[middie26]

A recent set of PM's with greywolf over installing a light bar in the tail section has really made me realize that I know next to nothing about reading a wiring diagram. If you've read some of my earlier posts, you'll know that I accidentally tapped into the one of the ignition coil wires.. That caused all kinds of problems.. :headbang:

So, while waiting for a book on the topic to arrive from Amazon, I'd like a very quick primer (if possible) on how to really read a wiring diagram.

In particular, my questions about reading the diagram are as follows:

1. What wires are considered as hot? Of those, what can be "safely" tapped into the power?

2. What wires are considered as ground?

3. The tail light has 190,392 different coloured wires coming out of it.. What's the point? Which one does what?

I have a feeling it'll take a really thorough understand of electrical systems to understand it, but again, I'd just like a quickie (a primer, you sickos)..

 

[janiceclanfield]

Wiring tips

Found this on the InterWeb® a while back. Dunno who wrote it. Hope it helps...



Basic Strom Wiring 101 (DL1000 & DL650)

1. Any wire that is solid Orange or Orange with a color strip is a Switched 12 Volt wire. However, there are a few Orange with stripe wires you do not what to use. Stay away from the Orange/White & Orange/Black wires, these are still switched power but not ones to mess with. Switched 12 Volt means the wire is HOT when the key is ON. The reason for using switched power to power accessories, is if an accessory is left on unintentionally it won't drain your battery.

2. Any wire that is Black with a White strip is a Ground wire. You will find many small rectangular connectors with 5 or 6 Black/White wires running into them around the bike. These are ground connection terminals and do not plug into anything. Don’t use these as grounding points for accessories. Photos: http://11109.rapidforum.com/topic=110172824974

3. Best places to obtain Switched 12 Volt power for an Auxiliary Fuse Block Relay.

A. Tail Light wire. This is the Brown wire running in the tail harness along the left rear sub frame. After the tail harness connector (located at the rear of the sub frame) it is the Green wire. Note: This wire is HOT when the key is in the PARK or ON position. This is good to use if you what to run accessories without having the ignition & lights on. But if in park for an emergency and using emergency flashers your accessories will be energized. This is my favourite, but I also install a small underseat switch to disable the aux box when desired. Brown wire also avail under fuse box 05 & up 1000 & all 650

B. OEM heated grip connector. Located behind radiator on left side & usually taped to the main harness. A Black connector with 2 wires going to it. Orange/Green wire is Hot and Black/White is Ground. If you do not want to cut this connector, then order Suzuki part no. 36852-06G00. This is the horn lead wire and the connector will mate.

C. Rear Brake Light Switch wire. Located just forward of the battery. A small clear white 2 wire connector, one Orange/Green & one White/Black. Orange/Green wire is switched Hot, no ground wire available here.

D. Instrument Panel Power wires. Located inside left side cowling in wire pocket. Must remove cowling panel and strip part of harness cover off for wire access. Either the Orange/Red or the Orange/Green wire will do.

E. Any of the Orange (or striped Orange) wires under the OEM fuse box. You can just detach and pull the fuse box up to gain access. The Brown tail light wire is also here on 05 & up 1000 & all 650.

4. Tail Section wire colors. First listed color will be as it is in the tail harness running along the left rear sub frame. The Second color is after the connector located at the rear end of the sub frame (this is the part that actually connects to the lights).

A. Tail Light – Brown & then Gray
B. Stop Light – White/Black & then White/Black
C. Left Turn – Black & then Black
D. Right Turn – Light Green & then Light Green
E. License - Brown & then Gray (Same as Tail)
F. Ground - Black/White & then Black/White

5. Headlight Wires. First color listed is as they are after the fuse and in the forward section. The second color is from the handlebar switch to the fuse.

A. High Beam - Yellow from fuse to light. Yellow/Blue from switch to fuse.
B. Low Beam - Black/Blue from fuse to light. White/Blue from switch to fuse.

6. Other wires that may be of use.

A. Tachometer signal – Brown/Black wire in main harness running through left side cowling (needed for Cruise Control).
B. Speed signal from Speed Sensor – Pink/White wire in main harness running through left side cowling (needed for Cruise Control or Pro Oiler).
C. Blinker signal (power) to control switch. Light Blue wire located under OEM fuse box.
D. Gear Position Sensor signal (going to ECU) – Pink wire in 3 wire connector just forward of fuse box on the 1000 & behind the left main frame above foot peg on 650.

7. Grounding point for accessories. All ground leads should run back to the battery negative terminal. Either directly or through an Aux Grounding block or Aux Fuse Block that also contains grounding terminals. The Ground Block, whichever kind, should be connected to the battery negative terminal with a 10 gage or 12 gage wire. One last method for a ground buss if you don’t wish to use blocks, is to have a short 10 gage lead running from the battery to which you solder all of the smaller ground leads from accessories and cover with tape or shrink tubing.

8. How to install a Manual Fan Override switch. Attach a 2 position (On/Off) toggle or rocker switch across the 2 wires running into the thermostatic fan switch (both Black/Red), located on the rear-right side of the radiator. Do not cut wires from the thermostatic switch or the auto fan mode will be disabled.

9. Wiring Auxiliary Driving lights. Most come with a lighting relay and a relay must be used. Use at least 16 gage (14 gage is better) wire for both power & ground leads. An On/Off switch, High beam, Low beam or switched power on (not recommended) may latch the relay. Hot lead must be fused when coming directly from the battery or fused through an Aux fuse box.
Related thread: http://11109.rapidforum.com/topic=110176546207

10. Wiring Auxiliary Horns. It is highly recommended to use a horn or lighting relay for power to the horns. This relay should be latched using the wires that feed the OEM horn. Use at least 16 gage (14 gage is better) wire for both power & ground leads. Hot lead must be fused when coming directly from the battery or fused through an Aux fuse box. The popular Stebel air horn requires a 15 amp fuse.
Related thread: http://11109.rapidforum.com/topic=110176546156

11. Strom Wattage Available. This is at 5000 RPM, at idle and slow speeds, considerably less.

02 DL1000 = (350 watts) ~95 watts to play with

All DL650 = (375 watts) ~ 120 watts to play with (K7650ABS somewhat less)
02 DL1000 with 06 SV1000 engine & HID headlights & LED's ~ 205 to play with

12. Fuse Sizing for auxiliary equipment. A device is fused properly when the fuse rating is 150% of the max the fused device will draw. Example: Vest using 45 watts: I=P/E; I=45/12.5=3.6 amps. So 150% = 5.4 amps, a 5 amp fuse should be close enough. A lot of devices have an initial surge start-up current that is higher than their steady state draw. Also a fuse that is operated very close to it's rated value can heat up over time and blow.

13. Connector & wire connections.

A. Connectors. The best way to connect wires to pins for inserting into connector plugs & sockets is to use the correct crimper for the pins you are using. This is an inexpensive CRIMPER that works for about 95% of the pins out there. Pins can also be soldered if you use the proper equipment and techniques. Incorrect technique can result in broken wires. For most of the people out there it is best to crimp. Crimp style spade lugs for wires are fine as long as they are crimped & sized properly.

B. Connecting wires. I do not recommend any crimp style connections for wires, except spade lug terminals for power blocks. Especially the crimp on wire splices. These wire splices will cut some strains of the wire and let the contaminants in. Wire connections & splices that are soldered and covered with either shrink tubing or a good grade of electrical tape, such as 3M Super 33+, will stand up to the weather and vibrations many times longer then crimp style connectors. Soldered connections will also produce a cleaner (as in not electrical noisy) electrical connection with less voltage drop. If you can't solder I highly recommend Posi-Lock Connectors , avail at Walmart & auto stores.

C. The use of dielectric grease on all non water-resistant connectors is recommended.

14. Wire sizing: http://11109.rapidforum.com/topic=110174720898

 

[SCraig]

1. You have to look at the color codes and read the schematic. It is not safe to assume that anything is "Hot" in the sense that it can be tapped for additional devices. Circuit load versus wire ampacity is critical. Where a circuit is tapped is important because once tapped the circuit as a whole exhibits the characteristics of a parallel circuit as opposed to a series circuit.

2. In general, black with a white trace is ground. Again, read #1.

3. Common ground. Switched 12 volts (by the brake light switch) to the brake light filament. Switched 12 volts (by the ignition) to the tail light filament. If there are multiple lamps for the brake light or tail light (I can't remember if there are or not) then there will be individual wires for each of them.

The bottom line: It's best to ask if you don't understand. It's easy to make a mistake and sometimes hard to recover from it.

 

[OydnaR]

Stay away from the Orange/White

not sure why, but this advice is contrary to what I got for advice directly from Suzuki NA tech support, the specificly told me to use the orange/white wire by plugging my relay trigger into it at the dealer test plug



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[Vscout]

a little more help (or my two cents)

All of the above are excellent. You need to think of your electrical system as a collection of individual circuits. Remember your basic electricity. Every circuit generally consists of a power source, load, conductor to the load, and return conductor to the source. It maybe switched, that switch may have different purposes and there maybe more than one. Typically they are fused. Sometimes there are interconnections between the circuits, but it still comes down to a basic circuit. The thing to keep in mind is that each circuit is designed to its purpose(some better or worst). The gage of wire, the size of switch, fuse, you get the idea. Because of the standardization of wires, etc. there is extra capacity on some circuits that can be used. You have to look at the schematic to determine if the capacity and functionality meet your needs. The consequences of goofing up can range from annoying to frying your harness or worst, stranding or endangering yourself. Try to use premade additions that have been done before (Eastern Beaver is Excellent and probable the souce of Janice's input.). Please ask, there are plenty of very knowledgable stromtrooper here to help.

(One piece of advice not noted here is: don't use the chassis as your return path, the bike has different metals in it's frame leading to corrosion and poor connections.)

 

[honest bob]

One more tip for anyone who is running the bike in salted areas. In 13B it mentions the use of shrink tube. You can and should go the extra step to buy the self sealing shrink tube. It has a coating of heat melt sealant on the inner surface of the tube and if heated correctly will seal the entire length of circuit under the tube.
In a pinch if you have to make a splice, which you are warned not to do in 13B, you can put a dab of GEII silicone between the clam shells of the splice before you close it down on the wire.

 

[greywolf]

Use the orange/green wire for a trigger, not the orange/white. The links in Janice's post are dead. VSRI is now at vstrom.info because Rapidforum is no more. See V-Strom Wiring 101 especially Basic V-Strom Wiring 101 for basics.

 

[PTRider]

You simple questions don't have simple answers.

1--A "hot wire" has positive 12 volts on it. It can have that voltage either because it comes from the battery positive post, or because some device switched it on under certain circumstances. Whether or not it can be tapped to run something else depends on when it is switched on and how much power the new gizmo will take from it. It too much power is taken the wire gets too hot and melt$.

2--It's too bad we can't get away from the word "ground." Nothing on a motorcycle is grounded to earth the way house wiring is grounded. Very little on our motorcycles is bonded to the frame (called ground) due to the combination steel & aluminum frame. What we call "ground" is actually connected to the battery negative post. Again, sometimes we can connect to another negative wire, and sometimes we need to run a new negative wire to the battery to handle big electrical loads (horn, lights, electric heated clothing, etc.).

3--Keep in mind that "the tail light" is actually two bulbs with two filaments each (three wires for each bulb--hot tail, hot stop, shared negative) in close proximity to two turn signal lights and the license plate light. All have their wiring.

None of this directly answers your questions, but I hope that with all the answers we can help increase your understanding of vehicle electrics.

 

[middie26]

I'm very, very slowly starting to understand..

Though I'm left with another question.. By simply looking at the wiring diagram, how does one know what is considered a "hot" wire? Taking PT's example of the tail lights and looking at the diagram...

The "Rear Combination Light" has the following:

Gr
B/W
W/B

Out of those three wires, which one is considered as the hot tail vs. the hot brake wire? From reading previous posts, since the B/W is the "ground" (there's that word again!) wire, which of the other two wires controls the tail vs. the brake? Is it the Gr that is the tail or the W/B?

Hopefully, I'm making sense...

 

[SCraig]

I'm very, very slowly starting to understand..

Though I'm left with another question.. By simply looking at the wiring diagram, how does one know what is considered a "hot" wire? Taking PT's example of the tail lights and looking at the diagram...

The "Rear Combination Light" has the following:

Gr
B/W
W/B

Out of those three wires, which one is considered as the hot tail vs. the hot brake wire? From reading previous posts, since the B/W is the "ground" (there's that word again!) wire, which of the other two wires controls the tail vs. the brake? Is it the Gr that is the tail or the W/B?

Hopefully, I'm making sense...

That's what you have to look at the schematic for. You have to trace the wires back to see what they connect to. The brake lights will go to the brake light switches, the tail lights through the ignition switch. Eventually everything will wind up at the battery.

 

[greywolf]

Let's be clear on the marking convention. W/B means White with a black stripe(tracer). The letter(s) before the slash refers to the main color and after the slash refers to the stripe color. See the color code in the wiring diagram. B is black, Bl is blue, Br is brown, Gr is gray, G is green Lg is light green for example.

The gray wire is the tail and license light hot. The white/black (W/B) wire is the brake light hot. Black/white (B/W) is always ground.

Just about any wire that is not B/W is hot but there is more to it than that. Such wires may be always hot, hot only when the ignition is on, hot only when a switch or sensor is engaged and some vary in voltage and interact with the computer. Don't guess and don't use a test light as it can cause expensive computer damage. Very few colors can be used as a trigger wire. O/G is good because it has the extra capacity to run heated grips and only feeds comparatively low draw lights. O/W is bad because it runs the coils and fluctuations in coil voltage can cause problems. Brown is good if it's okay to be hot when the ignition is in Park. Brown turns to gray crossing from the chassis to the rear fender.

 

[TOScootz]

You can sometimes deduce what wire is what. In the tail light the grey wire runs to both the licence plate light and the tail light bulb. The licence plate light is always on, therefore the grey wire is the running light circuit. The white with black stripe must be the brake light, because the only other wire is black with a white stripe, which we know is the negative ( aka ground) wire. This works on most, if not all bikes.:thumbup:

 

[RockyMtnRoadRash]

The best thing you can do with a wiring diagram is to ignore the middle. Seriously. It's a nasty mess. Concentrate on the stuff around the rim. Find the gadget of interest, take a look at the wires that go in and out of it and work from there. Only when you absolutely need to see where a wire goes should you trace it through the middle.

 

[dtalk]

but ... why?

Maybe I'm missing something, but personally, I'd rather just put a multimeter on the leads and determine empirically what does what, where tail and brake lamps are concerned. I don't see a wiring diagram as worth the trouble back there.

Any day that I find myself needing a vehicle wiring diagram is a day that probably ended badly for me. :thumbdown:

 

[greywolf]

As an example, using a meter will find all sorts of 12V wires. Using one to power something can cause problems. The O/W wire is a fine example. It tests greats as a 12V source but can cause firing problems if used as a power source. Use a O/G, Br or Gr wire to trigger nothing more than a relay to turn on a fuse block and use the fuse block to power accessories.

 

[dtalk]

As an example, using a meter will find all sorts of 12V wires. Using one to power something can cause problems.

Let me reiterate that I was talking about the wiring aft of my seat. There's nothing in the tail cap that will cause a problem if tapped for a low-draw source. It's just lighting.

Fore of that, I wouldn't rely on a meter to tell me what's what, agreed.

 

[greywolf]

For wires to lights only, a meter is fine.