HELP - INSTALLING AUXILIARY LIGHTS AND WIRING

[Blake]

Ok, so I bought some auxiliary lights and an Autoswitch to install on my '96 R1100RT.

 

Now I'm entertaining installing them myself, however I have very little mechanical knowledge of BMW's (I just recently installed a new sidestand - woopie).

 

Anyway, is it pretty straight forward, especially with the electrical lines? Can I just follow the instructions along with a Repair Manual and be ok, or are there other specifics that I need to know about?

 

Any suggestions, guidance or pointers are appreciated.

[ednap]

Quite a few existing threads on this topic and really it isn't that difficult.

 

This thread http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/724075/page/0/fpart/1/vc/1 has a handy wiring schematic too.

 

Good luck

[Global_Rider]

Any suggestions, guidance or pointers are appreciated.

 

I'm not familiar with your particular model, but I would assume there are many similarities; fuse box, etc.

 

I installed both my driving light relay and AutoSwitch in the BMW fuse box to keep them out of the elements. I also didn't like the idea of having items loosly stuffed under the gas tank with gobs of wires all over the place. A professional looking installation was what I was after.

 

R1150 GS Driving Light Relay & AutoSwitch Install

 

And if you want to install an auxilliary fuse block...I don't know if it'll work on your model, but...

 

R1150 GS Blue Sea 5025 Fuse Block Install

 

As for wiring, it is pretty straight forward.

[outpost22]

Last spring I put PIAA 1100x's on my '96 RT. Make sure you wire the main lighting harness directly to the battery and the ground wire to the battery ground. You can pick up the accessory power to serve the relay from the rear tail light wire. It runs under the passenger seat along the frame rails or you can pick it up in the light compartment itself. The autoswitch instructions will tell you where to power it in the fuse box. Just make sure you use the correct fuse.

 

The most time consuming thing for me was making the mounting bracket work as it had defective "weld-nuts" on it and I ended up removing the dash to be able to remove it from the bike .

 

Other than that, it should only take about 3-4 hours (instead of 1 1/2 days for me dealing with the bracket mess), if you are taking your time.