Rear turn signal project

I had been reading on the Star Touring & Riding forums and the Delphi Forums to find what different things folks have been doing make their bikes more visible from the rear. A number of riders had added Electrical Connection's rear turn signal conversion kit which adds a LED circuit board inside the existing turn signal lens. They reported good results.

I also like the looks of the 2004 Star series with the clear lens on the turn signals and tail light. So I went looking for a clear lens and amber/yellow bulbs. I ended up purchasing them from Sophie's Motorcycle Works. The bulbs are 1156As and 1157As.

Once all the pieces arrived the fun began.

Since I was replacing all the lens, I took the opportunity to replace all the screws that hold the lens into the holder. Good idea as some of them had their heads almost stripped (why do people put back in stripped heads!!).

Before and After

Click on picture for a larger view.

	Before
	After

The Kit

The Electrical Connection kit comes with all the pieces in one nice bag. Be sure and take an inventory of the parts. You will need wire cutters, wire stripper, and wire crimper.

	In the bag!
	The "loose" parts

Assembling the turn signal components.

Disconnect the wiring from the mustache and remove the mustache from the fender as you will need to pull the signals and wiring off the mustache to connect and feed the EC signal wires through the mustache to each of the turn signal holders.

	The back side of the lens with the LED circuit board install
	Looking at the front side of the lens
	The mustache off the fender and the turn signals unattached
	Pull the turn signal bulb and lens holder from the mustache
	Slide the rubber sleeve over the EC wire which will be feed to the turn signal.
	The EC signal wire goes between the housing and the bulb holder. This is a tight fit and I used some lubricant one the bulb holder to get it to slide back in the housing with the EC wire there. Be sure and leave slack in the wires so you can attach them to the circuit board. To get the EC wire through the stem between the mustache and the round part of the turn signal, I worked the Yamaha wires flat within their sleeve and worked the EC wire the sleeve and the metal tube.
	To get the EC wires from he lens assembly, I attached a cord to the existing turn signal wires at the center of the mustache and then pulled the wire thought the mustache. I then attached the EC wire to the cord along with the turn signal wires and feed the wires back through the mustache.
	When you mount the lens (with the LED), remember to put the lens trim and gasket over the EC signal wires before connection the wires to the circuit board!

Re-attaching the mustache to the fender and reconnecting the wiring

Once the mustache and turns signals are put back together, it's time to mount it back on the fender. I would recommend that:

You do not connect the "Tee connectors" to the bike's harness wires until the mustache is back in place and you can see how you're going to organize the connectors to get the 4 (left and right turn, running, and brake), the Electrical Connection wires and harness wires to lay flat in the space available. It's tight!!! This is especially true if you have a "backoff" license plate holder like I have.
If you are connecting other devices also, I would recommend that you connect them to the Electrical Connection wires. My "backoff license" was put on before I purchased the bike. Whoever connected it used too small "tee taps" which broke too many wires and as I was working with the harness, the harness wires broke (all three connections). Fortunately there was enough wire to fix the problem. When I fix the problem, I attached the Electrical Connection wires to the bike's harness and the "backoff" wires the EC wires.

	The harness unplugged
	The EC wiring and harness connected
	Boy, it's tight
	Connecting the "backoff"
	It works!!

And the results

The pictures don't do it justice! Riders behind me report a lots of light when in the shade or at night. In direct sunlight, it still is better than before.

	Running - sun in the background
	Running only
	Braking
	Turning left

To see the VStar 1100 Custom version, click here

Page created by: roadstar@ix.netcom.com
Changes last made on: Wednesday October 05, 2005