HID Wiring (Headlight on ONLY when engine is running)

[romoses4]

My motorcycle headlight turns on whenever the key is on, regardless of whether the engine is running. There's a momentary cut when the starter button is depressed but other than that, they're always on. This kind of power cycling is hard in HID lights.

I haven't actually done this yet. It's just an idea that I plan to execute on my CBR600F4i when my HID projectors arrive next week. If anyone out there knows anything about electronics please don't hesitate to leave feedback. Thanks.

By the way, "IGN (+)" is power supplied only when the key is in the "ON" position

 

[shrtrnd]

I believe, that they're designed that way.
I don't know if it's a legal requirement wherever you bought the bike, but I've heard
that anytime, day or night, you ride, it's supposed to make you more visible to other
traffic. It's possible, just like a lot of previous-rental cars that are later sold to the
public, that the headlight/s is/are wired to turn-on anytime the vehicle is on.

 

[shrtrnd]

p.s.
You're going to get beat-up by the moderators for posting this in several other
categories.
Anyway, the law where you bought the bike might have required it's condition.

 

[romoses4]

Thanks for the reply. I think maybe you misunderstood the wiring diagram. The lights will not function unless the engine is running. It's not possible to ride a motorcycle or drive a car (unless it's a hybrid) without the engine running. Federal DOT and state and municipal vehicle lighting requirements really only apply to a vehicle that is being operated, not one that is sitting in a parking spot (good thing, because you'd need one hell of a battery to keep your lights on all the time). That's just the way Honda wired it. My friend has an '09 kawasaki ninja 650r (california legal) and kawasaki wired it so the lights don't come on until after the engine is started. Also, most cars that use HID projector low beams do not activate the headlight circuit until after the car is started. That being said, I'm not so much curious about to the legal aspects of this modification as I am about it's functionality.

 

[(*steve*)]

You're going to get beat-up by the moderators for posting this in several other categories.

Yeah, we're going to take him out behind the bike sheds, and boy will he get a whopping!

I've deleted the other posts and I hope romoses4 doesn't post multiple threads like this again.

Fortunately, in this case, there were replies in only a single thread. Romoses4, posting multiple times doesn't get you more or better responses, it just wastes people's time if two or more decide to reply in different threads.

One cure for your problem might be to have a delay in turning on the HID lights of a couple of seconds. If you turn the bike on quickly, the lights will not cycle during this time. I can't think why you might turn the ignition off then on whilst riding at night, but if you do, this will also have you riding blind for a few seconds -- nasty.

 

[davenn]

Thanks for the reply. I think maybe you misunderstood the wiring diagram. The lights will not function unless the engine is running.

Thats NOT what you said in your first post ....

My motorcycle headlight turns on whenever the key is on, regardless of whether the engine is running.

so which is it ?

Dave