Hazard lights, operating while ignition is off?

Steve398

... another retired Black Rat.
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I've often wondered the use of hazards that only operate when the ignition is on.... I would accept that the logic may be that you don't want someone to push the switch whilst you are away from the bike and run your battery down, but if I have a problem and need to leave the bike in a vulnerable position with the hazards on whilst I seek help away from the scene I certainly don't want to leave the key in the ignition!

I'm having some tidy up work done on the wiring in the near future and thought about asking about installing an on/off live feed switch inside the lockable glove box so that I can run hazards on/ignition off somehow... I don't know if this is feasible at this stage until I speak with the Electrics bloke. BTW I'm also running LED indicators which may help with the limited battery life if I ever get it sorted.

So, has anyone found a way round this?
 

wjbertrand

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Yeah, not much reserve in the ST's battery. Just leaving my GPS on overnight killed mine once. Now wired to a switched circuit. Maybe if all the bulbs were changed to LEDs?
 
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Steve398

Steve398

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Yeah, not much reserve in the ST's battery. Just leaving my GPS on overnight killed mine once. Now wired to a switched circuit. Maybe if all the bulbs were changed to LEDs?
>>I'm having some tidy up work done on the wiring in the near future and thought about asking about installing an on/off live feed switch inside the lockable glove box so that I can run hazards on/ignition off somehow... I don't know if this is feasible at this stage until I speak with the Electrics bloke. BTW I'm also running LED indicators which may help with the limited battery life if I ever get it sorted.<<

:D The bike is totally LED bulb(ed), even the H4 headlights.

To leave the key in the ignition would also invalidate the theft insurance, but given the choice of a wrecked bike, a stolen bike or a flat battery...
 
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JQL

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Turn hazards on. Switch off ignition, hazards should stay on...
 

thumperjdm

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My Triumphs will operate like that, but I don't recall the ST1300's hazards staying on if the ignition is turned off. I don't believe the ST has the electronics to allow this.

And regarding your fears about someone else turning the switch on, the hazards only continue to work if you activate them, then turn the ignition off and remove the key. Once you've turned them off from this sequence, they can't be turned back on again unless you insert the key and turn the ignition back on.
 

Uncle Phil

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I wired 4 ways on my ST1100s to do that (they didn't come with 4 ways over here)- I had to have a diode to 'block' the backflow of the circuit. Probably could jump a fused hot directly from the battery to the input side of the 4 way switch on the ST1300.
 
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oops wrong spot....

my first post bypassed the blinker and would be on all the time.
Sorry, caught my mistake when I was documenting the quick hyper flash mod in another thread.

update now includes the blinker

Cut the switched power wire red/green[St1300A] at the blinker relay.
Must be done at the relay because the red/green wires power other circuits. Do not try to go back to the fuse block..

Insert a double pole single throw switch.
Hook the center pin of the new switch to the blinker wire and switched power side to one edge terminal.
The other edge terminal hook a new wire to a "in line" fuse (10 amp) then run it back to the + side of the battery.

mount switch in a hidden safe spot.....

See attached updated schematic. This modification will allow the turn signals to work as well giving you twice the run time with only one light flashing front and back...

HazardSW3.jpg

My switch back leds run about (.160 amps ) x 4 leds = (.64 amps) but if they are flashing at 50% then we are back to (.32 amps average).
11 amp hours divided by .32 amps will kill a full fresh battery in 34 hours... so at 50% battery capacity remaining would be 17 hours..... to be safe get help in 8 hours.....

incandescent
11 amp hours divided by 3.2 amps will kill a full fresh battery in 3.4 hours..... good argument for going to LEDs...
 
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Steve398

Steve398

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oops wrong spot....

my first post bypassed the blinker and would be on all the time.
Sorry, caught my mistake when I was documenting the quick hyper flash mod in another thread.

update now includes the blinker

Cut the switched power wire red/green[St1300A] at the blinker relay.
Must be done at the relay because the red/green wires power other circuits. Do not try to go back to the fuse block..

Insert a double pole single throw switch.
Hook the center pin of the new switch to the blinker wire and switched power side to one edge terminal.
The other edge terminal hook a new wire to a "in line" fuse (10 amp) then run it back to the + side of the battery.

mount switch in a hidden safe spot.....

See attached updated schematic. This modification will allow the turn signals to work as well giving you twice the run time with only one light flashing front and back...

HazardSW3.jpg

My switch back leds run about (.160 amps ) x 4 leds = (.64 amps) but if they are flashing at 50% then we are back to (.32 amps average).
11 amp hours divided by .32 amps will kill a full fresh battery in 34 hours... so at 50% battery capacity remaining would be 17 hours..... to be safe get help in 8 hours.....

incandescent
11 amp hours divided by 3.2 amps will kill a full fresh battery in 3.4 hours..... good argument for going to LEDs...
:D Good man!!! :bow1: ...and now I will show my stupidity, will this work with the switchback lamps I have on the front? I appreciate that the white part of the switchbacks will only come on with the ignition.
 
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Yes this will work with the white /amber switchback on the front and the red /amber switchback (extra brake light) in the rear. It will only flash amber off amber off.
 

ST Gui

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spiderman said:
good argument for going to LEDs...
+1 Another consideration: how often might the front LEDs be useful in a parking hazard situation? If help is coming from the opposite direction of your travel you'd be easier to spot. But there might be situations where that's not applicable so just having the rear directionals flash could prolong the battery life. That's a "just a thought" thing though.

LEDs actually make this switch a practical farkle. The switch could be mounted under the seat or in the locked glove box reasonably secure from those who would be a bit hands-y. with LEDs in the turn signals and a fairly decent battery 8hrs or so would be enough. I hope!
 
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If you need to use flashers on a regular basis for extended periods you could use a bicycle flasher that runs on a pair of AA alkaline batteries. That way you are not impacting the life of your starter battery. I have done this a number of times on Search and Rescue operations... It also helps me find my truck, bike, or quad when I return later in the darkness in heavy fog....
 

STraymond

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If you need to use flashers on a regular basis for extended periods you could use a bicycle flasher that runs on a pair of AA alkaline batteries. That way you are not impacting the life of your starter battery. I have done this a number of times on Search and Rescue operations... It also helps me find my truck, bike, or quad when I return later in the darkness in heavy fog....

I have a battery-operated LED magnetic red flashing light that I would put on a steel plate atteached to my dash. I also have a 21 LED KnightRiderz light bar on the rear. This light is controlled by a remote, wireless switch activated by a fob on my keychain. I also activate this back and forth sequential light bar when riding in fog. I do not know how many amps the bar draws, so I can not calculate how long the bike's battery would last without the bike running.
 
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I've often wondered the use of hazards that only operate when the ignition is on.... I would accept that the logic may be that you don't want someone to push the switch whilst you are away from the bike and run your battery down, but if I have a problem and need to leave the bike in a vulnerable position with the hazards on whilst I seek help away from the scene I certainly don't want to leave the key in the ignition!

I'm having some tidy up work done on the wiring in the near future and thought about asking about installing an on/off live feed switch inside the lockable glove box so that I can run hazards on/ignition off somehow... I don't know if this is feasible at this stage until I speak with the Electrics bloke. BTW I'm also running LED indicators which may help with the limited battery life if I ever get it sorted.

So, has anyone found a way round this?
If you turn your key one more click clockwise past "on", Only the hazards work. Very useful.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
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Steve398

Steve398

... another retired Black Rat.
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West Sussex, UK
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If you turn your key one more click clockwise past "on", Only the hazards work. Very useful.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Thanks and appreciated... but the problem is that, if you have to leave your bike to go and get help or whatever, the ignition key has to left in the bike as it's locked in place.

Spidey, good man that he is, has worked out a simple wiring plan to allow me to turn the hazards on and remove the ignition key.
 
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