Kisan signalMinder Install with Pics!

BinDerSmokDat

.040 Over
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Messages
94
Location
Southern NJ
You just come off a nice long stretch of open road and pull up at a light. As you are stopped a car comes up from behind and you smile over at the sweet young things inside. They smile back. The light changes, you pull off the line…and look down and realize that your turn signal has been on for ohhh 5 miles. Nice going, could have been worse, it could have been some guys on Harleys that pulled up and noticed your “grampaâ€Â
 
And you'd be right, tmac.


Bin - am I right in assuming that if you only want the first function you mentioned - Automatically shuts off you blinkers after 10, 20 or 30 flashes, that it would be just plug & play, and you could ignore the rest?
 
owl said:
And you'd be right, tmac.


Bin - am I right in assuming that if you only want the first function you mentioned - Automatically shuts off you blinkers after 10, 20 or 30 flashes, that it would be just plug & play, and you could ignore the rest?

You are correct. But the brake line should be installed to get the best functionality. It will keep the countdown from starting at long traffic signals until you are off of the brakes completely. Hooking up the single brake sensor wire will not flash the tail lights with brakes until you tap into the left and right control wires, the same ones that give you hazard and escort lights.

And let's be honest, if I can find the blue wire and tap into it, anyone can find the blie wire.

I have mine set to 10 flashes, about 8 seconds and that is perfect with the brake hookup. There is also a quick flash mode for lane changes but the details escape me and I am away from the manual right now.

The vectorLights are an easy plug 'N play addition as well, but I stillhave the stock mirrors (round) with no straight underside to mount the lights to, so I didn't order them. I will add these when I upgrade the mirrors.

And they recommend putting the springs in to your switch to make it self cancelling. I haven't tackled the turn signal switch yet, when I do I will update the post. I guess in theory you could ignore the switch but when you go to signal it will be in left or right mode, so it sort of defeats part of the purpose of self cancelling.

One more thing, the signalMinder is solid state so if you have LED's, incandescent bulbs or any mix thereof the signalMinder can handle it, so no need for load equalizers.

OWL does this mean I need to bring some Kisan stuff with me in August or can you order their stuff directly? ;)
 
OWL does this mean I need to bring some Kisan stuff with me in August or can you order their stuff directly?

:D Dunno yet - their site has no information on shipping that I could find, whether homeland or international, and I would want to see how the return spring mod goes on your bike as well.
 
I saw OWL's latest reply and since I had time, decided to tackle the turn signal switch. It got a little hairy.


First, ignore the instructions. They show two switch types, neither of which are the R3 switch. Also ignore the part where they tell you to loosen the Allen bolts. You don’t have to loosen the Allen bolts that hold the switch/clutch/handgrip assembly to the handle bar. Instead, remove the Phillips head machine screw on the back of the switch housing and the one directly underneath the switch housing. Note that you have to unlock the handlebars and straighten them out to get the bottom screw out. Also the bottom screw is shorter. Don’t mix it up with the longer screw for the back.

This is what the inside looks like…



I removed the screw holding a brass plate that keeps the wire loom in place for the headlight switch. It’s not shown but the empty screw hole is visible upper left corner. On the lower left is you wire loom. You will need to cut the zip tie holding the loom in order to maneuver around in there. (This gave me the opportunity to install a black zip tie upon reassembly, and since we all know black is the fastest color, this is a good thing!) Dead center in the pic is the back of the horn switch. I removed the screw holding the horn button, which also holds one end of the turn signal switch beneath. Be careful when you lift up the horn switch, there is a cone spring in there. That little round brass nipple on the lower right is the horn button contact. When you reinstall the horn switch, remember the small end of the spring goes towards the button (down) and the wide end towards the switch. Be warned that while you are working in there, the horn button will come out. Better to remove it and put it someplace safe, then reinstall it just before you button things up.

Next I removed the other screw holding the turn signal switch. You can’t see it in the above pic but it would be behind the loom on the left, under the zip tie. There is a third tab with no screw in it on the turn signal switch. It is just visible in the top of the picture, beneath the rainbow of headlight wires and the triangular brass plate. While there is no screw, you need to be aware of the tab, because you have to lift the turn signal switch and angle that tab out from under the headlight loom. You could also remove the headlight switch I suppose, but there are enough loose things in the assembly at this point without making this needlessly complicated.

Well after I got the turn signal switch out, I noticed that there was no easy way to disable the latching mechanism that locks the switch left or right. The instructions recommend inserting a foam plug or spring in the gaps between the left and right switches and the housing. Not an option.

So seeing no option I decide (in retrospect, unwisely) to open up the turn signal switch housing itself. I expected a few loose parts to come out, but I was not as ready as I thought. A bunch of tiny springs and at least two ball bearings flew out, along with one copper contact.



As you can see, these are some tiny parts. My curiosity had killed the cat that had opened a Pandora’s box that my ham hands could not close. I defeinitely saw one micro ball bearing fall on the ground and despite crawling around on my hands and knees with Neo magnet, I couldn’t find that sucker. I did however find that the average makeup of debris on your patio is iron filings. Lots of them. In addition, when all of the parts flew out, I didn’t see how they were oriented. So basically it was like a little grenade going off, throwing out springs, copper contacts and tiny ball bearing shrapnel…and you had to figure out where everything went. I was f*cked.

Here is what the assembly looked like when I had it apart.





The problem was I only ever saw those copper contacts lying flat, so I tried several times to put everything together, with the contacts lying flat. Also note that I thought the ball bearing went on the ned of the springs, like a ball detent. :oops: After several times, I kept thinking about those dark lines, and eventually I figured out they were from the copper contacts sliding back and forth, on edge. The “Hâ€Â
 
It wasn't so bad, the worst part is the switch is part of the harness so you can't take it inside, set it on a bench under some good light and fiddle with the thing. You basically have to sit on the bike and hold the housing with one hand and fiddle with the parts with your free hand.

I figured out something. If you look at the center of the switch housing, see those two little pawls offset to the right and left?



Those are what holds the switch right and left. If you can remove them or their counterparts inside the slide of the switch (the actual part that protrudes through the housing) your switch will be auto centering without having to hit the cancel button. Someone on here mentioned just snipping them with dikes, but I try to make my mods reversible, so I can return to stock configuration if required. I will have to get back inside and see if they can be easily removed.

Part of my problem last time was I was so panicked because I thought I had permanently f*cked up (I almost called a dealer to ask how much a new assembly was) that I didn't really try to tinker with it. Once I figured out how to get it back together, I just put it all back and left it alone.

I'm now confident I could talk someone through disassembling the switch housing on the phone if they have my pics.
 
Finally wired up two more of the features I wasn't using; I tapped into the right and left turn signal circuits so now the turn signals are daytime running lights, Hazard Lights and Escort Lights. Also they will flash in a decaying pattern as you brake to draw attention. If you brake while turning the decaying flash is overridden and just the turn signal blinks.

Here is video...



I've already used the hazards stopped on the side of the road to pull out a map. Messed with the escort lights on an empty road at night with my buddies. They loved the look.

The only drawback, which seems really negative at first, is that the turn signal circuit is energized full time for running lights, so the green turn signal indicator light stays on. At first I was really peeved by his but after a while I got use to it.

If I hit the switch the turn signal is on, the light is just there to remind me to shut it off, which the signalMinder does anyway. I can say after using the signalMinder for a few months, it really is nice to not have to worry about turn signals.

On a ride this weekend my buddy was ahead of me and his left signal was on for a mile. I cringed as cars started to pull out but then thankfully saw he wasn't turning. Finally caught him and told him. He ordered the signalMinder for his Monster 1100S the next day.

The only feature I am not currently using is the vectraLights, which are LED strips that mount under your mirrors and flash sequentially left to right and vice versa when turning (yellow on front/red on back). Helpful at a stop light when someone in an SUV is right on your tail and can't see your signals or brake light. There are 2 modular jacks on the turnsignal unit that accomodate these so it's just a matter of sticking them under your mirrors and hiding the wires. Unfortunately they want $100 for two led strips. I can't see spending that, though I may change my mind.
 
I got the vetra lights and they rock

I had the whole kabudel installed from Kissan.

MCC in illinois installed the vectra lights and a led license plate light and the turn signal minder, they seem tastful, dont mess with the lines of the bike but make it look like a **** christmas tree at night.

Anyone blind enough to hit me is actually blind.

I would highly recomend all the kissan materials for the rocket. I have had the tire pressure monitor installed -- so no more laying down on the ground to check the tire pressure.

I have the charge guard installed after a dead battery one year -- never again.

And I have the headlight ossilator on the bike so cagers dont turn left in front of me.

In fact with the whole outfit, I feel way more confident driving here in the city without feeling like I am going to get hit.

Oh and another great visibility buy was the side saddle bags.
Mutazu MU Hard Bags they each have their own light in them which I used to replace the back turn signals and which are additional running lights.

So between all the lights and the maddog pipes and a cat bypass, I should be covered.
 
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