BRUTAL! Farkling the 2006 model....

I tells ya what, people, I am increasingly glad I did not enter the FJR community starting with the 2006 model. :blink:

While it, of course, has a number of items that are superior to the previous models, there is also a rather significant number of areas where the 2006 model FJR took a good step backward... at least for the LD Riders in the community.

One of these steps backward (as far as farkling is concerned) is the re-designed front end of the bike. Yamaha has devastated the amount of previously available room under the cowling for additional components and add-ons! :angry2: :angry2:

I currently have a 2006 FJR all torn asunder in my garage while fitting a pair of PHIDs to the bike. Several months ago, I installed the "Low-Beam Only" HID lights in the stock headlight on this same bike, and thus already took over the only two reasonable placements for the HID ballasts: one in the glove box, the other resides outboard of the battery, as seen here:





When I went to install the PHIDs, I was going to do the exact, same operation I did when I wired the "HID Low-Bream Only" to my own FJR. And I was going to place the PHID ballasts aft under the pillion seat since there is not a spec of spare room up in the nose of the bike anymore (especially with the two "Low-Beam Only" ballasts crammed up in there!)

Welllll..... it's not turning out to be that straightforward.....

Sadly, the connector design of the PHIDs (associated with the Group Buy a couple months ago) appears to have changed: the cabling is now a fixed length, ~ 24", thereabouts. It's also appears to be one of those special shielded cables; I am LOATHE to attempt to cut into to it to extend it back to the pillion seat area...... :angry2:

So I am now required to find yet two more spots to place these PHID ballasts somewhere in the nose of the bike... and it has proven to be a COMPLETE ***-PAIN!!!!!!!!!!

I have to get very, very, VERY creative and think well outside the box to come up with a solution here. The problem is simple: I must create space to mount these ballasts where there is no remaining space. I was up till well after midnight last night working on this challenge, and it appears I am on the verge of success. Maybe.

I'll know for sure later tonight.... pictures to follow (even if it's not successful) so everyone can learn from this effort.

So when ya gonna install all my farkles?

BTW, I may have a complete extra wiring harness for the old PHIDs laying around somewhere. Would that come in handy? Or is it too late?

I share your pain. Am looking for the pre wired (according to the wiring diagram) leads for installing Yamaha heated grips in my '06, non chip-shifter FJR. Any Info on location and wire colors? Help.

Don't know how it might work on an 06 and with the ballasts you have but maybe this is an idea:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...ic=8940&hl=

You will need to completely tear the front end apart so that the instrument panel can come off and so you can unbolt the support for the instrument panel and bodywork from the steering head to install this.

I found that there was just enough room under the instruments and between the instrument panel and the fork tubes at full lock to stick the two ballasts. I bent an .030 aluminum "case" to surround them and bolted it to the instrument panel support. Thin foam in on the inside of the aluminum and the two ballasts are simply tiewrapped to it for support. Cut the plastic panels so they just clear the new box between the steering head and the instruments and away you go. Hardly noticeable, really, unless you look close.

I understand the challenge you're having with the HID install but these things really are a matter of perspective.

My friend has an '05 and he has virtually no farkles installed because it's so difficult for him to remove and reinstall panels without damaging them. Also, the battery placement defeats him.

On the other hand, I've found the farkles I wanted to install on my '06 to be a snap. Having the battery and other electronics so accessible made adding my comm system and GPS a breeze.

Good luck on the project.

jestal said:

I found that there was just enough room under the instruments and between the instrument panel and the fork tubes at full lock to stick the two ballasts.

Click to expand...

Well, like I mentioned in the first post of this thread, there's a ton of room in the pre-'06 bikes.... but not so on the 2006 model.

But yeah, if the bike was a pre-'06 model, I would have stacked the first set of HID ballasts here (the original placement on my old '04 FJR1300ABS) atop the natural shelf formed by the headlight assembly:



And then I would have placed a third ballast in between the headlights themselves, like this:



And the fourth ballast would reside outboard and slightly forward of the battery, like so:



Most unfortunately... the 2006 model FJR no longer has these same open spaces within the nose cowling, so one has to approach this problem differently....

On the other hand, I've found the farkles I wanted to install on my '06 to be a snap. Having the battery and other electronics so accessible made adding my comm system and GPS a breeze.

Click to expand...

Heh... it was a snap because I'm guessing you didn't have to install four of these HID ballasts within the nose of your '06 FJR, did you....

I sympathize Dale. I've done some HID installs on bikes with very little room (just not my '06 FJR yet). I look forward to your results.

Here's a dumb thought (I imagine): How much heat do you suppose those ballasts can stand? Could they go on the back of the radiator?

BTW, I sure wish there were companies making replacement sets for bikes like the ones I got for my Tahoe. Just pull the old headlight assembly and insert the new one with bulb and ballast all neatly contained within...wouldn't that be nice?

bmwhd said:

Here's a dumb thought (I imagine): How much heat do you suppose those ballasts can stand? Could they go on the back of the radiator?

Click to expand...

Oh, don't think I didn't look there, too.... but IMO, it's just not a good position for these components. Certainly not over the long haul, anyway. They might be able handle the heat for a while; they might handle it for a good long while. But eventually, I think this placement would prove to be too problematic.

Yet, there is so LITTLE available spare space on the '06 FJR, I was scrutinizing all kinds of wierd areas to mount these extra ballasts. I was looking at the area immediately behind the middle (chin) fairing (directly below the radiator). I suppose one could possibly make use of this area if it really came down to it, but there's not a lot of support structure down there to affix a couple of ballasts to.... while the ballasts aren't too heavy, they also aren't exactly featherweight, either. Too, this area also tends to collect a lot of dirt, road grime, rainwater, etc.... there were enough negatives to make placing the ballasts here seem too unattractive.

For what its worth I Googled the name on the ballast to light fixture cable covering, REI Hsing, and got to this web site,

https://www.reihsing.com/enaboutus.htm

It was not a good link.

I was hoping to find out what was so special about the wire covering. Maybe someone with better Google skills can find out.

Oh well.



Mike (following this thead with great interest)

Well Dale, sorry to hear of your troubles. For all you've done for this (and prior) boards, I thought I'd cheer you up. If you want one, I'll make up one of my '06 racks in either Cobalt Blue or satin black powdercoat and send it to you for about half price - just $75. Just give me the nod.

garauld said:

For all you've done for this (and prior) boards, I thought I'd cheer you up. If you want one, I'll make up one of my '06 racks in either Cobalt Blue or satin black powdercoat and send it to you for about half price - just $75. Just give me the nod.

Click to expand...

Well, I am honored! B)

However, this '06 isn't mine, it belongs to IronMaiden. And she already has a large Pelican box sitting on the rack area.....

But I am surely appreciative of your very kind offer!

mjac said:

I was hoping to find out what was so special about the wire covering. Maybe someone with better Google skills can find out.

Click to expand...

No google skills required. The leads between the ballast and the bulb are VERY HIGH VOLTAGE, something like 50,000 volts! That's the reason for the sheilded cable. At that high a voltage it will arc easily, create noise in other lines nearby, and cause a variety of other problems.

These are NOT leads you want try to splice, by ANY means.

slapnpop said:

mjac said:

I was hoping to find out what was so special about the wire covering. Maybe someone with better Google skills can find out.

Click to expand...

No google skills required. The leads between the ballast and the bulb are VERY HIGH VOLTAGE, something like 50,000 volts! That's the reason for the sheilded cable. At that high a voltage it will arc easily, create noise in other lines nearby, and cause a variety of other problems.

These are NOT leads you want try to splice, by ANY means.

Click to expand...

Really? Check out post #8 in this thread:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...ic=8248&hl=

Are we talking about the same lights/cables? On the cable(s) I have, for my PHIDs, the one that connects the ballast to the lights, there is about an inch or so of unshielded wire (three wires actually) on each end before it disappears into the connector. Presumably this the cable that can be lenghtened as mentioned in post #9. No?

Hurm... Seems it worked for others, but I would still be very reluctant to cut into the high-voltage end of things.

Actually, both of you are little off the mark....

mjac: while the PHIDs lamps are basically the same as always, there has been a design change in the PHID connectors.... they are proprietary. The wire harness between these connectors is of the shielded type. So it's a different setup that what you read on post #8 in that thread.

However, what you are describing, Slap, is that portion of the wire harness between the ignitor and the HID bulb... vice the ballast. It is the ignitor that sends the momentary burst of high voltage down to the bulb during startup. Typically (or at least, in early-generation HID kits), the ballast, ignitor, and bulb are three separate components. These systems must have the ignitor residing within a foot or so of the bulb, but the ballast you can place anywhere.

Fortunately for us, the ignitor is conveniently built directly into the back of the PHID lamp, so ballast placement has been a non-issue (till now) because it was safe to lengthen the harness (going from the ballast to the PHID lamp) up to several feet, if necessary. This is how the HID headlights in both my Blackbird and my FJR are wired, and have been running for a combined 60,000 miles now with no problems.

Warchild? was there only room for one Balast in the gloe box? I chopped the bejeezus out of the glove box on my '05 and bolted two ballasts to the bits that were left...

I have two more on top of the left headlight of course, for the PHIDS

-bvw.

valetz said:

Warchild? was there only room for one Balast in the gloe box? I chopped the bejeezus out of the glove box on my '05 and bolted two ballasts to the bits that were left...

Click to expand...

On this '06 FJR-A I am working on, there is enough room for one ballast and one ignitor if you elect NOT to butcher up the glove box.

Last May when I installed the "Low=Beam Only" HID lamps on this bike, I jettisoned the lame-*** cigarette lighter straight away, and the resulting opening in the forward wall of the glove box allowed for the pass-through of cabling... all very convenient, indeed.

For this PHID installation, I elected to permanently mount the fourth ballast up against the fairing wall located immediately forward of the glove box. Sadly, the space isn't large enough to fit the ballast against the fairing wall without taking a serious dremeling to the glove box structure to cut a rectangle large enough to allow the ballast to encroach within the glove box interior.

This dremeling is a task I just completed tonight. :blink:

Everything fits back together fine, and with the glove box lid closed, looks like any other '06 FJR. In any event, the enclosed HID components completely cover up the effects of the dremel wheel.... pics to follow....

I have to get very, very, VERY creative and think well outside the box to come up with a solution here.

Click to expand...

I dont know if it would help in this case but I have a general suggestion for mounting components that may help. I have an '05 and I am increasingly running out of mounting space inside the fairing so I have been considering where to mount things the next time I add a farkle or two.

One of the ideas I had was behind the chin-piece. Its down the bottom of the fairing and may not allow you enough cable distance in this case. There is also a bit of heat off the exhaust pipes, but I suspect there is more than enough airflow to keep the item cool enough.

It does seem to be a tempting spot for mounting items since there is physically a fair bit of space in that area.

Just a thought.

Colin

Okay, I'm about done.... here 's a few pics I took along the way.....

To find room for that final ballast, I elected to sacrifice the central vent Yamaha has placed below the 2006 instrument panel as part of their "air-management system", as seen here:



The vent is retained by four large phillips-head fasteners screwed into rubber well-nuts. Removing the fasteners and the vent grill reveal a space just large enough to fit one ballast perfectly (when laid on its side):



In this photo below, you can see how the venting housing structure is a perfect fit for a ballast. Items 'A' are the headlight barrel adjustment sleeves. Items 'B' are the lower two well-nuts for the vent cover; items 'C' are the upper two well-nuts for the vent cover:



There was little choice but to cut a small slice in the vent cover to allow the cables to pass out of the vent housing and be routed to the respective destinations. Still, the final result came out looking fairly unobtrusive:



The final ballast resides in that area forward of the glove box.... but still needed to be allowed to "encroach" into the glove box interior if it was going to fit in this area at all. Here is the ballast in its final position:



And here is the glove box re-installed, with the insulate/taped ballast & ignitor from the left Low-Beam Only HID lamp. Here you can painly see the newly placed ballast entering the forward portion of the glove box:



Once the lid is closed, however, it looks like any other FJR glove box:



Now to install this killer little power harness I whipped up for these PHIDs.... B)