switch for driving lights

[CODan]

I have an 08 FJR.

I'm going to wire driving lights (Hellas) that I have on the Garauld brackets I bough a couple of years ago.

What are my options for the switch that turns the driving light on/off?

thanks

 

[ionbeam]

Your driving lights should be turned on/off via a headlight relay. The headlight relay will be turned on/off by the switch of your choice. Because the relay draws so little power almost any switch will work. Take a look at boating and RV supply web sites for water proof switches. For non-water proof switches any auto parts place or Radio Shit will due. If you go to a professional company like Digkey or Mouser you can get a standard toggle switch with a water proof boot that goes over the switch.

 

[CODan]

Your driving lights should be turned on/off via a headlight relay. The headlight relay will be turned on/off by the switch of your choice. Because the relay draws so little power almost any switch will work. Take a look at boating and RV supply web sites for water proof switches. For non-water proof switches any auto parts place or Radio Shit will due. If you go to a professional company like Digkey or Mouser you can get a standard toggle switch with a water proof boot that goes over the switch.

Thanks.

Relay - check.

I was hoping for something that fits well on the FJR, somewhere on the bars maybe.

 

[zom]

I went with the Little Pushbutton Momentary Switch (5A) Tall (https://easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Switches/switches.html) from Eastern Beaver when I got my relay from him.

 

[Jeff Q]

after having switch failures several times I put mine on a relay several years ago and have never looked back..

 

[mdisher]

I shoved an on-off-on micro/mini toggle switch here:

on (with high beams)

off

on (on no matter what)

Technically it's not water 'proof' but have a foam ear plug over the top of it and I suspect it will be adequate.

others have put a small rocker switch in this location.

Switch cost me $5 from the Shack

I bought a spare set of controls of ebay for $25 so I could go back to stock if I wanted to, or just in case I dicked it up.

-MD

 

[Bungie]

I bought a little mini SPST switch from Digikey (with the rubber covers) and installed it in my flash to pass SHOULD BE. Took a little massaging on the inside of the housing and the switch itself needed the terminal cut down (and hence soldered). But it looks factory.

 

[Norman Hamer]

I was hoping for something that fits well on the FJR, somewhere on the bars maybe.

I'm sure you've come to a solution yourself, but for future readers:

Trying to figure out how I want to do Aux lights myself, given a couple of constraints:

( 1 ) I want a handlebar on/off switch, and I really don't like drilling into a fairing even for dimmer

( 2 ) No significant handlebar space

( 3 ) I sorta want to be able to turn them on independently, so tying into the high beam doesn't thrill me (although it's not a bad approach)

Couple folks on another board made some nice suggestions:

https://www.pashnit.com/product/pmr/bar_switches.html

Beautiful, mounts on the clutch mount, good placement (I think this is what I'm going with - 1-3 switches)

https://www.pashnit.com/product/pmr/thumb_switches.html

Gets in an ideal place, but limited bar area required - but it's a momentary switch, you'd have to set up a latching relay or something

https://www.autoswitch.com

Invisible electronic switch, uses something you can pulse to turn on or off. Could go well with the PMR thumb switch

 

[Pete Bansen]

I had an old PIAA switch lying around and mounted it to a shop-made aluminum bracket that positions the switch just below the horn button. The advantage to this location is that I don't have to move my hand at all to reach the switch - just drop my thumb down a little farther than from the horn button.

The bracket is attached to the bottom of the control housing using permanent 3M double sided tape and the PIAA switch is mounted to the bracket the same way - you could just as easily use JB Weld or epoxy, but I've had no failures using the 3M tape, provided the surfaces are flat and are thoroughly degreased prior to sticking the tape on.

The switches on the Pashnit site look really nice, but $80 for the bracket and $13-20 per switch seems a little steep. I guess that's the price you pay for looking that good.

Pete Bansen

Truckee, California

 

[03silverbullet]

I was thinking about getting this switch https://www.motobozzo.de/xtcatalog/product_info.php?info=p131_MotoBozzo-Switch-with-cable-harness.html

I like the fact that it uses the turn signal switch to operate the lights

 

[Eric L]

I vote for the little waterproof switch rather than the 65 dollar one that requires an EE degree. I mounted the swtich on the panel right below the battery panel.

 

[cali_rider]

If you plan on using the PIAA switch, make sure you use the waterproof one. This picture is not it. They look alike but the waterproof unit has a rubber coating over it. You can just buy everything including the relay that you need in one bundle like I did here:

https://www.spoiledbiker.com/product1528.html

The switch being used is the waterproof version. If you look at the picture you will see the rubber boot.

 

[txvoyager]

I've been using these switches on the last few bikes with good results. Easy to install in the fairing with just the right size drill bit. If you look around the web you can find them with other LED colors.

Cyclemax

 

[Pete Bansen]

If you plan on using the PIAA switch, make sure you use the waterproof one.

Thanks for the suggestion and the link!

For anyone looking just for the waterproof switch, it looks like you can order that part individually from Amazon for $17.85.

PIAA 74034 switch

Pete