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thanks for taking the time to post this. i'm sure you will help many:action::waving:
thanks for taking the time to post this. i'm sure you will help many:action::waving:
How to install HID headlight on a GL 1200
imported post
Disclaimer: I am not a professional bike mechanic, but I hope this helps some other do it yourselfers out there.
Instructions on how I changed my 1200 halogen headlight over to a HID dual beam light. H4-3 bulb.
First I bought a HD conversion Kit on ebay that had the wiring harness adaptor for a motorcycle. The auction I won was like this one auction # 250512147254 you can cut and paste the # in ebay search to find it. Just for the record I have nothing to do with this company. Took 15 days to get it but I got the kit for $26 and free shipping, what a steal!:shock: I know there are other kits out there but this is the only one I have experience with.
Why I did the conversion: More light for less wattage. I got the 35 watt kit to help take some of the load off of my stator. I ride at night often so more light is always better.
First disconnect the battery. This can be done without disconnecting it but for safety I recommend it.
Next: peel back the rubber boots on the mirrors so you can get to the mounting bolts. Loosen the two bolts that hold the mirrors on, you do not have to remove the mirrors.
Next: use a flat tipped tool and a cloth to pop the windshield trim up about 6 or 8 inches. Use the cloth to jam it between the popped up windshield trim and the fairing to hold it up out of the way of the headlight housing area.
Next: Remove the headlight trim (4 screws). Then remove the headlight hardware (2 bolts on top and two on bottom). To save yourself from putting them on wrong when you go to put the headlight hardware back on, put them somewhere so they are in the same position as they came off the bike. They can be put on UPSIDE down and everything will go fine until you try to pop the windshield trim back down (go ahead ask me how I know:gunhead
. The headlight should come out of its socket, if you want to protect your front fender and the outside of your headlight get an old towel and put it between the fender and the headlight. The headlight should rest with most of the tension on the headlight adjusting cable that comes from the dash.
Next: Remove the two nuts that are holding the gauge cluster (tach and speedo) in place (they are up under the windshield trim way back in the fairing; they are 10mm I believe). BE VERY CAREFULL NOT TO DROP ONE OF THE NUTS. If you do:baffled:, go fishing with a magnetic grabber thingy or it might be easier to just go buy another one.
Next: remove the speaker covers and speakers or at least the screws that are holding the dash bezel in place. You will have to remove the right speaker for sure.
Next: remove the radio and dash trim bezel. The trim bezel should come off with a little wiggling since you have loosened the gauge cluster (you do not have to remove the gauge cluster to do the install but if you want more room to move around you can take it out also). My bike is old and has an aftermarket radio so yours may come out differently than mine did, most radios you can disconnect the connector on the back of the radio and unplug the antenna cable, then slide it the rest of the way out. Try to keep the radio wires out of your way and when running the headlight wiring always put the headlight wires below the radio wiring.
Next: remove the headlight plug (three pronged connector running from fairing to back of headlight bulb). Take and run that plug back through the hole it is coming out of so that it comes out on the inside of the fairing where the back side of the radio was. It is kind of tricky getting it to go through but it will fit, before you start to try and put it through stick your finger in the pass through hole and push any wires that are blocking the path out of the way as much as you can. Once you get it through just leave it alone for now, we will get back to it later.
Next: remove the rubber boot off the back of the headlight bulb and the remove the bulb (if you plan on using the old bulb or giving it to someone then don’t touch the glass part of the bulb). Take the HID bulb out and make sure it has the right adapter to mount in the socket of your bike (the kit I bought had several different adapters with it, but I was lucky and it came with the right one for the 1200gl already installed on the bulb). After you have made sure it’s the right adapter take the foam covering off the bulb being careful not to touch the bulb and slide it into the socket. Fasten it down with spring clip that was holding the halogen bulb in place. On the rubber boot you will need to break the little cross looking part that is in the very center of it out. Just break two of the connections; this is so you can run the hid wiring to the back of the bulb. Place the rubber boot to the side, you can’t put it on wrong it has TOP written on it.
Next: The kit comes with two sets of wiring. For this section use the one with the ballast on it. Starting from the inside of the fairing run the two wires that are NOT red (one is a male connector and one is a female connector) through the same hole that you pushed the 3 prong headlight plug through but in the opposite direction; so that they come out the headlight mounting socket. I don’t have pictures of this part so I will try to describe it the best that I can. Mount the ballast on the inner right side of the area you took the radio out of. You will have to remove the right speaker to do this if you already haven’t done so. Hold the ballast with the electrical connections pointing downward with the opposite end almost right against the gauge cluster and mark where the 3 mounting holes are on the ballast (make sure it is far enough back that when you put the instrument bezel back on it will be covered). Get a drill bit that fits inside the mounting tabs on the ballast and drill the mounting holes in the inside of the fairing. The drill bit should be coming out in the hole where the right speaker goes. Drill the holes without holding the ballast up there. After you have the holes drilled use the small bolt and nut set that came with the kit to mount the ballast to the fairing. This was the safest place I could find to put it so that it would have a very low chance of getting wet. Electricity + water = yikes!:behead: Put the nut side towards the speakers. There is a metal mounting bracket that comes with the kit that I did not use.
Next: Open the tank box and remove the inner tray to reveal where the fused relay box is. Take the other wiring harness and place it in there. Remove the rubber piece that is on the left side of the fairing that is just to the right of the snap on storage area (it just pulls out). These are pieces that might be missing from some older bikes. Run all the wires from the harness you placed in the relay box area except the red and black power connectors through the left side of the relay box area so that they come out to the left side of the forks. Run the wires behind the other wires in that area if you can, so that they are kept away from the forks as much as possible. Bring the wires up near the hole that passes through to the headlight area. Connect the connector that fits the red connector on the ballast to the corresponding one on the harness you just ran from the relay box area. Connect the 3 prong male connector to the 3 prong female connector on the wiring harness. Push all remaining connectors through the hole that goes to the headlight housing area.
Next: plug the connectors that you pushed through the fairing hole to the ones coming out of the back of the HID light bulb (be sure and get the rubber boot you took off the back of the headlight and run the wires through it first). There should be 3 connections that are almost dummy proof. Look at them carefully and don’t try and force them to go together the wrong way. At this point you should have every connection connected except the red and black power connections.
Next: inside the relay box area, open the fuse block and look for the – (negative) and + (positive) markings above the two screws that are on the block. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONNECTION YOU WILL MAKE. Connect the RED wire to the + symbol and the BLACK wire to the – symbol using a screwdriver. Make sure the metallic part of the red and black wires are not touching or even close to touching. Put the cap back on the fuse block. Put the black box that is on the wiring harness that’s in the relay box area towards the right corner of the relay box area so that the tank box will fit back into the relay box area. If you want to test your install you can do so now. Reconnect the battery and turn the key to where the headlight should come on. You should hear a small buzzing sound (that’s the ballast and capacitor charging). Check both high and low beam. If the lights work, good job. If not then turn the key off and check all your connections and that check that you remembered to reconnect the battery.
Next make sure all the wires are away from you forks and when you put the dash bezel and radio back in you will have to push the some of the wires to the farright side of the back of the radio to make it fit. All wires should fit behind the dash trim bezel except the one that runs to the fuse relay box of course; it should run along the inner part of the fairing as far away from the forks as possible to the relay box.
Lastly: Put all the parts back together in the opposite order that you took them off or loosened them. When putting the headlight back into the headlight mounting area make sure none of the wires get crimped or pinched behind the bulb. I took some pictures while doing this and will try to get them up soon. Hope this helps someone and if you have any tricks to do this install easier please add to this thread (yes I know, taking it to the stealer or a bike shop is easier) but this way will save you a lot of $$$$$.
Took me about 2 ½ hours to do the whole job, and that was trying to stop and take pictures and notes as I went along.
If anything is way too confusing send me a PM and I will try and rewrite it or send you a more detailed description of that portion.
Please excuse my spelling and grammar. I will never get a job at a verb conjunction plant.:cheeky1: :action::action::action::action::action:
pictures are at this link
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm185/theradioactiveman/headlight%20pics/
Disclaimer: I am not a professional bike mechanic, but I hope this helps some other do it yourselfers out there.
Instructions on how I changed my 1200 halogen headlight over to a HID dual beam light. H4-3 bulb.
First I bought a HD conversion Kit on ebay that had the wiring harness adaptor for a motorcycle. The auction I won was like this one auction # 250512147254 you can cut and paste the # in ebay search to find it. Just for the record I have nothing to do with this company. Took 15 days to get it but I got the kit for $26 and free shipping, what a steal!:shock: I know there are other kits out there but this is the only one I have experience with.
Why I did the conversion: More light for less wattage. I got the 35 watt kit to help take some of the load off of my stator. I ride at night often so more light is always better.
First disconnect the battery. This can be done without disconnecting it but for safety I recommend it.
Next: peel back the rubber boots on the mirrors so you can get to the mounting bolts. Loosen the two bolts that hold the mirrors on, you do not have to remove the mirrors.
Next: use a flat tipped tool and a cloth to pop the windshield trim up about 6 or 8 inches. Use the cloth to jam it between the popped up windshield trim and the fairing to hold it up out of the way of the headlight housing area.
Next: Remove the headlight trim (4 screws). Then remove the headlight hardware (2 bolts on top and two on bottom). To save yourself from putting them on wrong when you go to put the headlight hardware back on, put them somewhere so they are in the same position as they came off the bike. They can be put on UPSIDE down and everything will go fine until you try to pop the windshield trim back down (go ahead ask me how I know:gunhead
. The headlight should come out of its socket, if you want to protect your front fender and the outside of your headlight get an old towel and put it between the fender and the headlight. The headlight should rest with most of the tension on the headlight adjusting cable that comes from the dash. Next: Remove the two nuts that are holding the gauge cluster (tach and speedo) in place (they are up under the windshield trim way back in the fairing; they are 10mm I believe). BE VERY CAREFULL NOT TO DROP ONE OF THE NUTS. If you do:baffled:, go fishing with a magnetic grabber thingy or it might be easier to just go buy another one.
Next: remove the speaker covers and speakers or at least the screws that are holding the dash bezel in place. You will have to remove the right speaker for sure.
Next: remove the radio and dash trim bezel. The trim bezel should come off with a little wiggling since you have loosened the gauge cluster (you do not have to remove the gauge cluster to do the install but if you want more room to move around you can take it out also). My bike is old and has an aftermarket radio so yours may come out differently than mine did, most radios you can disconnect the connector on the back of the radio and unplug the antenna cable, then slide it the rest of the way out. Try to keep the radio wires out of your way and when running the headlight wiring always put the headlight wires below the radio wiring.
Next: remove the headlight plug (three pronged connector running from fairing to back of headlight bulb). Take and run that plug back through the hole it is coming out of so that it comes out on the inside of the fairing where the back side of the radio was. It is kind of tricky getting it to go through but it will fit, before you start to try and put it through stick your finger in the pass through hole and push any wires that are blocking the path out of the way as much as you can. Once you get it through just leave it alone for now, we will get back to it later.
Next: remove the rubber boot off the back of the headlight bulb and the remove the bulb (if you plan on using the old bulb or giving it to someone then don’t touch the glass part of the bulb). Take the HID bulb out and make sure it has the right adapter to mount in the socket of your bike (the kit I bought had several different adapters with it, but I was lucky and it came with the right one for the 1200gl already installed on the bulb). After you have made sure it’s the right adapter take the foam covering off the bulb being careful not to touch the bulb and slide it into the socket. Fasten it down with spring clip that was holding the halogen bulb in place. On the rubber boot you will need to break the little cross looking part that is in the very center of it out. Just break two of the connections; this is so you can run the hid wiring to the back of the bulb. Place the rubber boot to the side, you can’t put it on wrong it has TOP written on it.
Next: The kit comes with two sets of wiring. For this section use the one with the ballast on it. Starting from the inside of the fairing run the two wires that are NOT red (one is a male connector and one is a female connector) through the same hole that you pushed the 3 prong headlight plug through but in the opposite direction; so that they come out the headlight mounting socket. I don’t have pictures of this part so I will try to describe it the best that I can. Mount the ballast on the inner right side of the area you took the radio out of. You will have to remove the right speaker to do this if you already haven’t done so. Hold the ballast with the electrical connections pointing downward with the opposite end almost right against the gauge cluster and mark where the 3 mounting holes are on the ballast (make sure it is far enough back that when you put the instrument bezel back on it will be covered). Get a drill bit that fits inside the mounting tabs on the ballast and drill the mounting holes in the inside of the fairing. The drill bit should be coming out in the hole where the right speaker goes. Drill the holes without holding the ballast up there. After you have the holes drilled use the small bolt and nut set that came with the kit to mount the ballast to the fairing. This was the safest place I could find to put it so that it would have a very low chance of getting wet. Electricity + water = yikes!:behead: Put the nut side towards the speakers. There is a metal mounting bracket that comes with the kit that I did not use.
Next: Open the tank box and remove the inner tray to reveal where the fused relay box is. Take the other wiring harness and place it in there. Remove the rubber piece that is on the left side of the fairing that is just to the right of the snap on storage area (it just pulls out). These are pieces that might be missing from some older bikes. Run all the wires from the harness you placed in the relay box area except the red and black power connectors through the left side of the relay box area so that they come out to the left side of the forks. Run the wires behind the other wires in that area if you can, so that they are kept away from the forks as much as possible. Bring the wires up near the hole that passes through to the headlight area. Connect the connector that fits the red connector on the ballast to the corresponding one on the harness you just ran from the relay box area. Connect the 3 prong male connector to the 3 prong female connector on the wiring harness. Push all remaining connectors through the hole that goes to the headlight housing area.
Next: plug the connectors that you pushed through the fairing hole to the ones coming out of the back of the HID light bulb (be sure and get the rubber boot you took off the back of the headlight and run the wires through it first). There should be 3 connections that are almost dummy proof. Look at them carefully and don’t try and force them to go together the wrong way. At this point you should have every connection connected except the red and black power connections.
Next: inside the relay box area, open the fuse block and look for the – (negative) and + (positive) markings above the two screws that are on the block. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONNECTION YOU WILL MAKE. Connect the RED wire to the + symbol and the BLACK wire to the – symbol using a screwdriver. Make sure the metallic part of the red and black wires are not touching or even close to touching. Put the cap back on the fuse block. Put the black box that is on the wiring harness that’s in the relay box area towards the right corner of the relay box area so that the tank box will fit back into the relay box area. If you want to test your install you can do so now. Reconnect the battery and turn the key to where the headlight should come on. You should hear a small buzzing sound (that’s the ballast and capacitor charging). Check both high and low beam. If the lights work, good job. If not then turn the key off and check all your connections and that check that you remembered to reconnect the battery.
Next make sure all the wires are away from you forks and when you put the dash bezel and radio back in you will have to push the some of the wires to the farright side of the back of the radio to make it fit. All wires should fit behind the dash trim bezel except the one that runs to the fuse relay box of course; it should run along the inner part of the fairing as far away from the forks as possible to the relay box.
Lastly: Put all the parts back together in the opposite order that you took them off or loosened them. When putting the headlight back into the headlight mounting area make sure none of the wires get crimped or pinched behind the bulb. I took some pictures while doing this and will try to get them up soon. Hope this helps someone and if you have any tricks to do this install easier please add to this thread (yes I know, taking it to the stealer or a bike shop is easier) but this way will save you a lot of $$$$$.
Took me about 2 ½ hours to do the whole job, and that was trying to stop and take pictures and notes as I went along.
If anything is way too confusing send me a PM and I will try and rewrite it or send you a more detailed description of that portion.
Please excuse my spelling and grammar. I will never get a job at a verb conjunction plant.:cheeky1: :action::action::action::action::action:
pictures are at this link
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm185/theradioactiveman/headlight%20pics/
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