You could always shop for a crappy taillight assembly to take the plug and wiring from.
HELP LOCATING: 3P Honda Brake/Tail Connector mate
- Thread starter STRider
- Start date
Just checked, the socket is $9.25 at Ron Ayers. Plus some Dremeling, soldering, and a bit of JB Weld 
OP
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STRider
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No, NO, NOOOO!!!Just checked, the socket is $9.25 at Ron Ayers. Plus some Dremeling, soldering, and a bit of JB Weld
ST Gui
240Robert
I actually considered if it was possible to amputate the socket from a tail light assembly having found the male as a result of a spiderman post.
Is that $11 for both pieces and pins?
Just an FYI — I have a Strobes n More 3 LED strobe connected directly to a brake light terminal. When using the brakes the factory brake lights also pulse very slightly. It's not too noticeable because of the strobe (no surprise) but it tells me that there's a noticeable current draw the factory brake lights are really happy with. Maybe tapping the Whelan elsewhere might be better. Or use a relay? That's a bit much especially if there's a higher capacity feed somewhere.
It hasn't been enough to motivate me to find an alternate location. Just thought I'd pass that on as a heads up.
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STRider
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Yeah, me too for a hot minute before I tracked down the male connector. As soon as you factor in the cutting, carving, soldering, etc... to adapt the lamp socket for this purpose, you've already spent nearly the same amount on the socket vs. the connector and your result is a seriously inferior component. Plus, your modified socket will likely be significantly larger than the connector making it harder to package in the limited space in the tail section and will be more difficult to weatherproof, etc, etc... Honestly, there is only one correct way here people.
Is that $11 for both pieces and pins?
No. $11 for only the male connector (on the right) and extra terminals. Joe added the female connector to show its mate.
Useful observation @ST Gui . Are you running LED brake/taillamps or still OEM incandescent? LEDs should draw less current than with equivalent light output compared to incandescent. The later can vary noticeably with small fluctuations in voltage where LEDs are more tolerant. I've converted every lamp on my bike to LED and at the moment the only additional rear lighting are the OEM Givi LED lights for my Maxia V56 tailbox. And they're currently wired into the brake circuit.
The thing which triggered my quest for that connector is my plan to add the ST2 Brake Strober to that circuit and there's no location in the wiring harness to tap into a connector to the brake circuit other than at the lamp sockets themselves. But that strober shouldn't add any appreciable current draw.
Oh and USPS tracking shows my package from Cycle Terminal arriving on Monday. I'll let you know how many extra terminals he includes. I did buy three along with another $20 or so dollars of other parts. I can't say if that would affect Joe's 'terminal generosity'.
ST Gui
240Robert
An amusing turn of phrase! My brake/tail lights are LED. I never noticed if the factory incandescents also pulsed but thinking back they might have. But the LEDs are so responsive that the slower reacting incandescent filaments might have made any pulsing harder to notice. Maybe.
I found a page the purports to be ST-2 selling the unit for $34. I'm wondering if this is the same STS. Based on an inquiry made to them I've been getting emails offering it for $59+. There is a thread regarding the two sources but I can't find it.
One YT reviewer said there would be a newer smaller version. Another showed that when the bike was stopped with the engine running the brake lights would continue to flash. STS is happy to sell but is a tad light on info. Or maybe is just the late hour for me.
Did you get your connectors? How do they fit?
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OP
STRider
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Hey @northwestparider Yes, my connectors arrived and the non-Sumitomo male connectors appear to fit just fine on the female version included in my order.
My part of Oregon is experiencing its seasonal cold spell and my garage/workshop isn't heated. Plus my evenings three days a week and my Saturdays are filled with mentoring our high school team robotics team. I'm using my bike as my commuter while the road condition matrix of wet/dry, above/below freezing is not wet-freezing, so I don't want to disassemble the tailsection unless I can finish the job in a single evening. The ST1100 and VStrom lack a power terminal for my electric jacket, sooo.... Anyway, that's my excuse for not proceeding with my project at this point.
Questions for the audience: The Honda P/N for the turn signal and brake/tail sockets is the same, 33720-GZ9-003 . Therefore the turn signal sockets should be able to support a 'dual-filament' bulb if the missing terminal is added to the female connector which plugs into it.
I'd like to find an amber/red switchback bulb with the correct base to turn them into a turn signal (amber) / brake (red) light. I found this, but the base is wrong. https://www.amazon.com/GP-Thunder-Switchback-Color-Signal/dp/B0087U0PDW
When turning they'll illuminate amber and will appear amber through the amber lens. When braking they'll illuminate red and should appear red through the amber lens (simple color theory at work here). I know, when braking the actual brake lights and red illuminated turn lamps may not appear exactly the same color but could be close and I'm willing to try this out to see how this works.
So this is what I intend to design into my custom wiring harness:
I'm not worried about the OEM wiring supporting items 1 thru 4, but item 5 might justify a supplemental circuit and relay(s) to be safe.
I'm also looking for a cheap (read: FREE) software to create wiring diagrams. I found this, but the learning curve is steep for this ole dog. https://qelectrotech.org/
Stay tuned!
* Yet to be generally released product and impetus for this whole project!
My part of Oregon is experiencing its seasonal cold spell and my garage/workshop isn't heated. Plus my evenings three days a week and my Saturdays are filled with mentoring our high school team robotics team. I'm using my bike as my commuter while the road condition matrix of wet/dry, above/below freezing is not wet-freezing, so I don't want to disassemble the tailsection unless I can finish the job in a single evening. The ST1100 and VStrom lack a power terminal for my electric jacket, sooo.... Anyway, that's my excuse for not proceeding with my project at this point.
Questions for the audience: The Honda P/N for the turn signal and brake/tail sockets is the same, 33720-GZ9-003 . Therefore the turn signal sockets should be able to support a 'dual-filament' bulb if the missing terminal is added to the female connector which plugs into it.
I'd like to find an amber/red switchback bulb with the correct base to turn them into a turn signal (amber) / brake (red) light. I found this, but the base is wrong. https://www.amazon.com/GP-Thunder-Switchback-Color-Signal/dp/B0087U0PDW
When turning they'll illuminate amber and will appear amber through the amber lens. When braking they'll illuminate red and should appear red through the amber lens (simple color theory at work here). I know, when braking the actual brake lights and red illuminated turn lamps may not appear exactly the same color but could be close and I'm willing to try this out to see how this works.
So this is what I intend to design into my custom wiring harness:
- Add ST2 Strober* to the brake light circuit (REQUIRES LED lamps, btw)
- Add white LED strip to the tail lamp circuit to illuminate my license plate properly (I have red LED tail/brake lamps which cast red light on my license through the clear section below the red lens of the combination light. Not universally legal in the USA.)
- Add connector to support the LEDs in the lid of my Givi V56 tailbox with possible future support for turnsignal function in addition to brake and/or taillight.
- Add third terminal in the female connector to the turn signal socket to enable the turn signals to also operate as red brake lamps using a yet-to-be-sourced amber/red switchback with a 7443 base.
- "Future use" connector for other yet-to-be-added lights.
I'm not worried about the OEM wiring supporting items 1 thru 4, but item 5 might justify a supplemental circuit and relay(s) to be safe.
I'm also looking for a cheap (read: FREE) software to create wiring diagrams. I found this, but the learning curve is steep for this ole dog. https://qelectrotech.org/
Stay tuned!
* Yet to be generally released product and impetus for this whole project!
That "*yet to be released ST2 strober" looks a lot like the current units some of us have.
GS-100A. Preprogrammed pattern flash -> solid on. Non modifiable.
I've obvioulsy got mine setup a different way than you plan.
Is it a continuous strobe?
GS-100A. Preprogrammed pattern flash -> solid on. Non modifiable.
I've obvioulsy got mine setup a different way than you plan.
Is it a continuous strobe?
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OP
STRider
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Yeah, eerily similar.That "*yet to be released ST2 strober" looks a lot like the current units some of us have.
GS-100A. Preprogrammed pattern flash -> solid on. Non modifiable.
I've obvioulsy got mine setup a different way than you plan.
Is it a continuous strobe?
I don't recall if I looked at that and passed in for some reason when I was initially looking. I think it was before I went full-on LED and wasn't prepared for the LED conversion at the time. They're certainly cheaper than the ST2 product. I paid $34USD with free shipping for a single unit.
Of course now they half of what you paid!
Andrew Shadow
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OP
OP
STRider
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Thanks Andrew. I had seen this message a while ago before I embarked on my project. It's helpful to look back and see the path others have taken. Thanks!
I don't claim to have come up with this idea, I'm just sharing with the community how I plan to execute my solution.
Unfortunately, that LED switchback with the 7443 base is no longer available. My plan is to wire everything up in anticipation of when I find a 7443 lamp. And by using terminals and connectors I can easily rearrange the connections to to suit a brake or running light as desired.
I'm curious why they are seeking 6 at a time. Do you need a controller each bulb?
OP
OP
STRider
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Negative... only one brake flasher per vehicle if done right. The key is that the output to ALL the brake lights must pass through this flasher to ensure every bulb is synchronized.
I posted that listing more to illustrate the absurdity of the pricing coming about from cheap Chinese manufacturing.
Maybe you buy a six pack because:
You own a fleet of vehicles that you want to equip all at once.
or
These cheap-ass parts will fail in months and you'll need spares to swap out.
The whole point of this thread is my effort to intercept that brake wire at the tail/brake connector without cutting wires or using wire taps. Notice there is no single connector near the rear of the bike for the tail/brake and turn signal lights for the ST1300.
Unlike the ST1100 which has a convenient single Hitachi connector for all the lights right there in the tail section.
Andrew Shadow
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I would not recommend that all of the brake lights pass through a flasher module. If the flasher module fails, a dangerous scenario where there are no brake lights at all is the result.
I ran my centre high mount brake light and my top case brake light through the flasher module. I left my OEM brake lights untouched so that they do not run through the flasher module.
OP
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STRider
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Noted @Andrew Shadow One of my goals with this approach is to enable reconfiguration with minimal effort; pretty much rearranging wires and terminals within the connectors.
Thanks
That's what I did in the video for mine. The OEM tail light works as designed (with LED bulbs) and the add on brake lights (under the top case and above the rear plate where the reflector was) work off the flasher. If the flasher fails I still have some lights (assuming I don't blow a fuse.) I debated about adding a relay in between just for isolation.
As an aside, I did buy some optical relays to swap out my standard type ones for my trailer wiring. They do make singles as well. Compact little units (3"x2"x1" for this one) but needs to be in a project box as unlike a standard relay these are not waterproof. I already have a project box under the seat for my flasher and wire connections to the extra brake lights and trailer relays.
It would have been much easier and cleaner if there had been that single connector in the harness. It's a crying shame that it takes almost $60 worth of connectors to cleanly make an adapter.
OP
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STRider
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Don't I know it!