Hopefully this is an easy one for Mik or the other electronic gurus.. I have fitted a Givi V46 top box which seems a popular choice, (the Police bike at Vectrix UK and another I have seen in melbourne). Fine but then I installed the stop light kit. Lights work fine for 2 seconds then all stop lights cut out. I have taped over connection and original stop light works fine. From other threads I reasoned this is to do with the ICM. Vectrix UK confirmed as follows "Yes you are correct about the ICM and the currant draw. If is senses any peculiarity within its voltage draw parameters it shuts down the circuit.A similar thing happens when the licence plate lamp fails ,you will notice that the front running led goes out or goes dim."
Anyone any ideas on solving, or is this a programming issue?
How did you install the kit and what is the kit? What kind of lights? LED's? How many, what wattage?
You might also fry your rear light if the supply voltage drops too much. That can be very expensive!
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
I installed kit according to directions. i.e. I tapped into brakelite circuit at stoplight connection which invoved dissembling whole rear end of bike! Yeas lights are LED draw 9.2w, 0.76A. Seems to me issue is does anyone know how to reprogram ICM. It was so much easier before electronics.....
I too was looking at doing a Givi brake/tail light but I haven't taken it further as I needed to finish designing an interface board to drive my new LEDs from a sense wire connected to existing rear light cluster and separate (but still bike driven) supply. As and when I get some time to do it, I'll let you know how I get on.
Best wishes,
Drew
Drew
hmmm....seems to me we need someone to hack the software....This from a previous post
"On last point on this issue is that the Vectrix is designed with some pretty fine tolerances and changing things around could cause stress on the wiring and switching transistors that control the circuits. They are not like you normal bikes or cars where the switch controls the current flow, with the Vectrix the switch sends a signal to the ICM and the ICM then switches the circuit. So please be careful and keep this in mind when modifying things.
Welcome to the world of cutting edge electronics, it wont be long before all vehicles will be built like this, its just a case that the Vectrix is leading the way at this point in time. To all the Vectrix owners, you are leading the way to a brand new world, some will fight it most will embrace it, but the change is here to stay.
As I said it was much easier before electronics......
Cheers
Reprograming the ICM without the source code looks pretty difficult...
Do you really need that light?
Read this, please: http://visforvoltage.org/book/ev-collaborative-hand-books/7216
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
That is almost 5 times the current draw of the original brake light!
Maybe a software feature has been added that shuts down the power supply to the rear light if it starts to draw more amps (in response to a drop in supply voltage).
Adding an additional current drain would then look to the stock electronics as if the rear light was about to fry itself - so it shuts down the power to protect the rear light.
Just a wild guess, this!
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
I also have a Givi box but without lights. I was thinking about having additional lights powered by an independent battery, like a flashlight battery, etc., that would be inside the box. A small relay could be wired into the light circuit to close the circuit and turn on the lights. But, I am not that knowledgeable so what do some of you guru's think? Would a relay require much power to activate?
10 watts of LED power can be brighter than your headlights. I strongly suspect those aren't actually LEDs, just small incandescent bulbs. I know the older Givi kits weren't LED, not sure about the newer ones.
You might look at the kit by AddMoreLighting, I know they use LEDs.
https://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/3981/680/
Power draw for their kit is 0.18A, much better than 0.76 you list.
My electric vehicle: CuMoCo C130 scooter.
I completely agree. The price of 10w in leds would be higher than the entire Givi box!...
If you find a light with better consumption, you can use the energy from the plug inside the glove compartment. maximum amunt possible to be drained is about 0.5 amps*h.
I think you're making things more complex than you need to. When I started installing additional rear lighting on my scooter, the first step was to replace the stock incandescent brake/tail lights with LED replacement bulbs. That gave me much more room to add other lights without increasing my net current draw. (On my gas scooter, I've got a set of hyperlights, a light in my Givi box, and a small motorcycle trailer that also has LED brake/tail bulbs)
But, to answer your question, a relay should draw very little power, if you really wanted to go that route. You might even skip the extra battery, and just use a relay to trigger a draw from elsewhere in the electrical circuit. That would bypass the built-in checks on the brake light circuit, but might trigger checks on whatever circuit you picked.
Personally, I'd just use the AddMoreLighting kit, since we know it's LED and has a low draw, coupled with a LED bulb replacement for the stock tail lights.
My electric vehicle: CuMoCo C130 scooter.
Yes you are quite right, i should have realised that the current draw is too much for LED's and that would appear to be the reason that the ICM is shutting down the circuit. Thanks for the link, it would have been a better option than the Givi kit.
Best bet, when adding accessories to the VECTRIX, is to do as I did. I added a 20 ampere-hour, 13.2 volt, LiFePO4 battery to power added equipment. This separate, isolated power source can power my stereo, electric gloves, 2 way HAM radio, extra lights, and a louder horn. To add devices such as tail and brake lights, tap into the stock light wiring to activate a MAGNECRAFT solid-state relay, such as the # 70S2-04-B-06-N, which steals less than 25 ma. from the VECTRIX wiring, and can control up to 6 amperes from the (added) auxillary battery. These MAGNECRAFT solid-state relays are available from NEWARK ELECTRONICS, and cost around $23.00 each. They can also be used to activate a big electro-mechanical relay is higher amperages are required, for such items as HID headlights, Air horns, or big stereo amplifiers! The Vectrix lighting circuits do not seem to mind providing an extra 25 ma. or less, but do have problems at higher currents, such as 500 ma. and above. An added benefit, is that by using the added battery, you do not have the decrease of range from powering your added devices!-Bob
Robert M. Curry
Very interesting! Have you posted pictures of your extra battery and electronics?
Another simple alternative alternative might be to rig up a separate with an inertia switch in the circuit switching the light on on deceleration?
Keep it shiny side up!
Another simple alternative alternative might be to rig up a separate circuit with its own battery and an inertia switch in the circuit switching the light on on deceleration?
Keep it shiny side up!