[csdexter]

Howdy,

I'm currently powering my TomTom Rider from the cigarette socket and because the latter, on this bike, is pointing almost downwards, it happens very often that it pops up just enough to disconnect itself.

Therefore, I'm building a nice harness (I absolutely love clean wiring) to power my TomTom and other accessories (such as the GPS tracker).

I'll post schematics and pictures here as I have/take them.

The broad concept is an inline connector (i.e. female-to-male) that goes in the front option connector for GND and ACC as a command signal to drive a relay that connects the battery to a small fuse block that then powers the accessories.

 

[tbonesullivan]

If i'm correct, doesn't the tom tom rider mounting bracket have a fuse built into it already? I think it's designed for direct hookup to the battery terminals.

 

[csdexter]

1) The harness I'm making is not only for the TomTom
2) The TomTom holder comes with a cable ending in bare wires, there's no mention of any fuse in the documentation nor is there any visible in-line fuse holder on that cable. I soldered the bare end to a male cigarette connector and used it like that on the Venture -- where the cigarette connector is slightly up from horizontal

 

[jugbelly]

Tom Tom

How does the Tom Tom do in sunlight. I have a Garmin 660 and it does not function well in bright light. Thinking of a replacement.

 

[csdexter]

No device will ever do well in direct sunlight: it either does OK in sunlight and blinds you at night OR has a trans-reflective LCD that operates in reflective mode in sunlight. Even so, the nature of sunlight vs. the way LCDs work will make it hard to make the display achieve useful contrast in all possible angles.

Other middle-ground solutions that would fare well against the sun of a summer afternoon exist (that nobody put into a product because all those companies care a lot more about income than user satisfaction) such as the dual-personality displays (colour back-lit LCD at night, black-on-grey sunlit LCD at day -- like on the cover of the Nokia Communicator 9500 or the OLPC laptop) or e-Paper displays (which also have the advantage of being able to display print-like quality with zero power consumption).

My TomTom fares against the sun just like the competition: doesn't.

 

[bob]

I find my Garmin Nuvi 550 does very well in various light conditions. I can see it clearly in bright sun but at night the GPS system in the sky tells it to go to night mode to change the colors and contrast so it's good then too. The only condition I would say no GPS will handle well is during daylight and entering a tunnel. Then the screen would likely be too bright unless there is a light sensor in the unit. I wish the Nuvi 550 were still available, or at least something more like it. Not nearly as pricy as the Zumo 550 when I bought mine and don't see anything at this lower price point otherwise. Don't need all that other distracting stuff that I have handled with other devices like music or phone.

 

[tstickler]

My Zumo 550 is connected directly to the battery with a built-in fuse link. Since the battery is really close, hook up is simple.

 

[csdexter]

This is the schematic of the harness (hi-res):

... and since the special connectors also arrived today, I'm off to get it done. Will follow up with pictures of the finite product.

 

[csdexter]

And this is the almost finished harness (hi-res):

I still have to take to the bike and measure the needed length for the command wires, attach the connectors at their far end and dress it in spiral wrap.

 

[csdexter]

The promised picture of the installed accessory harness (hi-res):

 

[Drummer]

Wiring

The promised picture of the installed accessory harness (hi-res):

Hi csdexter,
That's impressive but far beyond my capabilities,I also have a Autocom Active Duo which I removed from my GL1800, and now wish to use it Bluetooth on the CTX,I think there is a part BTM-02-A which should do the trick,but I don't know if anyone has tried yet on theCTX
Cheers Melv

 

[csdexter]

Thanks for the compliments, but it's really simple (compared to other things you could do to this bike). I took me about one hour in total to fully assemble the harness and probably about two to install it on the bike -- and that's because I really like to take my time with things and make dead-sure they come out perfect.

I reckon it would take a professional less than 15 minutes to assemble the harness on the bench and probably between 30 and 45 minutes to install it on the bike, if working alone.

 

[Kookopelli]

May be simple to you, but I am totally confused. I am having a hard time relating the picture to your schematic drawing. Where are you triggering the panasonic relay? It looks like you are connecting to the ECU in the picture, but I can't find the ECU on the Honda schematic in the manual. I see an ECM. Is that the same thing?

Also in your schematic drawing there is a Foglight Harness and Front Option Connector that you are using, but there is no reference to either one of those in your picture.

I have a similar 3-circuit fuseblock and am getting ready to hook it up for some led lighting and other things. If you could relate your drawing to the Honda schematic would help me a lot.

Thanks.
Kookopelli

 

[csdexter]

I'll gladly explain. The real-life picture was only meant as a physical assembly guide and to show people what's behind the top shelter, for those that haven't gotten in there yet.

I used "Foglight Harness" AND "Front Option Connector" in the schematic because I was thinking from the point of view of a full-option bike. If you only plan to attach the accessory harness, then you don't need both connectors (in the pass-through arrangement) -- I put both in the schematic and actually installed both on my harness because I plan to one day install the OEM foglight kit too.

So, the Panasonic relay is triggered from the Front Option Connector, GND and ACC wires. That connector is physically on the right side of the ignition switch, on the bottom (the one on top being for the heated grips). You cannot see it in the labeled picture because it's burried under the visible parts. Here is a better view (hi-res):

(the Front Option Connector is the leftmost of the three, the bike harness side is on bottom while the dummy side is on top. The picture is of the EU model, the H.I.S.S. connector, rightmost, will not be present on a US one).

Yes, "ECU" in my picture is the same thing as Honda's "ECM". When I added the text boxes on the picture I didn't know if Honda called it ECM or ECU

I hope that's better now, feel free to ask me if anything is still unclear.

 

[Kookopelli]

Thanks. Makes a lot more sense now.
Have you found the rear option connector yet? I have a US model and it isn't under the seat. It must be under the top shelter or behind one of the rear side panels.

 

[csdexter]

No, I don't think any of us here on the forum found the rear option connector yet. I don't think it's present on anything but the JDM model; judging by the circuits present at that connector, it's meant for a topbox with extra stop lights on it.

The unswitched battery power line is presumably for a utility light inside said luxury topcase model.

 

[Kookopelli]

No, I don't think any of us here on the forum found the rear option connector yet. I don't think it's present on anything but the JDM model; judging by the circuits present at that connector, it's meant for a topbox with extra stop lights on it.

The unswitched battery power line is presumably for a utility light inside said luxury topcase model.

Well that's too bad for us.
Thanks for your help.