggle switch would change the bike's battery life. Either way, I have a long list of things that I want for the bike so depending on the cost I will either leave the current lights off or do as you suggested and just hide a switch on the bike for the lights.

 

[Synista]

I've had the toggle switch under the tail section, near the seat and now I have the remote key fob and love it! I've had the remote style LED's for about year now and haven't had any battery issues! But there are alot different brands out there, that might burn through batteries! I like the fact that I can control all the multiple functions, standing away from the bike!

 

[BYEOFCR]

Yeah, weather permitting, I am going to try to take it to a local electronics shop over the weekend to see how much more they might know about the system than I do. I would like to keep the remote option if it won't give me problems, but would not be too saddened by having a hidden switch on the bike instead, because with either solution I will have working LEDs instead of hibernating LEDs.

 

[pOrk]

I installed a few sets of lights that came with those key fob deals with nothing but a single button on them and those watch battery's seemed to last less then a month. I have no idea where the kits come from, they get dropped off along with the bike for me to install them.