Hyper-Lites Installation

[Ken]

I am in need of some assistance. This evening I took the rear seat off and attempted to make some sense of the wiring in the rear of the bike. The two blocks for the turing signals are obvious, as is some sort of empty auxiliary block. The wiring block for the tail light is not obvious. And with my less-than-average electrical knowledge, the installation instructions for the Hyper-Lites is not very helpful.

If someone has the time, can I beg for some step-by-step instructions? Maybe this could eventually be an Article subsmission. If not, I am relegated to waiting for the delivery of my Service Manual and trying to make heads or tails of the wiring diagram. :o:

[Carl_T]

I took off the drop down black ABS portion of the rear fender and tapped into the brake lights right there by the taillight (from underneath). I forget the wire color (striped though). If no one else remembers first, I'll look it up again tomorrow.

I ran the hyper light wires from flasher etc. under the seat through back under the fender to tail light so they don't see the light of day. the only wires topside come out from under the grab bar/luggage rack assy. to the reflector bracket area (about 3 inches of wire showing and 75% hidden from most angles. You'd need to file a tiny slot for the wire to pass through without pinching. If you mount them elsewhere than the reflector attach point (using hardware angle brackets as posted somewhere else on this site do a search, there are photos), you gotta figure another way.

OH yeah, I bought some tune up electrical grease at an Auto Parts store for the connectors.

[NBA336]

Ken, here is a link from jeff4912 which describes the process and he has pictures.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2813&highlight=hyperlites

I also just put in my Hyperlites exactly like jeff4912, whom I want to thank. Since I have to take my back wheel off tomorrow due to a nail (1,800 miles on it), I will take some pictures and attach them tomorrow if I can. But, I will give you some instructions now.

I used a dremel tool to make the half moon slot for the wire, right under the passenger grab bar. When you take the seat off and after you take out the service manual and the toolkit, you still see a flat piece that seems to stop you from putting your wires down to the back lights area. Remember to take off your back license plate fender (4 screws holding it) Once you take that off, you can look up into the area of the brake lights and see the wires to each of the two bulbs.

Here are the instructions:

(1) Take off the black cover off your trunk area which is held on by 4 hex nuts. It where you would fasten any package or something. Right behind the rear passenger seat.

(2) Then, loosen that area which is held in place by 4 bolts. Two bolts are under the black cover and the other two are under where the back seat was. I just loosened them so I could lift up the cover a little to get the wires through and make the little cut for the wires.

(3) Take off the back fender that holds your license plate. There are 4 hex nuts, two just above the license to the left and right, and two in the rear wheel well. Once you take off that, you can look up and see your wires to your two back light bulbs.

(4)When you take out your manual and toolkit, there still seems to be a slanted piece in the back and it appears that you don't have access to getting your wires down to the brake light area. You will be feeding them down the right side of that piece (right side when sitting on the bike). You should see a fairly big black wound wiring piece going down there too. That is actually the wiring for you back lights.

(5) As per the Hyperlites manual and after getting your light wiring in under the back seat area, hook up the blue wires together (from your Hyperlights lights and flasher unit) and hook up your brown wires together using the little End connectors. They are the ones that have the little red round button.

(6)Then, run the black wire and the gray wire down the right side to your brake light area. I had a friend looking up in the brake light area so he could grab the wires as I feeded them down the side.

(7) I used the wiring to the right side brake lights since that was the area the I fed the wires. You will see them wound in black electrical tape. I undid that tape so I could separate the wires and get at them.

(8) Feed the black wire coming down, which is the ground wire, into the Tap-In connector first. Make sure you feed it to the end of the connector. Then, place the Green wire (ground wire) going to your brake light into the second slot. Fold over the connector to squeeze it in place. I had to squeeze pretty hard to make it snap into place.

(9) Then, feed the gray wire coming down, which is the brake light wire, into the Tap In connector. Again, make sure you feed it to the end. Then, place the Green with Yellow Stripe wire into the connector and close the connector flap over tightly. (The other striped wire that you will see is actually the tail light)

(10) Once you test the connection, you can place the "flasher" anywhere you want. I put mine under the lip just behind the back seat. If you reach in, you can feel a flat area that it will fit on.

(11) Tighten up everything and your off to the races.


Unlike Carl T., I just wrapped up the connectors at the brake light area with electrical tape. Everything else is out of sight and away from the weather.

Hope this helps..

[Ken]

Wow, thanks guys!

I will venture back into the rear of the bike this weekend and give it a try. I'm always amazed at the speed, thoroughness, and generosity of time the members here have for one another. I truly appreciate it.

I will report back when I've run through this.

[NBA336]

Ken, here are some pictures that I took this morning. I'm not sure they will help, but they may...
(1) This picture just shows the hex nuts on the trunk that you have to take off to get to the two bolts that you have to loosen to enable to feed the hyperlites through and make the cut in the trunk.
(2) Just shows where I mounted the hyperlites
(3) Shows the little cut that I made with the dremel for the wire to feed through
(4) Here you can see where I mounted the flasher unit. Also, you can see the gray and black wire going down beside the bike manual to the brake lights. Plus, you can see one of the round red connectors which I used for the blue and brown wires.
(5) This shows the other bolts that have to be loosened to lift the trunk a little. Also, you can see the flasher unit on the black frame.

I can only place 5 pictures on this email. I'll put a couple of pictures looking at the connection in the brake light area next.

[NBA336]

Here are two pictures looking up from the floor into the brake light area after you have taken the bottom part of the fender off. As you can see, I've wrapped the connections with electrical tape.

Good luck. Once they are on, they are great. Even though they are small, they really attract the drivers attention. I've had cars stop a car length away from the back of my bike. :)

[Ken]

This is great, Barry. Between you and Carl, I should be able to do this without problem - despite my electrical knowledge shortcomings :) I'll be sure to post a follow-up when all is done. Thanks SO much!

[Ken]

Finally finished up this farkle project this evening. Thought I would share my results. After mulling over where to place the Hyper-Lites, and how, decided I would remove the reflectors and mount them on some homemade machined aluminum hangers. They work great, look great, and between the tail light, spoiler light, and Hyper-Lites, I think I've reduced my chances of being rear ended considerably. Thanks to everyone for the input.

[texxter]

Is it possible or recommended to mount Hyperlites inside the tail light enclosure, velcroed, or something, so that they are not visible at all? I was thinking about this at least for the brake light. Any thoughts?

[Ken]

It's possible but I wouldn't say it is recommended since I believe it would reduce their effectiveness. Having them mounted higher and wider from the tail light increases your visibility from behind.

[rsadler221]

I am confused as usual :confused: . I trying to install the Hyperlites and comparing their instructions to Barry Alexander's instructions above. First of all there are 3 wires coming out of the flasher (red, black and gray). Barry does not mention using the red wire. Is it it not needed? Hyperlites says connect the red to the brake light positive and the gray to the tail light positive. Barry says connect the gray wire to the green and yellow brake light wire. Hyperlites say connect the gray to the tail light positive. What am I missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated :) .

Robert

[Coop]

Some hyperlites serve as tail lights too. They brighten when the brake is applied.

[pmorritt]

Ken, here is a link from jeff4912 which describes the process and he has pictures.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2813&highlight=hyperlites

I also just put in my Hyperlites exactly like jeff4912, whom I want to thank. Since I have to take my back wheel off tomorrow due to a nail (1,800 miles on it), I will take some pictures and attach them tomorrow if I can. But, I will give you some instructions now.

I used a dremel tool to make the half moon slot for the wire, right under the passenger grab bar. When you take the seat off and after you take out the service manual and the toolkit, you still see a flat piece that seems to stop you from putting your wires down to the back lights area. Remember to take off your back license plate fender (4 screws holding it) Once you take that off, you can look up into the area of the brake lights and see the wires to each of the two bulbs.

Here are the instructions:

(1) Take off the black cover off your trunk area which is held on by 4 hex nuts. It where you would fasten any package or something. Right behind the rear passenger seat.

(2) Then, loosen that area which is held in place by 4 bolts. Two bolts are under the black cover and the other two are under where the back seat was. I just loosened them so I could lift up the cover a little to get the wires through and make the little cut for the wires.

(3) Take off the back fender that holds your license plate. There are 4 hex nuts, two just above the license to the left and right, and two in the rear wheel well. Once you take off that, you can look up and see your wires to your two back light bulbs.

(4)When you take out your manual and toolkit, there still seems to be a slanted piece in the back and it appears that you don't have access to getting your wires down to the brake light area. You will be feeding them down the right side of that piece (right side when sitting on the bike). You should see a fairly big black wound wiring piece going down there too. That is actually the wiring for you back lights.

(5) As per the Hyperlites manual and after getting your light wiring in under the back seat area, hook up the blue wires together (from your Hyperlights lights and flasher unit) and hook up your brown wires together using the little End connectors. They are the ones that have the little red round button.

(6)Then, run the black wire and the gray wire down the right side to your brake light area. I had a friend looking up in the brake light area so he could grab the wires as I feeded them down the side.

(7) I used the wiring to the right side brake lights since that was the area the I fed the wires. You will see them wound in black electrical tape. I undid that tape so I could separate the wires and get at them.

(8) Feed the black wire coming down, which is the ground wire, into the Tap-In connector first. Make sure you feed it to the end of the connector. Then, place the Green wire (ground wire) going to your brake light into the second slot. Fold over the connector to squeeze it in place. I had to squeeze pretty hard to make it snap into place.

(9) Then, feed the gray wire coming down, which is the brake light wire, into the Tap In connector. Again, make sure you feed it to the end. Then, place the Green with Yellow Stripe wire into the connector and close the connector flap over tightly. (The other striped wire that you will see is actually the tail light)

(10) Once you test the connection, you can place the "flasher" anywhere you want. I put mine under the lip just behind the back seat. If you reach in, you can feel a flat area that it will fit on.

(11) Tighten up everything and your off to the races.


Unlike Carl T., I just wrapped up the connectors at the brake light area with electrical tape. Everything else is out of sight and away from the weather.

Hope this helps..


Was just checking out these lights. Saw them mounted on a Bimmer few day ago and was impressed with visability. Which model of Hyper lights did you install? Thanks again for the post.:bow1:

[NBA336]

As a fyi, I got the Universal Kit $55.95 (Two 8 LED modules, flasher, and hardware) from Hyperlites. This did not include a wire to use as a running brake light. I am assuming you have a kit that has a running brake light.

My lights stay off until I hit the brake, then they flash for 5 seconds and then go on solid. Rsadler221, I would guess you have a different kit than mine and have the running lights too. If you'd like, I can scan my installation sheet for you and email it to you for comparison purposes. Just PM me with your email address and I will do that tomorrow sometime since I have some R/C car races to attend tonight. (another great hobby).

Cheers,

[rsadler221]

Thanks guy for the the information. I had the Hyper-lites for awhile and forgot I had ordered the dual function lites. I hooked up all 3 wires and everything is working find. It didn't work the first time because I had not pressed the red dot connectors down far enough. A quick call to the Hyper-lites tech support and they reminded me to check the connectors and sure enough that was the problem. Their guy was real pleasant to talk to. I would also like to thank Barry Alexander and Jeff4912 for the posts of their installations. I love the lights. I also just completed the Powerlet right side install. I have caught the Farkle fever

Robert

[JellyRoll]

I just got and installed U32s. Ron, at Hyperlights, gave me the low down on wiring.

Outside of the Blue and Brown connections, the old models had two wires for brake only units ... gray and black. Now they have 3 wires: gray, black and red.

.......and they switched the brake wire color from gray to red, with gray now being a power source only lead to handle the intracacies of BMW wiring.

So everybody should, from now on, see 3 wires. The gray one will be power or power/running (if you got the running light option) (black or brown or something..the one left over after using green and green/yellow hehehe) and the red will be brake lights (green/yellow). The black on the hyperlight will always go to green on the bike (ground).

[brentster]

I just got and installed U32s. Ron, at Hyperlights, gave me the low down on wiring.

Outside of the Blue and Brown connections, the old models had two wires for brake only units ... gray and black. Now they have 3 wires: gray, black and red.

.......and they switched the brake wire color from gray to red, with gray now being a power source only lead to handle the intracacies of BMW wiring.

So everybody should, from now on, see 3 wires. The gray one will be power or power/running (if you got the running light option) (black or brown or something..the one left over after using green and green/yellow hehehe) and the red will be brake lights (green/yellow). The black on the hyperlight will always go to green on the bike (ground).

Thanks Jelly!! I was stumped on that red wire until I read this post. Now I have my first farkle!

[MAC_JD]

Ken, here is a link from jeff4912 which describes the process and he has pictures.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2813&highlight=hyperlites

I also just put in my Hyperlites exactly like jeff4912, whom I want to thank. Since I have to take my back wheel off tomorrow due to a nail (1,800 miles on it), I will take some pictures and attach them tomorrow if I can. But, I will give you some instructions now.

I used a dremel tool to make the half moon slot for the wire, right under the passenger grab bar. When you take the seat off and after you take out the service manual and the toolkit, you still see a flat piece that seems to stop you from putting your wires down to the back lights area. Remember to take off your back license plate fender (4 screws holding it) Once you take that off, you can look up into the area of the brake lights and see the wires to each of the two bulbs.

Here are the instructions:

(1) Take off the black cover off your trunk area which is held on by 4 hex nuts. It where you would fasten any package or something. Right behind the rear passenger seat.

(2) Then, loosen that area which is held in place by 4 bolts. Two bolts are under the black cover and the other two are under where the back seat was. I just loosened them so I could lift up the cover a little to get the wires through and make the little cut for the wires.

(3) Take off the back fender that holds your license plate. There are 4 hex nuts, two just above the license to the left and right, and two in the rear wheel well. Once you take off that, you can look up and see your wires to your two back light bulbs.

(4)When you take out your manual and toolkit, there still seems to be a slanted piece in the back and it appears that you don't have access to getting your wires down to the brake light area. You will be feeding them down the right side of that piece (right side when sitting on the bike). You should see a fairly big black wound wiring piece going down there too. That is actually the wiring for you back lights.

(5) As per the Hyperlites manual and after getting your light wiring in under the back seat area, hook up the blue wires together (from your Hyperlights lights and flasher unit) and hook up your brown wires together using the little End connectors. They are the ones that have the little red round button.

(6)Then, run the black wire and the gray wire down the right side to your brake light area. I had a friend looking up in the brake light area so he could grab the wires as I feeded them down the side.

(7) I used the wiring to the right side brake lights since that was the area the I fed the wires. You will see them wound in black electrical tape. I undid that tape so I could separate the wires and get at them.

(8) Feed the black wire coming down, which is the ground wire, into the Tap-In connector first. Make sure you feed it to the end of the connector. Then, place the Green wire (ground wire) going to your brake light into the second slot. Fold over the connector to squeeze it in place. I had to squeeze pretty hard to make it snap into place.

(9) Then, feed the gray wire coming down, which is the brake light wire, into the Tap In connector. Again, make sure you feed it to the end. Then, place the Green with Yellow Stripe wire into the connector and close the connector flap over tightly. (The other striped wire that you will see is actually the tail light)

(10) Once you test the connection, you can place the "flasher" anywhere you want. I put mine under the lip just behind the back seat. If you reach in, you can feel a flat area that it will fit on.

(11) Tighten up everything and your off to the races.


Unlike Carl T., I just wrapped up the connectors at the brake light area with electrical tape. Everything else is out of sight and away from the weather.

Hope this helps..

NBA336,

I used your directions today to install my Hyperlights. Everthing worked great!! Here are some pictures.

JD

[MAC_JD]

And more photos . . . .

JD

[MAC_JD]

And a few more photos . . . . .

JD

[MAC_JD]

One last one . . .

JD

[harleyeater]

I just had them installed at the dealer so I didn't have to get this frustrated:06biker::06biker::06biker::06biker:

[MAC_JD]

I just had them installed at the dealer so I didn't have to get this frustrated:06biker::06biker::06biker::06biker:

If you don't mind me asking, what did they charge you for the install?

JD

[bykerboy]

One last one . . .

JD

I mounted mine last night and did something fairly similar. I had purchased the Hyperlites license plate bracket but after seeing these other installs wanted to get my lights up higher and wider apart. I cut off the ends of the bracket, ground them to a nice radius, used a little black appliance touch up paint and mounted them behind the rear reflectors.

It turned out great!

[RideTN]

hey hyperlites folks, i am about to install the audiovox cruise in the next week or two and i have read several times something about it not working correctly if you have some type of extra brake light function. will the audiovox cruise control still work normally after installing hyper light brake lights tapping into the rear brake wire? thanks

[SilverBullet]

The cruise will work if you only add the hyper lights. As long as you don't brake the continuty of the + 12 wire to the rear light bulbs you'll be fine. If you brake the wire to add an electronic brake device of some sort, where the continuty gets broke, then you'll have problems and need a in a relay to fix the ground issue.