BMW K bikes (Bricks)


You are not connected. Please login or register

View previous topic View next topic Go down  Message [Page 1 of 1]


1Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:34 pm

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
Last year I purchased a towbar from Rendrag and he kindly provided some pen sketchings of how to wire it up . 
It didn't  quite match up with my existing harness , so I thought I might throw a line and ask others for input.
I haven't seen any threads on this subject as yet.

Before I start splicing, 
I'll be concentrating on the wires exiting from the top of the black box. 
left turn , right turn, stop and tail light wires are reasonably easy to follow and tap into, but what else should I be looking out for , Earth?
In Australia on cars, the earth is normally provided through the white wire.

towbar wiring 00811

towbar wiring 00610

I'm looking at picking up a trailer tomorrow with the K.
thanks Ed.



Last edited by groverK on Sun Dec 21, 2014 6:42 am; edited 2 times in total


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

2Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:41 pm

Inge K.

Inge K.
VIP
VIP
groverK wrote:
In Aus the earth is normally provided through the white wire.


At the bike the brown wire is earth.


__________________________________________________
Inge K.
K100RS -86. (first owner), K1100LTSE -94.
    

3Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:53 pm

92KK 84WW Olaf

avatar
Life time member
Life time member
Ed,
Forgive me if I am repeating what is already said.
Are you using a standard 7 pin plug connector?

The socket for most connectors comes with the wire colours coded or with a diagram in the box.

This one is Australian and shows what goes where. Hopefully the trailer wiring is done to match. Brown is earth on our bikes too so maybe you might need some coloured tape just to mark the wires.

http://www.campertrailers.org/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm


__________________________________________________
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles. 
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 48,061 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 61,190 miles

Past:
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500
    

4Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:56 pm

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
Not a good idea to attach the white trailer earth to the brown at that socket as the brown is only just adequate for the standard wiring and bulbs extend to and take it to the earth point at the gearbox otherwise the tail and brake lights can become a bit dull when the trailer is plugged in.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

5Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 8:46 pm

charlie99

charlie99
VIP
VIP
maybe a lug direct to the frame for the earth
there are a couple of bolts around there suitable ...the z frame hangers bolt would be one I expect

just a thought


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

6Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:38 pm

92KK 84WW Olaf

avatar
Life time member
Life time member
I have to agree on the earthing. Should be easy to do as there are earthing points available, either at the hangers or the rear frame section. I have already put an earth there for the rear lights.


__________________________________________________
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles. 
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 48,061 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 61,190 miles

Past:
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500
    

7Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:06 pm

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
picked up a connector this morning, thought I might use one of these, rather than individual clips.
towbar wiring 01710

92, the trailer harness is the 7 pin flat type, as seen to the right of the fender extenda.
towbar wiring 00710

Inge , definately coplours can cause confusion , especially for new owners of modded bikes.
thanks Rick and Charlie,this was an area of concern , the earthing, 
 by suggestions so far, the brown bike earth is the only one I will leave untouched, and attach the white harness earth to a good grounding point at the tail.maybe the fender screw? does this sound correct?
I'm thinking of tapping into the existing wiring from the top side of the black connector.



Last edited by groverK on Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:50 am; edited 1 time in total


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

8Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:58 pm

Inge K.

Inge K.
VIP
VIP
I don't know how fond the BMU would be about the extra load, but I'm quite shure that Rick knows.

About your new connectors......I guess it don't rain that much down under,
but I wouldn't use these connectors exposed to the elements w/o som extra
protection.


__________________________________________________
Inge K.
K100RS -86. (first owner), K1100LTSE -94.
    

9Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 12:52 am

AL-58

AL-58
Life time member
Life time member
Over the years I've had one lighting problem caused by trailer lighting. 

On a long trip the box under the seat that tells the dash warning light whether your brake lights are working or not burnt out giving meno tail-lights at all.  The cause: When you think about it the tail-light is 10W and brake light is 21W.  Add a sidecar and a trailer and the load is now 4 tail-light bulbs plus 2 extra lights for the trailer number plate (approx 40W total) and 4 stop lights (84W instead of the original 21).

Nowadays my trailer uses LED lighting which reduces the total load by a large amount.

Al


__________________________________________________
'08 F650GS (798cc)
'19 R1250RS

+ another boxer engined motorcycle and sidecar

"When I'm too old and too foolish to handle a sidecar I'll buy a Sportsbike"

towbar wiring K-dogs10
    

10Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:21 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
I fitted the block connector in place , and had to remove it , as there was no room for it.
towbar wiring 01810

it has been replaced by single connectors. wires are now shorter than I would like , not much room for tolerance.
towbar wiring 02110

A quick test resulted in all bike lights operating as they should , but no response from the 7 pin hitch harness. 
I used a light probe , prodding the middle earth pin , and making contact with pins 1,4,6 and 7, 
the earth to the bike may still need some attention.

 but it is good to have the connectors in place and the bike lights working.



Last edited by groverK on Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:29 am; edited 1 time in total


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

11Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:28 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
thanks 92 for the link. I found it helpful and interesting. although it is primarily based on the 4 tyre breed of campers , but still useful.


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

12Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:40 am

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
I was going to say there is no room for that but you found out the hard way
The BMU was OK with the extra load but the lights I had were crap so I put LEDs on and its much happier. The indicators were very slow as well and the LEDs sorted that out too.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

13Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:45 am

charlie99

charlie99
VIP
VIP
think I can see your earth issue
the fender screw mounts into a plastic block and works by displacement of the screw to expand the plastic
as said before ....just to the right and a little to the front is the 6mm hanger bolts which connect directly to the frame .
use a standard eye terminal under the washer to get good conduction

good luck


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

14Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:56 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
ta, charlie , the fender screw appeared to be mounted to the rear tail frame with one of these on the steel frame
towbar wiring 82024410

 which I gave a quick sand for contact, and used an eyelet connector.


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

15Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:49 am

K75cster

K75cster
Life time member
Life time member
Ed my 7 pin trailer connection is spliced into the harness wires as they run along the frame rail, right near the pannier mount oddly enough, with no external earth, may have to change that. If you want to drop by and we can do a test to both plugs and see what if any differences exist.


__________________________________________________
Keith - 1987 K75c with r100rt replica fairing and half of a 1984 K100rt 1992 K1100LT a blue one

The Clever are adept at extricating themselves from situations that the wise would have avoided from the outset - QUOTE from david Hillel in Out of the Earth.
    

16Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:52 am

charlie99

charlie99
VIP
VIP
still might be better with the bolt mate ...6mm x 5mm of thread could be a bit better than compression contact only
but good to see the speed nut used


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

17Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:28 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
all done for now. moved the earth , as Charlie suggested, to the pannier frame bolt under the rear cowl.

I did test the earth through the towball , which is also attached via the same pannier bolt. No luck.
Ran a test probe from the pannier bolt to the number 1 pin (earth) where the trailer connects , positive result, with turn signals and taillights working.
I'm not happy with the white wire exposed though, for me it's a bit like a WHITE cable tie!!!!!!! just doesn't look right.

so the end result is , trailer harness wiring is easy . once you know how . Thanks to the assistance of fellow forum members.

WIRING YOUR K FOR TOWING A TRAILER
  installing  / wiring a trailer harness to your K100 / K75 / K1100


step 1. remove taillight to expose wiring under tail cowl.
step 2. BE SURE NOT TO CUT INTO ANY BROWN ( Earth ) wires. leave these intact.
step 3.    cut, strip and prepare the following wires: 
              left and right turn signal 
             brake (stop)and taillight (parking)
step 4.   with your hitch harness cable , strip and prepare the corresponding wires for connection, ie ; turn signals, brake , taillight , and earth.
             google : Trailer wiring   , for your colour codes.   
step 5.    crimp individual female connectors to all lighting wires leading on to your power source.
step 6.   start pairing up harness wires with corresponding light utilities,and twist together   
              ie; bike brake light wire with harness brake wire.        bike taillight with harness taillight etc , etc
step 7.   when pairing is complete, insert these into individual male connectors.           
step 8.    continue by connecting the previously prepared female connectors to the male connectors.
step 9.    find a good earth ground on the bike , such as the z frame bolt under the tail cowl, and attach the hitch harness earth wire to this point.

just remember , as pointed out previously , K bikes have BROWN earth wires, and trailer harnesses have WHITE earth wires.
so be careful when colour coding wires together.

step 10.   run a test on all lights and earthing, by means of multi meter or test light (with probe spike). I used the latter, it was simpler.
step 11.   reassemble all tail components .

you are now ready to hitch up your favourite trailer and start touring.



Last edited by groverK on Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:48 am; edited 4 times in total


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

18Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:38 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
Keith do you experience any power drainage as mentioned by Inge?
I'm on the road to W'gong tomorrow to pickup the horse float , as Waz describes it. I agree.

towbar wiring _57_410


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

19Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:44 am

K75cster

K75cster
Life time member
Life time member
The wiring to the trailer was on there when I bought it in 1994, it's never caused me any trouble. Pic looks like a pony float, you're kids will love that new pony.


__________________________________________________
Keith - 1987 K75c with r100rt replica fairing and half of a 1984 K100rt 1992 K1100LT a blue one

The Clever are adept at extricating themselves from situations that the wise would have avoided from the outset - QUOTE from david Hillel in Out of the Earth.
    

20Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:48 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
"pony float" ,been there done that, this one is for camping, toolbox and pooch (Labrador) get a bout.
Could fit a few decent tarps in there for next weekend.



Last edited by groverK on Sun Mar 16, 2014 1:56 am; edited 1 time in total


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

21Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:55 am

K75cster

K75cster
Life time member
Life time member
Let us know how the first ride goes, Mine was like 30 years ago on an XS1100 so its just a vague memory these days, OK its a lab float, mate sit the rear of the esky over the axle and fill it with beer and when the K boy's arive they will greet you with open arms. PS pack evenly but biased to give 20-30kg to the ball, ya wont know it's there after 10mins


__________________________________________________
Keith - 1987 K75c with r100rt replica fairing and half of a 1984 K100rt 1992 K1100LT a blue one

The Clever are adept at extricating themselves from situations that the wise would have avoided from the outset - QUOTE from david Hillel in Out of the Earth.
    

22Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 4:37 am

charlie99

charlie99
VIP
VIP
good result ...ed ...onya mate !
but be warned
not all folks use the same wiring standards

be prepared to take the trailer plug apart and decipher the wiring colours .....
you might get lucky ...but from experience ...check first huh ?


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

23Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:18 am

Rendrag

Rendrag
Silver member
Silver member
Ahhh, you bought that one! I saw it on ebay and was thinking about it..

There's been a little tiny flat bed kinda trailer on the roundabout opposite bunnings every weekend for the last month, no price, but a 'make an offer, must go'..  Been seriously considering phoning the guy and offering him 200 bucks, would make a good start to a dedicated camper trailer Smile


__________________________________________________
2000 VFR800
    

24Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:48 am

Ed

Ed
Life time member
Life time member
sound advice Charlie , so many different ways to wire up, this one proved easy.
 thats the one Damo , the shield is dead set ugly , but may serve a purpose later, the racks( roll bars ) can be useful .
very remenisce of a dog wash trailer with that door in the back end. maybe start up a sideline business for bike riding pooches.
and now you tell me there is something closer to home, send us a pic ,
 I'm still going to the Gong. any one up for coffee? I should be there around 8am.


__________________________________________________
1993 K1100RS  0194321         Colour #690 Silk Blue  aka " Smurfette"
2018 Kart upgrade.
towbar wiring 10_x_110
    

25Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:14 am

Rendrag

Rendrag
Silver member
Silver member
Lol, I shoulda got the contact details today - will ask the missus to go down on saturday and get them!  All this packing this last week has got me thinking I should just bite the bullet and build a little camper..  If I can find an old canvas tent cheap, and ship it to dad in Ballarat, he can sew it into a new design for me on the old sewing machine he uses for leather.

I reckon that little 'float' would make a great camper with a few changes of the rear - set it up to have a fold out rear or something, and you sleep in there no problems Smile  Dunno about the height though - seemed kinda high, not sure how that'd go around corners. Curious though, as I'd love to build a little camper trailer that has a winch-up tower on top for portable ham radio work when camping :-p


__________________________________________________
2000 VFR800
    

26Back to top Go down   towbar wiring Empty Re: towbar wiring Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:47 am

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
My camper trailer is up for sale at a very reasonable price.
If you are interested PM me
I will deliver it anywhere on the east coast for fuel cost.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

Sponsored content


    

View previous topic View next topic Back to top  Message [Page 1 of 1]

Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum