few questions, gear indicator and wireing behind headlight

[GS1100ez]

so i got another set of gauges on ebay as my indicator wasnt showing the right gear
the sensor and all the wiring was good
so it was stated here that the indicator was then bad

so i got a whole cluster

anyways
swaped indicators it now shows the right gear that i am in

but it still does not back light, the old one doesnt either
are they supposed too?
it is an LCD screen so i have black numbers on a grey background, cant see that at night

so does anyones light up? are they supposed too?

also, in the headlight bucket, i found a set of brown wires crimped into 1 female connector, no male connector coming out of it, nor any loose male connector on a brown wire, or any loose brown wire

im not sure if anyone will know, but what do these 2 brown wires, crimped into 1 connector go to? and should they not have anything connected to them?

 

[Steve]

Can't help you with the gauges, but brown wires in the headlight shell are usually an extra wire that is connected to the head/tail light circuit. If you have running lights in your front turn signals, the brown wire is a very common way to feed them.

Why they are crimped together is something the previous owner would have to answer. :-k

 

[GS1100ez]

ok well its good to know that they arent supposed to be hooked up, but are there for add on purposes

 

[Guest]

When drove Pospayr's bike (83 1100E) the indicator was lit up and I could see it at night.

 

[GS1100ez]

hmmmm

well neither of my 2 indicators i have light up

there are a few wires going to them
we have the plug of gear selector wires coming from under the tank
then we have 3 wires going to it from inside the gauage cluster

a white
a black
and an orange

i would think
black would be ground
white would be power to power the indicator
and maybe orange would be for the light in the indicator

ill take the indicator apart and see


chef, was the indicator back lit, or did the LCD itself light up?

 

[Guest]

I'll ask Jim. I just remember that I could see it at night.

 

[bonanzadave]

Yes, it it does light up from an internal light bulb. Mine is also out and both the clusters you tried must have had bad bulbs.

Heres a reply in the search function from 2004. Search Gear Indicator

"Regarding the lighting, I fixed mine but it was a major PITA. Don't bother. I had to get a $3 LED part from Radio Trash, modify it, solder it, and fuss with the damn thing for an hour before it was all right. That's not including the disassembly/assembly time, which was a couple more hours and a PITA on its own. So don't bother. Most bikes I've seen don't even have the handy-dandy indicator so you might want to learn to live without it (at least at night). If it's a big deal, run a light on the outside and shine it in."

 

[GS1100ez]

ok so there is a bulb in there

wish i had known that befor i put EVERYTHING back together haha

o well

it only took about 5 min to get the gauges out, and another 5 to get them apart to get the indicator out

so its not a huge deal

illt ake the spare indicator aprt and see what i can find

 

[GS1100ez]

just took the spare apart, sure enough, ther eis a bulb in there which is blown

ill post up a pic of it


im gonna work on fitting in a white LED, so it wont blow out again or die due to vibration
it apears that the grey/white wire goin into the indicator powers the light alone
i will hook up some voltage to test it out with a meter
if this is the case, this would be great as i could just wirin in a resistor at the grey wire connector, to connect inbetween the indicator and the harness on the gauges

and if it works out good, ill make up a kit for the few people who want one

 

[83gs1100e]

Pictures would be great. My lcd light bulb is also out. Any info before i tear into it would be apreciated.

 

[crag antler]

Nice Kaw you got there GS1100ez:clap::clap:

 

[GS1100ez]

here are some pics for ya

you can see the 3 wires and then the group of wires going into it

cover off and a view of one of the circuit boards and the bulb

blown bulb, connected to the white wire coming in



the bulb sits where you see the little vents cutout
it emits light which comes out threw the clear plastic which you see as white in this pic

 

[GS1100ez]

Nice Kaw you got there GS1100ez:clap::clap:

thanks, took alot of work to get it that way, i didnt get it that nice

 

[posplayr]

Just catching up

Just catching up

I see you found the bulb. Mine had been out as well and I just bought a new indicator as it was a little difficult to find a bulb of that size. You might try an LED . It is pretty small incandescent.

Pos

 

[GS1100ez]

an LED is the plan

 

[mike-s]

I know im grave digging a bit but if you do do this (i have done a similar mod) then a led voltage calculator such as this will really prove handy. Just remember to use the smallest LED that will give sufficient output so that you can minimise space utilised both by the LED and the resistor size (and wattage) required to make it work.

 

[GS1100ez]

I know im grave digging a bit but if you do do this (i have done a similar mod) then a led voltage calculator such as this will really prove handy. Just remember to use the smallest LED that will give sufficient output so that you can minimise space utilised both by the LED and the resistor size (and wattage) required to make it work.

already installed
havent done tried it at night

i used a 5mm yellow led
a little wider then the stock bulb, but same lenght

and wired in a resistor inbetween the connectors in the gauge cluster
clean installation

i turned the lights off in my shed, it gave a dim glow, but light was still coming in threw the windows
im sure at night it will be more then enough