Reverse Lights

[Fiberthree]

I purchased some LED lights for the purpose of wiring in reverse lights. There are times I use the reverse to back out of parking spaces only to be stopped by pedestrians that seem to come out of nowhere just to slowly walk past. There have also been the occasional motorist that swerves around with their hand on the horn because they were not aware that I was backing out of a space.
These lights are small enough but super bright and certainly grab your attention. They have several flash patterns and a three wire hook-up. Included in the package are two mounting screws and a thin foam gasket. I mounted the unit to the license plate frame and drilled a small hole in the panel behind and installed a grommet. I fed the wire through the grommet and connected the black wire to the framework. The red wire was soldered to the reverse indicator lead. The wire comes out of the C32 connector under the seat and only has power when you shift to reverse. (WHT/RED wire) The yellow wire from the unit is for selecting the flash pattern. To select the desired flash pattern connect the unit to power and with the light flashing you touch the yellow wire to 12v and the next pattern starts. You can cycle through the dozen or so patterns and chose your favorite. The unit retains your choice when off so you can set it before you start installing. These are bright enough to be noticed in daylight. I found them on Ebay and there are several varieties to choose from.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4X-White-White ... SwyRBajiTX

Here is the unit in action.



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[Wildwilly018]

Well that is a cool idea.

[cihilb]

Looks great. Would be nice to find a way to install then on an 1800.

[Fiberthree]

I just tapped into the 1500's "R" lamp on the instrument panel to activate the LED panel. Since the reverse controller is under the trunk I found the wire connector under the seat and ran my wire to it. Does the 1800 have a reverse light or indicator? If not maybe the relay that controls reverse would do as a source.

[cihilb]

I just tapped into the 1500's "R" lamp on the instrument panel to activate the LED panel. Since the reverse controller is under the trunk I found the wire connector under the seat and ran my wire to it. Does the 1800 have a reverse light or indicator? If not maybe the relay that controls reverse would do as a source.

There is a reverse light on the dash, but it is an LED and I doubt that the wiring to it would be sufficient.

[Fiberthree]

My dash light is also an LED. Find the wiring diagram for your 1800. What ever turns on the "R" light is the wire that gets 12v when the bike is in reverse. That wire is the one to use as it will also turn on the LED panel that I used for my back up lights. The connector for the 1500 is under the seat, on the left side close to the frame by the saddle bag. Yours might be in a different location. I didn't run a wire all the way to the dash light. My original back up lights were powered by an LED strobe unit I bought at Auto Zone. They worked for over twelve years until I changed the trunk lights to LED strips. I had to come up with a way to retain the flashing white lights and I used the license plate frame as a mounting surface. I still want to add one or two more units. I did a temporary hook up with three panels to make sure they would work. I just haven't thought of a tasteful way to add more without cutting into the bodywork. (something that I will not do!)

[WingAdmin]

My dash light is also an LED. Find the wiring diagram for your 1800. What ever turns on the "R" light is the wire that gets 12v when the bike is in reverse. That wire is the one to use as it will also turn on the LED panel that I used for my back up lights. The connector for the 1500 is under the seat, on the left side close to the frame by the saddle bag. Yours might be in a different location. I didn't run a wire all the way to the dash light. My original back up lights were powered by an LED strobe unit I bought at Auto Zone. They worked for over twelve years until I changed the trunk lights to LED strips. I had to come up with a way to retain the flashing white lights and I used the license plate frame as a mounting surface. I still want to add one or two more units. I did a temporary hook up with three panels to make sure they would work. I just haven't thought of a tasteful way to add more without cutting into the bodywork. (something that I will not do!)

The 1800 has LED dash lights, so it's not going to run on 12 volts - and it's actuated directly from the ECU, so you really don't want to hook into that.

Safer would be to hook into the reverse sensing switch on the 1800, which connects to ground when the bike is shifted into reverse (green/orange wire).

[Fiberthree]

Thanks Admin. I'm not up on the 1800 wiring and can only draw on my experience with my '99s circuitry.

[dwarven1]

The 1800 has LED dash lights, so it's not going to run on 12 volts - and it's actuated directly from the ECU, so you really don't want to hook into that.

Safer would be to hook into the reverse sensing switch on the 1800, which connects to ground when the bike is shifted into reverse (green/orange wire).

So a relay hooked to the positive side of the ignition (or the accessory circuit) and the negative side to the reverse sensing switch (green/orange wire) would work? Where would one find this green/orange wire?

[WingAdmin]

The 1800 has LED dash lights, so it's not going to run on 12 volts - and it's actuated directly from the ECU, so you really don't want to hook into that.

Safer would be to hook into the reverse sensing switch on the 1800, which connects to ground when the bike is shifted into reverse (green/orange wire).

So a relay hooked to the positive side of the ignition (or the accessory circuit) and the negative side to the reverse sensing switch (green/orange wire) would work? Where would one find this green/orange wire?

Easiest place to find it on any Goldwing is where it connects directly to the reverse switch!

That said, whenever I hook into something like this, I will normally put a diode in place, to avoid any unexpected effects of applying the +12v to the output of the existing reverse sensing circuit.

Before relay and diodes

With relay and diodes installed

[BlueThunder]

How about a beep-beep as well??

[Andy Cote]

I have used several of the emergency vehicle type lights. I do try to stay with the common brand names and do not know anything about the specific linked lights.

On my GL1800 I recently installed a white Fenix brand three LED light in place of the reflector and installed a Federal Signal brand backup beeper behind the rear fender. Fenix has a solid light as one of the programable patterns. But I did not tap in to the reverse harness. I used a separate handlebar switch. I did not want it to come on every time/all the time as I will use reverse as a "parking brake" as well as I did not always want or need the attention.

[Fiberthree]

How about a beep-beep as well??

I have that also! It is a small but annoying beeper that I installed behind the left storage cubby on the trunk. I wired it to the same circuit as the LED but I also put a small on/off switch inside the cubby so I can turn the audible part off if I need to. Such as late at night when I don't wish to announce my arrival to the neighborhood as I back my ride into the garage. Together they don't add that much more of a current draw.

[Greenwinger]

When I first picked up my 97 in 05 at the dealer, I put it in reverse and just about jumped off the bike, the PO had wired in a full on heavy duty construction vehicle back up beeper, I have driven huge tandem/tandem 11meter concrete trucks and quad axel dump trucks and their beepers were not this loud. The sales guy who I have been dealing with for years almost crapped out a kitten he was laughing so hard. I then remove 12 1/2 lbs of chrome bits off the bike (yes I weighed it) before I left the dealership. And as soon as I got home I removed the backup beeper, left the backup lights in place, thought they were a good idea. Having been a commercial truck driver for more then 30 years one of the first things I learned was. If you can't drive through a parking spot. IT IS ALWAYS SAFER AND EASIER TO BACK INTO A PARKING SPACE THEN BACK OUT OF ONE, whenever possible. But I do thank the motorcycle Gods almost every day for automotive style cruise control, and reverse on my 1500.

[Nicki]

On the new 1800 Goldwing DCT Airbag:
Is there any possibility,to get a signal, when you pulling back within the walking mode?

If so, it would be great to have a beep sound and reverse light for that!

[Rambozo]

You could monitor that data on the CANBUS.

[Nicki]

Yes, but how do i get the signal? Or where?

I have the 'walking mode' for slow manover forward and back. But how could i get a signal, when i am backing up?

[Rambozo]

Nothing plug and play that I know of. You would have to roll your own with something like an ESP or Arduino.

[BlueThunder]

Or use a magnetic mini-switch attached to the reverse handle.

[Rambozo]

No handle, just buttons and computers on the DCT.
There is some kind of clunking shift when you enter walking mode, so maybe you can locate what is moving and put a switch there, but that same shift might be used for normal riding modes too, or it might be all internal and not accessible. For sure the data is on the CANBUS, it will just take some work to decode it and make use of it. Would be a nice project.