Jump to content

Tail light wiring help with Black Box Aurora


maximNikenGT

Recommended Posts

  • Supporting Member

Need some assistance please with trying to connect my power distribution module to my tail light cables please. According to my instructions I'm  supposed to connect the yellow cable to an active wire e.g. Generally the tail light. I think I've found which set of cables it is however there are three cables as part of the tail light cabling. A black, a brown and a yellow cable. I'm assuming black is ground, what are the brown vs yellow cables?

 

555248C3-EE48-4893-9D8C-32725C6F9491.jpeg

BFF51A12-C71A-4575-8B87-6535BF159F73.jpeg

213848F9-45AF-465A-BE72-A3797CDE3D88.jpeg

3F820826-596F-4A06-BEC4-3218E730AF05.jpeg

Edited by maximNikenGT
Spelling correction

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Supporting Member

Ok a few notes on my Aurora distribution module installation. 

1. Connecting the battery terminals was frustrating only because the nuts that retain the bolts that secure the positive and negative cables kept falling down into the guts of the bike. Between having to use a magnetic tool, grasping claw, long headed hooked pick, or a combination of all three, I spent a stupid amount of time just trying to get the bolts into the nuts. What compounded the issue was the unusual backside of the battery posts that allowed for an option between top mounting or side mounting of the connecting terminals. Because of the mounting flexibility, if you try to mount from the top, the bolt sits on a half ledge where if the top bolt doesn't come down exactly correct then it drops into the little edge and usually falls down into the guts of the bike. Lots of swearing and scraped knuckles later I finally got it connected. 

2. Live wire to the tail light is the brown. Positap it and you're good to go. This part was confusing because there are three cables ( yellow,brown, black) that then runs to a connector where it changes colors to blue, black and yellow before entering the tail light housing. Tapping into brown before it converts colors at the connector was the key for me. BBB21804-ED5A-4E5D-A4AD-88E4CF0E4FE2.jpeg.3763fa4a89d38b9ddd6e78d7aff1bd2d.jpeg
 

3. Good news - wiring works perfectly. Bad news, if you try to mount the Aurora on top of the battery, it's too tall to allow your seat to sit correctly in its grooves. So now I have to reposition the Neutrino in a different spot  and rerun all the wiring under the steel frame cross members again. There's a small area closer to the tail of the bike that is a compartment area for small items that I'm going to repurpose for the Aurora. However, this area is not water tight, so I'll need to mount the Aurora with connectors facing down so if it does get hit with water, then the terminals won't pool water. Take deep breaths - almost there. 06675145-359C-45A0-994B-13DA30D521BD.jpeg.03312b60584d2cb095142feb18a8ab7b.jpeg

165FF675-D563-41B4-89F6-A2B9904AEC69.jpeg

D82AA60E-9813-43A4-886E-D31689D7B085.jpeg

0BC9E056-D89E-4A7E-93CB-99000A222784.jpeg

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Supporting Member

Ok fixed everything such that the Aurora module fits in a little compartment area under the rear pillion. Had to drill in a small hole in the side tail plastic to allow the Givi tail light wiring to go through. If I had let the cable sit between where the pillion seat rests up against the tail I was afraid that over time the cable might wear through or be damaged due to repeated cycles of compression. 

Equipment and tools needed Included zipties to keep the wiring tidy, my Shimano steel cable cutting tool used to cut brake cables cleanly for my road bicycle, wire stripping tool, small flathead screwdriver, power drill with bits, were a must have to ensure tight connections to the  Aurora. 

After verifying that both drivers seat and passenger pillion had no problems with seating, fired up the ignition and was good to go!

E45E9FEF-CBC5-4050-8906-7E3C78452C46.jpeg

52B5428E-CC28-4391-9FD2-C981CC074129.jpeg

47A12895-B4A9-448F-812B-EC97A71D6D88.jpeg

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Good writeup, thanks for the info on the battery terminals.  Have too much experience over the years searching for dropped nuts and bolts!  

How do you like the Neutrino Aurora?  Contemplating getting the lower priced version for controlling aux lights as well as a heated gear controller.  In addition would like to add some rear tail lights and brake lights.  I had a Hex EZCan controller on my BMW that was somewhat similar but tapped into the CanBus for inputs like turn signals, high/low beams and brake lights.     I really like having aux lights for visibility in the daytime and very seldom ride at night due to animals like deer.  

Used to worry about the reliability of electronic devices but now most electronic devices are very reliable.  However connections not necessary so but are (maybe) easier to fix on the road.  

  • Thumbsup 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Supporting Member
1 hour ago, PhotoAl said:

Good writeup, thanks for the info on the battery terminals.  Have too much experience over the years searching for dropped nuts and bolts!  

How do you like the Neutrino Aurora?  Contemplating getting the lower priced version for controlling aux lights as well as a heated gear controller.  In addition would like to add some rear tail lights and brake lights.  I had a Hex EZCan controller on my BMW that was somewhat similar but tapped into the CanBus for inputs like turn signals, high/low beams and brake lights.     I really like having aux lights for visibility in the daytime and very seldom ride at night due to animals like deer.  

Used to worry about the reliability of electronic devices but now most electronic devices are very reliable.  However connections not necessary so but are (maybe) easier to fix on the road.  

Very pleased with the Aurora. Actually had the regular Neutrino sitting around in a box for my last bike that I never got around to installing and learned that Arboreal  Systems  had an upgrade program where you could upgrade your unit for $100 more to the Aurora, which is what I promptly did. Turnaround time was fast (~5 days).

I had picked this power distribution module over competing units primarily because of the attention to detail in the software integration functionality. No issues whatsoever with setup on my iPhone XR and the Bluetooth connected no problem with the Aurora module.  The Aurora app also has built in compass, speedometer, thermostat, altimeter and battery voltage readout so it eliminated the need to add any additional instruments and cables. Also has an emergency low voltage cutoff so in the event an electrical farkle takes too much juice when you're at a stop, it will automatically shut down those circuits to maintain enough battery to startup. 

Currently running trickle charger connection, Kanetsu heated vest, and Givi tail lights on my V47 topcase, with slots remaining for future auxiliary lights, Garmin Zumo power cable, and possibly a garage door opener option that Arboreal Systems sells. 

Biggest advantages are A) reduced need for crazy wiring and fuses, and B) the automated settings in the Aurora app that controls power levels for heated gear or lights e.g. Set the Lighting to automatically come on during sunrise / sunset, automatically and dynamically  increase temperature in heated gear by ambient temperature or increasing speeds,  set your topcase LED lighting to flash intermittently when you activate your brakes. 

My biggest gripe is with how small the screws and connecting terminals are. Because the unit is so compact it seems ideally suited for 12-16 gauge wiring configurations. Additionally,  because the connecting terminals are so small, your electrical wire stripping and trimming technique needs to be very cleanly cut and trimmed to just the right length of exposed wiring. Too little exposed wiring and the connector won't securely grip the wire, too much and you risk a short occurring because of how close adjacent cable connections are. I used a Shimano brake cable cutting tool for my road bicycle to ensure extremely clean and precise wiring cuts. 

Was pleased to see that the Aurora had no problems adjusting output for LED lights, wasn't sure if it was capable of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) necessary for dimming of  LED lights, but was pleased that YES IT CAN DIM LEDS! This was one of my primary reasons for getting these since I don't like to ride at night without a ton of lighting because of wildlife.  

There's also an option to link your auxiliary lights to your high beams.  You have to connect a wire from your high beams to the specific  relay only driven connection on the Aurora. You then use the app to link your auxiliary lights anytime the high beam is detected in the wire that goes to the dedicated relay connector. Once that's connected, anytime you activate your hi beams your auxiliary lights come on - which becomes helpful for passing. 

Now I just have to figure out which lights to get e.g. Clearwater Darlas, Baja Designs Squadron SAEs , PIAA 270, or Denali D2s are currently on my short list. Only problem is that I may have to buy engine crash guards first in order to have a decent place to mount the auxiliary lights. 

 

 

 

41FD0400-E105-43AA-A4A5-72187904A96C.jpeg

 

 

177997D4-598E-4EDD-B3EE-17F4B23AE8A4.jpeg

92683FA9-4EC2-4425-92D4-AAC68614B24F.jpeg

03E036DF-4650-426C-ABDC-5C48FE3D5F6D.jpeg

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks!  Currently have these lights https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083TXGSGV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 because they looked nice and were cheap.  So far they look very nice sitting in the box :-) working on mounting brackets.  Also looked at the ADVMonster Model 57FA.  Had the ADVMonster Model 30s on my BMW and liked them very much.  I modulated them with no ill effects for over 10,000 miles.   My Amazon lights are inexpensive but look solid and well made.  I'm looking more for a small light that is visible but not blindly bright - why I like the PWM modulation so I can keep the light dim for low beam but go brighter with high beam.  I have noticed riding the Tracer GT around locally more folks pull out and turn in font of me than did with the BMW.  Before I installed the aux lights on it I had the same problem and had gone to running high beam all the time during the day just for visibility.  This is more an issue with a suburban environment where motorcycles are not common.  People are in a rush and don't look carefully - ever!  Southerners are nice until they get in a car.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
On 9/28/2020 at 1:18 AM, maximNikenGT said:

2. Live wire to the tail light is the brown. Positap it and you're good to go. This part was confusing because there are three cables ( yellow,brown, black) that then runs to a connector where it changes colors to blue, black and yellow before entering the tail light housing. Tapping into brown before it converts colors at the connector was the key for me.

I suppose my question is about the junction of the that harness/connector.  It seems to be clipped into the frame.  Can that be pulled out without breaking the clip?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×