Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => Accessories and modifications - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: badf85 on November 16, 2014, 05:03:01 PM
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This thing blinds me when it's on. Anybody tried dimming it down. If so, how have you done it?
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Black electrical tape over the sob...
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+1
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This thing blinds me when it's on. Anybody tried dimming it down. If so, how have you done it?
Yes, it is EXTREMELY blinding. The easy and cheap solution is a small piece of electric tape or opaque cling plastic and just stick it on the clear plastic covering 95% of the light and the problem solved.
The complex, time-consuming, difficult way is to disassemble the bike and dash and then cover the light inside the dash or tone it down by covering over it with semi-opaque paint or marker.
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A more elegant way to dim the light might be to replace the bulb with a lower watt bulb. But I don't have a problem with it, in fact I like it. Course, I'm half blind so maybe its only half as bright for me.
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A more elegant way to dim the light might be to replace the bulb with a lower watt bulb.
It might be an LED. Nobody has ever confirmed what type of bulb it is.
But I don't have a problem with it, in fact I like it. Course, I'm half blind so maybe its only half as bright for me.
You must, indeed, be half blind- that thing is so bright it is dangerous! The times you need high beams is out in nowhere, when it is dark and there are no oncoming cars. And during those times, the glare from the indicator is so great, it actually makes it hard to see down the road. Of course, my eyes are getting older and I notice each year I seem to have a little more problem with glare with night driving.
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Hi
I have dimmed the head beam indicator light on mine.
The lights are LEDs
Full write up here: -
http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3891.15 (http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3891.15)
Richard
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A long time ago, a frequent visitor to this forum specified the way he 'dimmed' his: he used a 1K Ohm resistor in series with the LED that illuminates the high beam indicator. It knocked the brightness way down and was a very satisfactory fix for that gentleman as I remember.
That indicator uses a dedicated circuit (wire) to illuminate it; it is easy to find in the schematic and you would have to then find that wire, cut it and install the resistor in- line and then weatherproof the wire again. Fairly easy to do but you would need to be reasonably proficient at electrics (soldering, shrink tubing) and able to disassemble the bike sufficiently to find the wire, which terminates in the plug at the instrument cluster.
Brian
This thing blinds me when it's on. Anybody tried dimming it down. If so, how have you done it?
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It is an LED soldered to the circuit board that is under the instrument cluster. They are surface mounted and so would have to be de- soldered and another LED soldered in place to achieve a lower light output. Probably easier to leave the P.C. board alone and interrupt the wiring going to the instrument cluster instead; IMO of course.
Brian
A more elegant way to dim the light might be to replace the bulb with a lower watt bulb. But I don't have a problem with it, in fact I like it. Course, I'm half blind so maybe its only half as bright for me.
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It is an LED soldered to the circuit board that is under the instrument cluster. They are surface mounted and so would have to be de- soldered and another LED soldered in place to achieve a lower light output. Probably easier to leave the P.C. board alone and interrupt the wiring going to the instrument cluster instead; IMO of course.
Brian
I did not bother to check the details since it is not an issue for me and just qualified my comment with the "might". The in-line resister is a good solution, way better than tape.
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It might be an LED. Nobody has ever confirmed what type of bulb it is.
You must, indeed, be half blind- that thing is so bright it is dangerous! The times you need high beams is out in nowhere, when it is dark and there are no oncoming cars. And during those times, the glare from the indicator is so great, it actually makes it hard to see down the road. Of course, my eyes are getting older and I notice each year I seem to have a little more problem with glare with night driving.
I was not joking, I am blind in one eye since an accident in 1974. The red light that annoys so many doesn't bother me either. This may actually be a benefit of being blind in one eye. Probably the only one.
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A piece of scrap window tint from a local car window tinting shop. Probably would even be free. Trim to shape with scissors. Add extra layers if one isn't dark enough. Removable later if desired.
This is how I dimmed my redonkulously bright alarm clock.
... and my GPS. Even on the lowest brightness setting it was still too bright. Trimmed a piece of window tint to fit neatly inside the surround ... and the touch screen even works exactly as it did before I added the tint.
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A really slick solution would be a dimming circuit that responded to ambient light. Full daylight, full indicator lights. Nighttime, perhaps 50% brightness (just a guess) going through a tunnel- maybe 70% would be the right amount. With a light detector on the dash, all this is possible and even easy, at least for the manufacturer.
Brian
I did not bother to check the details since it is not an issue for me and just qualified my comment with the "might". The in-line resister is a good solution, way better than tape.
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A really slick solution would be a dimming circuit that responded to ambient light. Full daylight, full indicator lights. Nighttime, perhaps 50% brightness (just a guess) going through a tunnel- maybe 70% would be the right amount. With a light detector on the dash, all this is possible and even easy, at least for the manufacturer.
Even better yet, a circuit that prevents the high beams from being used in daylight for more than a few seconds. And a sensor to disable them when it senses oncoming traffic at night. And a hyper hi/lo flash when horn pressed. And a feature that teleports slow people out of your way. :)
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A long time ago, a frequent visitor to this forum specified the way he 'dimmed' his: he used a 1K Ohm resistor in series with the LED that illuminates the high beam indicator. It knocked the brightness way down and was a very satisfactory fix for that gentleman as I remember.
That indicator uses a dedicated circuit (wire) to illuminate it; it is easy to find in the schematic and you would have to then find that wire, cut it and install the resistor in- line and then weatherproof the wire again. Fairly easy to do but you would need to be reasonably proficient at electrics (soldering, shrink tubing) and able to disassemble the bike sufficiently to find the wire, which terminates in the plug at the instrument cluster.
Brian
Brian, this seems like the best way to fix this problem. Now we just need to find a really smart man that can point us mentally challenged to what wire and what resistor to install. Hint hint.
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Even better yet, a circuit that prevents the high beams from being used in daylight for more than a few seconds. ...
Haven't you heard ... some people ride around with their high beams on during the day :o
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:popcorn:
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And yes, I had to do this..
http://youtu.be/ld4tIG_PAdo (http://youtu.be/ld4tIG_PAdo)
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And yes, I had to do this..
....aaah yes, the classics are compulsory.
This clearly holds it's own (for us) with Who's on First and others in that category. :rotflmao:
Ya think maybe Breaker19 now writes for Second City?
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And yes, I had to do this..
LOL
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Richard. Wales UK - provided all this information on making the light less bright, it's a PDF file so you can download it:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgsdb5moiifrscs/High%20Beam%20Indicator%20Light.pdf?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgsdb5moiifrscs/High%20Beam%20Indicator%20Light.pdf?dl=0)
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Brilliant!
http://youtu.be/3DPKf7y1F-Q (http://youtu.be/3DPKf7y1F-Q)
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Richard. Wales UK - provided all this information on making the light less bright, it's a PDF file so you can download it:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgsdb5moiifrscs/High%20Beam%20Indicator%20Light.pdf?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgsdb5moiifrscs/High%20Beam%20Indicator%20Light.pdf?dl=0)
Thanks so much! That's what I was looking for. I will be doing this soon.
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. And a feature that teleports slow people out of your way. :)
I want one of those
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Brilliant!
http://youtu.be/3DPKf7y1F-Q (http://youtu.be/3DPKf7y1F-Q)
Don't dring 6 beers at the same time... Not so sure that's brilliant.
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Don't knock it til you try it.
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Don't knock it til you try it.
Exactly!
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That's a lot of work to dim a light I just stick a piece of chewing gum over! :nuts:
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You could try a small square of that painters tape (blue of course). Or you could try green but I think that the light might come out yellow, which might not be a bad thing. I'll try that next time I run the bike.
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Well, you're gonna' need two pieces to do both eyes.
Or did you mean putting it over the indicator light?
Brian
That's a lot of work to dim a light I just stick a piece of chewing gum over! :nuts:
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Well, you're gonna' need two pieces to do both eyes.
Or did you mean putting it over the indicator light?
Brian
:rotflmao: Reminds me of: "It's dark and we're wearing sunglasses"
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Thanks so much! That's what I was looking for. I will be doing this soon.
I am *FAR* too lazy for all THAT work. My 5 second install of a piece of black electric tape on the display, 3+ years ago, still works great :)
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:rotflmao: Reminds me of: "It's dark and we're wearing sunglasses"
Again, I can't help myself...one of my most favorite movies ever...
http://youtu.be/WZ3zZ-aWi6U (http://youtu.be/WZ3zZ-aWi6U)
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I am *FAR* too lazy for all THAT work. My 5 second install of a piece of black electric tape on the display, 3+ years ago, still works great :)
Its not a bad job, few hours, beats watching crap on telly ;D
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Richard. Wales UK - provided all this information on making the light less bright, it's a PDF file so you can download it:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgsdb5moiifrscs/High%20Beam%20Indicator%20Light.pdf?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgsdb5moiifrscs/High%20Beam%20Indicator%20Light.pdf?dl=0)
I did this and it wasn't difficult at all. Works great, nowhere near as bright. Instead of the piercing bright blue, it is more of a deep purple. I could do the next time in less than 30 minutes. Thanks again for the info!!
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Man, modifying a circuit, in lieu ofth sticking a piece of tape on the gage cover? That's a real no brainer... seriously.
Screw up on the solder mod, and you are fugged as far as Kaw goes... null and void on anything that occurs on the display...
Man
Anyone ever hear of K.I.S.S. theory?
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Man, modifying a circuit, in lieu ofth sticking a piece of tape on the gage cover? That's a real no brainer... seriously.
Screw up on the solder mod, and you are fugged as far as Kaw goes... null and void on anything that occurs on the display...
Man
Anyone ever hear of K.I.S.S. theory?
Yes I know the theory well. That's what I am saying this a very simple fix. There was no modifying of any circuit. I guess you didn't read the instructions. I could have done this when I was 10 years old. Have fun with your tape.
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:rotflmao: ... I'm going to use blue painters tape and see how that works out. If it doesn't, I'll use green and get a yellow light. The procedure to get to the back of the cluster written up by Richard was pretty nifty, even if you don't use it to dim the light.
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I did this and it wasn't difficult at all. Works great, nowhere near as bright. Instead of the piercing bright blue, it is more of a deep purple. I could do the next time in less than 30 minutes. Thanks again for the info!!
Glad it worked ok, as you say not a hard job, I spent more time taking pics and writing notes than the job itself took.
Richard
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My friend saw me riding by one night and the next day he asked me what was on my bike that made me look like I was in a video game? What? Then I realized that the bright blue light reflected blue on the reflective piping of my white riding jacket. Cool!
Tint seems most reasonable for dimming it. But we all have our ways of dealing with things.
I have been riding with my brights on at least half the time. Installing HIDs and LEDs before Christmas in hopes of not be riding with the blue light on very much anymore. Looking for a scrap of tint now :D
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I just look up at the sky and my chin-bar blocks it. ;D
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Ok, then how do you see where you are going if you are looking up all the time? Remind me to stay home when you are riding at night. ;)
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Ok, then how do you see where you are going if you are looking up all the time? Remind me to stay home when you are riding at night. ;)
The more people that stay home, the better. :thumbs: