Topic: Electrical Whiz - I need your help

[Scrubs]

I am currently relocating some switches and controls into a small dash.
three of the switches are LED tipped which have three poles

GND
POS
LIGHT

In order for these switches to function "positive" goes to your power source positive,
"light" goes to the load positive, & the ground terminal - grounded.

I have been struggling with this for some days now not knowing where to take the pos feed from
to feed the LED's in the switches and voltmeter. I first took the feed from the positive starter button
wire but Things were acting up light the engine cranking when I turned of the lights etc...
How would you wire this up? Could you please draw in the blanks for me in the diagram.
I would be very apercietive as I have an MOT test coming up in a couple of days and am pulling
 my hair out with it.

If you click on the diagram it will open up bigger. Bike is a 1974 CB750

[Duke McDukiedook]

Looks like you've botched some of your wirings early on. What is the light function supposed to do, light up when the switch is on or constantly stay on?

You would basically want to follow all these wires from the switch to the headlight bucket and wire them from the bucket to the switches you set up (and probably bypass your switches on the handles). Without seeing how you have wired this thing I am not sure we can help you though. You would have to tell us what color wire is going to each switch.

[MJL]

I don't know if there is one already, but I would run a wire from the power distribution (fuse panel) to the headlight bucket, and then to your switches.

[Scrubs]

Hiya Duke, Yes the LED lights when the switch is engaged.

When connection is made to the positive and negative symbol
the led turns on when the switch is turned on but the switch
itself does not function: i.e the appliance doesent turn on.

When connections are made to the 'positive' and 'light' symbol
the switch functions normally but the led tip does not light when
switched on.

If I make a connection to the 'ground and the 'light' symbol the
LED tip stays constantly on. but wired as mentioned in previous post,
it functions correctly i.e the led lights and the accessory turns on
when the switch is in the on position.

As far as wiring I havent really changed anything Its the stock blue wire leading to the starter button
and headlight switch is just the two stock wires same for kill switch.

Only think I have connected at the moment is kill switch and starter button.

[Scrubs]

I don't know if there is one already, but I would run a wire from the power distribution (fuse panel) to the headlight bucket, and then to your switches.

Thanks. That would make sense in at least avoiding the danger on one switch interering with another I hope.
Which has been the case when I have tried taking a feed from the starter button. I was afraid If I took it
from the kill switch I would run into similar problems. It appears when the pos wire leading to the +
terminal to power the LED gets grounded when the switch is turned on.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Not sure if my K3 is a lot different than yours but my starter switch had a yellow/red stripe wire and a green/some other color going to it. I think my kill switch had a black/white stripe to it and a black wire.

[martino1972]

source power gets hooked up to the + pole from the switch
appliance      gets hooked up to the light pole from the switch
negative(or ground) gets hooked up to the ground symbol pole from the switch

[Scrubs]

source power gets hooked up to the + pole from the switch
appliance      gets hooked up to the light pole from the switch
negative(or ground) gets hooked up to the ground symbol pole from the switch

Thanks Martino, I managed to suss that out here:

In order for these switches to function "positive" goes to your power source positive,
"light" goes to the load positive, & the ground terminal - grounded.

What I am struggling with Is where to find the load positive for the switches and voltmeter.

[TwoTired]

Need more data on your switches.  Post a data sheet for them, part number, and manufacturer name.  Or, a picture of the terminals and the marking on them.

Kinda need a internal schematic to be sure.  But, I'm guessing that the GND terminal is only for the internal led use.  The internal switch contacts likely connect the  + terminal to the led terminal, which would make it a single pole single throw switch.

The headlight, for example would have its gnd terminal connected to green in the harness.  The switch would gnd would also connect to the harness green.  The plus terminal of the headlight (either white low beam or blue high beam) would connect to the LED terminal.  The black of the main harness would connect to the switch's + terminal.

I would check out the switch function with an ohmmeter, if I couldn't find manufacturer specifications for the switch.  You need to know which contacts make a connection when the switch is activated.

The switch should also have a rating for contact capability.  If it is rated from 1 amp, it's not going to last very long switching headlight current.

There are other ways the "LED switch could be wired internally.  It may not have the internal resistor for the LED and require an external one for the LED to survive.
My assumptions could be wrong, as I have no accurate description of the switch you are using.  There are thousands/millions of types of switches.  The fact that yours aren't ordinary leads to far more uncertainty about what application the switches were intended to placed.

You should also specify what controls you are eliminating.  So, we can tell what is left of the stock electrical routing.  You should also make a new wire diagram for your bike, as, after you're done, no one will be able to tell you what broke, as it will NOT have any kind of standard connectivity.


Cheers,

[Scrubs]

Thanks TT! here are the switches. they are rated at 25amp with built in resistor - the only info I have unfortunately.



I havent really made any changes to the stock wiring I have just moved the switches and buttons (and changed them)
from the ones that were on the grip controls. When I bought my bike it came with an aftermarket on/off switch
for the light mounted on the bars - the P/low/high control is still mounted on the grip - which I will keep there.
So I am not going to eliminate anything as such.

Does this look feasible?

[TwoTired]

Just by looking at the switch, I question whether the gnd terminal has an internal connection (Hopefully nothing other the the LED connection).   Sure you don't have a multimeter to test switch function/ internal connectivity before wiring the whole thing up?

You can do some basic tests beforehand before you commit to wiring the whole thing.  The idea is to build on a knowledge base before doing a moon landing.
 You have a battery, a light bulb, and some loose wire, right?  Test the theory with that first, if you don't have a multimeter (maybe even if you do).

Your starter button wires are wrong, though. Assuming you have a momentary normally off button, the two wires should be Y/R and G/R.

Your engine kill switch must be left on to run the bike.

I fear for your GPS.  The Black wire is very "noisy".  And, being unshielded, picks up High voltage ignition spikes, too.  While GPS units CAN filter this via power input conditioning, it's not guaranteed that it will, or that it will over the long term.  Hopefully, it's still under warranty when you connect it up.  Modern GPS unit internal components operate on 3V, with some components in the 1.1V range.

Cheers,